The Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN; ; formerly the Nelson House First Nation) is a Cree First Nations community centered in Nelson House, Manitoba, Canada. Its main reserve is Nelson House 170. Nelson House is located about west of Thompson and is accessible via the mixed paved and gravel Provincial Road 391. Nisichawayasihk means 'where three rivers meet' in Cree and describes Nelson House, which is located at the convergence of the Burntwood, Footprint, and Rat Rivers. History The people of Nisichawayasihk are largely ancestral descendants of indigenous Cree peoples who have populated the Canadian Shield region of northern and central Canada since the retreat of the glaciers about 10,000 years ago. The people of Nisichawayasihk refer to themselves as the Nisichawayasi Nehethowak (Cree from where three rivers meet). The term Rocky Cree (Asiniskaw Ithiniwak- People from where there is an abundance of rocks) is also used to refer to the people of Nisichawayasihk. Largely left alone by the Government of Canada during initial colonization and settlement of Western Canada. In the mid-1870s, the Indigenous peoples of the Lake Winnipeg area were interested in making a treaty with the Government of Canada. They had heard about the concessions offered to the Indigenous nations of Treaties 1 to 4 (see Numbered Treaties), and subsequently demanded the government provide similar economic assistance, provisions of tools and protection against the encroachment of outsiders (such as surveyors and settlers) on their territories. Treaty 5 was the response from the government that ensure the homelands of the Cree were protected for their use. Treaty 5, a document which established that Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation members and their descendants were guaranteed certain rights and benefits. Governance and population Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation is governed by an elected chief and council. Elections are held pursuant to NCN's own democratic election code. The last election in Nelson House was in August 2018. The Chief is currently Marcel Moody, a former Councillor. About 3,000 members of the NCN live in Nelson House and the remaining 2,100 off the reserve lands. Until 2005, the community of South Indian Lake on the shores of Southern Indian Lake was also part of the NCN. In December 2005, this community of about 1,100 persons separated from the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation to form the O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation. With a population of approximately 5,200, the NCN is a large and widespread community. Nelson House consists of eleven areas,