Mississaugas

The Mississaugas are an Indigenous people of the Anishinaabe family, part of the Ojibwe language group, who historically inhabited the central and western Great Lakes region of North America. In present-day Canada, their traditional lands are in Ontario, especially along the southern shores of Lake Ontario and the Credit River valley. The name Mississaugas comes from their Anishinaabe language heritage and is associated with the homeland in the Lake Ontario region; the name is also reflected in the name of the city of Mississauga, Ontario.

Historically, the Mississaugas lived a mixed economy of hunting, fishing, gathering, and seasonal farming, and they participated in the broader Anishinaabe cultural and political networks that included the Odawa and Potawatomi. They engaged with European traders and settlers from the 17th century onward, adapting to changing conditions while maintaining their social and cultural structures. In the 18th and 19th centuries, treaties with the Crown led to land cessions and the establishment of reserves, which reshaped traditional territory and ways of life and contributed to relocations within present-day Ontario.

In contemporary Canada, several Mississauga communities exist as federally recognized First Nations. Prominent examples include Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, both of which maintain reserves, governance structures, and programs for language and cultural revitalization. The Mississaugas remain connected to their heritage through ceremonies, archaeological and historical research, and ongoing involvement in land claims and self-determination initiatives.