Mathias Colomb First Nation
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Mathias Colomb First Nation Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb Cree Nation |
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 Mathias Colomb First Nation
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| Coordinates: 55°44′43″N 101°17′18″W / 55.74528°N 101.28833°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
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| Government | |
| • Type | First Nations Council |
| • Chief | Arlen Dumas |
| • Councillors | Gordie Bear, Frank Dumas, Ralph Caribou, Kelly Linklater, Mathias Sinclair, Valerie Whyte, Flora Castel, Shirley Castel, Lorna Bighetty, Thelma Nice |
| Population (2002) | 2,700 |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC) |
| Postal code span | R0B 1G0 |
| Area code(s) | 204 |
| Website | [- Official Website] |
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HBRY in black and KR in grey
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| Reporting mark | HBRY |
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| Locale | Manitoba, Canada |
| Dates of operation | 1997– |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | The Pas, Manitoba |
| Website | Hudson Bay Railway |
The Mathias Colomb First Nation, Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN),Mathias Colomb (Cree) First Nation,Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb Cree Nation is a remote northern Manitoba First Nation, located 210 kilometers north of the Town of The Pas and 819 northwest of the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba, which had two reserves under its jurisdiction, IR 198 and IR No. 199. The main community is at Pukatawagan, Manitoba. IR Pukatawagan 198 consists of 1536.6 hectares on the shore of Pukatawagan Lake and lies about 210 kilometers north of The Pas, Manitoba. Their second reserve was the Highrock reserve (IR No. 199) (CSD) located on Highrock Lake, 30 km downstream from Pukatawagan, which was dissolved by 2006.
According to Statistics Canada and based on the 2006 Census the population of Mathias Colomb Manitoba (Indian band area) was 1,576 in 2006 and Population in 1,533 in 2001. Of the 2006 population 10 people self-identified as Metis and 45 were not registered as Indian. In 2006 74.7 percent of the population spoke Cree. In 1978 the on-Reserve population in Pukatawagan was just under 1,000 people. By 1998 it was 1,743. Based on the population growth since 1995, the future population growth was estimated to be 2.5% per year.
The Mathias Colomb Cree Nation was originally part of the Pelican Narrows band, Saskatchewan. Pelican Narrows join Mirond and Pelican Lakes which lie between the Sturgeon-Weir and Churchill River systems. The Mathias Colomb band first settled along the Churchill River or Missinipi, meaning "big water" in Woodland Cree, settled along the Churchill River at Highrock Lake in the Prayer River area after their separation in 1910 from the Peter Ballantyne band. The Mathias Colomb Indian band, now Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, was formed as a separate reserve in 1910 and officially recognized by the Canadian federal government in 2011. In 1910, the inspector of Indian Affairs recognized Pukatawagan as a separate reserve with Mathias Colomb as the first chief of the reserve. He remained as chief until his death in 1932.
On 29 August 1926, Ayamihi Sippi (Prayer River) was surveyed as a reserve under the jurisdiction of the "Mathias Colomb Indian Band, over 18,000 acres of the 19,000 acre reserves is rock... Pakitawagan, the original fishing place of the people was also selected as one of the reserves." A fire destroyed the Prayer River community in the late 1960s and the band was forced to relocate to the Pukatawagan reserve."
Thirty-one-year-old, Arlen Dumas was elected in 2008 as Chief. He was inspired by his grandparents who brought him up on the land and who had instilled a love for community within him. His goal was to rebuild the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN). He promised during his election campaign to get the band out of "co-management," where a third party outside accounting firm assigned by the federal government co-managed band affairs. Within four months Dumas and his council "developed a new governance structure, including transparent and accountable financial management systems, and were out of co-management."
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