Students to honour commitment to Lake Nipissing

Nibisiing Secondary School
News Release

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DUCHESNAY VILLAGE – Nibisiing Secondary School is holding a celebration on the shores of Lake Nipissing to honour the fish, the fisherman and new life in Nipissing Territory, just as Nipissing Nation’s annual gill net moratorium begins. An Aboriginal Issues class taught at the high school by Alex Armstrong decided to organize a ceremony and feast to create more linkages between modern day fishing at Nipissing First Nation and cultural traditions. The ceremony begins at 10 AM on Thursday, April 9 at Nibisiing Secondary School.

“This ceremony is our way of asking for a good fishing season and to celebrate renewal in Nipissing Territory as another season begins. It also shows community support for all of our fishermen and the unique fishing laws of Nipissing First Nation,” added student Nolan McLeod. These laws include regulations that ban the use of gill nets during the walleye spawn on Lake Nipissing and mandatory commercial harvest reporting to Nipissing’s fully staffed Natural Resource Department.

“Stewardship and respect for the resource have always been part of Nipissing’s culture”, Chief Marianna Couchie remarked. “The environment has changed over the last 100 years. Lake Nipissing and its fisheries have changed. Nipissing First Nation has had to modernize its commitment by making its own fishing laws, but this is the same stewardship and respect we have always had.”

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