Pikangikum
Ontario
Pikangikum First Nation is located on Pikangikum Lake. It is North West and approximately 3 and a half hours by plane from Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Pikangikum, part of the Sioux Lookout District, is one of the largest First Nation communities in Northern Ontario with the highest on-reserve population in Northern Ontario, approximately 2,300. An estimated 75% of the population is under twenty-five years of age.
In 2007 the community’s school burnt down and students were taught in portables. Finally, in 2016 a new school, Eenchokay Birchstick School, was built and in 2019 serves 1000 students!
Pikangikum is accessible by plane throughout the year and from January to near the end of March, it is accessible by vehicle on the winter road. When the winter road is not available, Red Lake (approximately 100 km south east) is also accessible using a boat over some lakes, and then a vehicle the rest of the way.
The community of Pikangikum has a 97% retention rate of Ojibway (Oji-Cree) language. Most of the children come to kindergarten as unilingual Ojibway speakers. This means that children still learn easily from the Esteemed Elders.
MORE INFO:
Pikangikum Films
2019
Blog
2023
2021
2018
