Duane Hicks
As town council weighs whether to ban dogs from the area commonly known as “Seven Oaks,” Agency One bands would like to raise public awareness that the land in question is of spiritual significance.
“I think people shouldn’t forget that it was originally set aside as a reserve for First Nations, and it definitely was land that had a lot of ceremonial uses,” said Couchiching First Nation Chief Sara Mainville.
“It’s land that was considered sacred to the local First Nations because there was, in the past, people buried there,” she noted.
“There was also mounds set there not just for burial purposes but for offerings and things like that,” Chief Mainville added, saying it “has a significant spiritual value” to local First Nations.
While the four Agency One bands can’t do anything on the land right now because it’s in “legal limbo,” Chief Mainville said they have been planning for the future.
“There’s uncertainty about the legal status of those lands,” she noted. “But we certainly are working hard to get it back as reserve land.
“And as part of that, we want to honour the cultural significance of the land by having a heritage centre there.”
Chief Mainville said if their plans come to fruition, the land use will have to change.
“Our number-one plan there is to have recognition of our heritage in some kind of significant and symbolic but also useful way that will have utility for tourism, as well,” she remarked.
Chief Mainville said Fort Frances and Couchiching FN worked together during the flooding last spring to protect the shoreline, but there was some erosion or land loss in that area because of the significant water flow near Seven Oaks.
“My main concern was there may well be things buried there that we want make sure continue to rest; we don’t want any harm or damage to it,” she stressed.
“So that, really, was the start of my discussions and my concerns about dog feces and bird feces there,” Chief Mainville said.
“And that there has to be some concerted effort—not just the town but also the First Nations—to remember what it was and what it still is, and that we have to honour and recognize what’s there.”
She noted the town and the four bands— Couchiching, Naicatchewenin, Nicickousemenecaning, and Stanjikoming First Nations—agreed to talk to their communities.
Chief Mainville said Couchiching band members do use the land, including to fish from shore, and she felt it important to remind everyone, especially the youth, what the land was and how it’s still significant to everyone.
For example, not many people know that the most southern point of land there is perhaps the most spiritually-significant part.
As reported last week, the town is considering banning dogs from Seven Oaks.
At a public meeting last Monday night, Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig noted the reason for this is twofold.
First, the town has received complaints about dog feces at Seven Oaks, as well as dogs running at large (off-leash) in the summer months.
Secondly, the town currently is consulting with Agency One bands to resolve land matters that are in litigation, and Seven Oaks holds great cultural significance for area First Nations.
At that same public meeting, numerous dog owners told council they want to keep using the land, saying they and their dogs love the area and that issues over dog feces can be addressed through enforcement.
Some also noted that geese have been making more of a mess there than dogs.
