Fonds

St. Thomas' Anglican Church is an historic Anglican church edifice built by the Hudson's Bay Company in Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada. Construction on the church started in 1864 and was completed in 1885. John Horden, the first missionary for the parish arrived in the area on August 26, 1851. Horden translated common prayers and hymns into Cree and started a school and holding services for what would become St. Thomas' Church. St. Thomas' Anglican Church is still an active parish in the Anglican Diocese of Moosonee. Services are conducted in the Cree language and in English. Since October 2006, the historic church has not been used for services and needs significant repairs. The congregation uses another building that was formerly a Catholic church.

Mary Lou Fox-Radulovich was a member of M'Chigeeng (West Bay) First Nation. Mary Lou was fundamental in the establishment of the Ojibwe Cultural Fundation (OCF), an organization aiming to preserve the culture and language of Ojibwe, Odawa and Pottawatomi Nations. The OCF was established in the 1970s and continues to support language and cultural preservation today. Laurentian University awarded her an honorary degree in Law in 1992. In 1999, Mary Lou was posthumously awarded an Union of Ontario Indian's Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Ermineskin Indian Residential School operated in Hobbema from 1894 – 1973. The Ermineskin school was administered by the Roman Catholic Church. Following the closure of the Residential School in 1973, the Ermineskin School building was used by the Canadian federal government to run a day school until 1991. The Ermineskin band took over ownership of the building in 1991 and the building was developed into a community school.

The 2011 Shingwauk reunion was one of the many reunions of the the students, staff, clergy, and descents of those involved with the Shingwauk and Wawanosh Indian Residential Schools. This reunion also marked the 30th anniversary of the first Shingwauk gathering. This reunion was hosted by Algoma University in conjunction with the National Residential School Survivors Society (NRSSS). Over 200 attended this three day event from July 1st - July 3rd, 2011. The reunion was organized through the efforts of the Shingwauk Project and the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA). The reunion was held at the former Shingwauk school in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. The reunion aimed to help facilitate healing, communication, and a growing support network of survivors. Shingwauk reunions were also held in 1981, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2002, and 2006.

Sandra Owl is a member of Serpent River First Nation. She was a student at Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. Sandra is the Administrative Assistant to Senior Managers at Serpent River First Nation. She has served as a planning committee member for the Serpent River powwow. Sandra has also been involved with the school council in Spanish, Ontario.

Chris Cromarty is an elder of Wunnumin Lake First Nation. Chris was born in Big Trout Lake in 1937 to Eila and Issac Cromarty. He lived in Big Trout Lake until he was eight years of age. Chris attended Pelican Falls Indian Residential School from 1945-1952 and Shingwauk Indian Residential School from 1952-1956. In 1994 Chris became the acting director of the health department at Wunnumin. In the late 1990s Chris was the first board chair of the amalgamated Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre. Chris worked in the health field until his retirement. Since retirement Chris has been actively involved with foster parenting.

The Anishinabek Nation territory encompasses First Nations along the north shore of Lake Nipigon, the north shore of Lake Huron, Manitoulin Island, east to the Ottawa River valley, and through the south central part of Ontario to the Chippewas of Aamjiwnaang First Nation. Tribal groups represented within the Nation include Odawa, Ojibway, Pottawatomi, Delaware, Chippewa, Algonquin and Mississauga. The Anishinabek Nation includes 55,000 citizens which is about one-third of the total First Nation population in Ontario. The Union of Ontario Indians was established in 1914. In 1949 the Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI) as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate to 40 member First Nations across Ontario.