[1] The name Nigigoonsiminikaaning can mean "Place abundant with little otters" but the intended meaning is "Place abundant with Little-Otter berries"—nigigoonsimin (Little-Otter berry) being the Ojibwe word for sand cherry (Prunus pumila).
The First Nation have an electoral system of government, consisting of a Chief and three Councillors forming their council.
The First Nation is a member of the Pwi-Di-Goo-Zing Ne-Yaa-Zhing Advisory Services, a regional Chiefs Council, which in turn is a member of the Grand Council of Treaty 3, a Tribal Political Organization serving many of the First Nations in northwest Ontario and southeast Manitoba.
The ten bands are: Big Grassy, Big Island, Couchiching, Lac La Croix, Naicatchewenin, Nicickousemenecaning, Ojibways of Onigaming, Rainy River, Seine River and Mitaanjigaming.
In addition, the First Nation has also made arrangements with the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to set up seasonal language camps at the mouth of the Ottertail River.