(c) All information Copyright Algonquin Nation Secretariat
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Obadjiwan - or the Fort Timiskaming National Historic Site, as it is also known, is located at about the mid-point of Lake Timiskaming, where the Ontario and Quebec sides of the big lake almost touch. In Algonquin, "Obadjiwan" literally means "at the Narrows", or "both sides of the narrows". This site has a long history as an economic, social and cultural centre for the Algonquin and Anishnabe people. Archaeological evidence indicates that this site has been used continuously by the Algonquin and their ancestors for over 6,000 years. Fort Timiskaming, which was built on this site by the French in the 1700's, and later operated by the North-West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company, played a major role in the fur trade up until the start of the 20th century. | ||
 Above: The Narrows showing neighbouring Ontario. |
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Unfortunately, when the site was designated as a National Historic Site in the 1970's, no recognition was given to the long and sustained connection between Obadjiwan and the Algonquin people. Instead, the focus was only on the fur trade and French-English relations. As we shall see, the attempt to preserve the history of Obadjiwan has been fraught with many of the outstanding issues regarding Native history, identity and reconciliation with the non-Native public. |
| In the end, it took a blockade and a major stand-off to bring the recognition of shared history to the forefront of the Obadjiwan story. | ||
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| Obadjiwan occupies a strategic location on Lake Timiskaming where the two sides come together and almost meet. It is located about five hours north of Ottawa, between Mattawa and New Liskeard, straddling the Ontario-Quebec border. For thousands of years, Algonquin and Ojibwe people have come to Obadjiwan from both sides of the Ottawa river watershed on an annual basis. It was a focal point of the cultural, political and economic life of a number of communities: they would gather there to fish, hold councils, arrange marriages & alliances, and plan for the coming year. It was also a major trading centre which was part of a larger intertribal commercial network that stretched at least as far as Labrador and the Atlantic coast, long before the arrival of the Europeans. | ||
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Historical and genealogical research carried out by the Algonquin Nation Secretariat indicates that Obadjiwan lies within the traditional territory of the Timiskaming First Nation. Even after the Reserve was created at the head of the lake, the Timiskaming people continued to hold important councils and elections at Obadjiwan. Although the site was within the traditional territory of the Timiskaming people, families from many other First Nations came to the narrows to meet and trade. | ||
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