BNA’s vision for the future includes bringing its people back home
Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (BNA), formerly known as Sand Point First Nation, is rebuilding its community from scratch. As it plans for the future, the Ojibwa First Nation on the southeast shores of Lake Nipigon, in what is now Greenstone, Ontario, is focused on creating a sustainable economy and supportive community where its citizens can thrive and culture is celebrated.
“The land was taken from us in the ‘50s and ‘60s and it was turned into a provincial park,” explains Laura Airns, chief administrative and former Chief. “So unfortunately, that dispersed a lot of our membership throughout Canada. Everyone moved to various places.”
In 2010, after “a lot of negotiating with Ontario and Canada,” the Nation received its land back. Now it’s building everything back from scratch.
Many BNA citizens want to move back to their community and the Nation is working hard to build the housing and infrastructure needed to bring them home – including an Elders housing complex. As of late 2024, the Nation had 14 new homes built and two four-unit apartment buildings.
Other priorities include support for youth and their education.
“I always say to the youth, ‘We support you, get educated, come back and show us the way,’” says Chief Paul Gladu.
Ensuring a better future also means strengthening its administrative and financial systems. The Nation has worked closely with the First Nations Financial Management Board (FMB) to achieve these goals and advance its economic self-determination.
The Nation achieved FMB’s Financial Management System (FMS) Certification in 2024, demonstrating to its citizens and potential partners that the Nation is accountable and transparent in its operations, with financial processes and procedures that reflect high international .
“Achieving FMS certification is instrumental towards financial accountability and responsibility for the community,” says Airns. “It creates an atmosphere of empowerment and sustainability within the community. It allows us to begin to plan for the future, confident that we have a strong foundation. FMS certification creates a sense of security and safety for the community as a whole.”
Director of Finance Brandon Favel agrees. “Having the FMS Certification brings a lot of value to the First Nation…It opens a lot of doors for us as a Nation to do these different things because [partners] know that we have these , and we have the certification backing everything that we do.”
BNA has established and planned economic drivers to support its rebuilding. The Papasay Sawmill is the Nation’s economic anchor. As BNA’s website says, the sawmill “is the key to BNA’s development through the creation of an internal economy. This will allow members to return to the land with a job. Lumber that is cut will be utilized for the building of BNA’s homes on the land…”
The Nation also plans to use wood from the sawmill to build a 5-star ecotourism lodge on Big Virgin Island, a nearby property it purchased in 2022. The island is also envisioned as a place for well-being programming for BNA citizens, such as Elder retreats and cultural teachings for youth.