The Nbisiing Anishinaabeg have roots in both the Ojibwe and Algonquin nations, making up part of the wider grouping of Anishinaabe peoples.

Their heritage is a result of the fact that the Nipissing homeland sits at a geographical crossroads, existing between the traditional territories of the Ojibwe around the Great Lakes and the Algonquin country covering much of the Kitchi-sipi watershed.

The French portaged the watershed divide extensively to reach the Great Lakes by canoe from their settlements around Montreal on the Saint Lawrence River.

Their extensive trading likely allowed them to supplement their diets with corn, beans and squash as well, which were staple crops cultivated by many First Nations peoples.

The Iroquois, based south of Lake Ontario, conducted military campaigns against the competing Huron and Nipissing in the competition for furs.

In the face of increasing European encroachment by settlers, they wanted to confirm their claim to the north shores of Lake Nipissing and its main waterways.

The reserve comprises the communities of Beaucage, Jocko Point, Yellek, Duchesnay, and Garden Village, as well as many smaller sub-divisions.

[citation needed] As of February 2009, Nipissing First Nation had a total registered population of 2,201 people, of which 886 lived on their own reserve.

It is supposed to replace the Indian Act as the supreme law which regulates the governance of the First Nation, but has not been tested in court.