STEP 1 OF 9: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the 2013-2026 Member Acknowledgment Program Application

You are starting an application for the Pickerel Narrows Community Association's 2013-2026 Member Acknowledgment Program — a voluntary $1,000 payment to eligible PNFN community members who came of age during a period of community hardship.

Before we get to the Application itself, we ask you to work through a short Qualification Questionnaire. This Questionnaire serves three purposes.

1

First, it confirms that you are eligible for the Program.

2

Second, it registers you as a PNFN community member if you are not already registered.

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Third, it shares some important information about our community that every applicant should understand — about who we are as Pickerel Narrows First Nation, about our history, and about the institutional structure of our community.

The Questionnaire takes about 15 to 20 minutes. You can save your progress and return to complete it later. Your answers are confidential and secured.

When you are ready, continue below.

STEP 2 OF 9: THE COMMUNITY'S EDUCATION

Understanding PNFN and PNCA

Before you continue, we want to make sure you understand our community's structure. There are two bodies that serve the People of Granville Lake, and both matter.

Pickerel Narrows First Nation (PNFN) is our community.

PNFN is the People of Granville Lake — our distinct Rocky Cree community rooted at Okâwimithihkânâni (Granville Lake). Our community has existed since long before Manitoba, long before Canada, and long before the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN). In 1910, the Crown placed our community under MCCN administrative oversight without our consent — but we never joined MCCN. We remain a separate community with our own identity, our own governance, our own elected Headman and Council, and our own path forward.

PNFN is currently pursuing formal band recognition through Indigenous Services Canada under section 17 of the Indian Act. When that recognition is granted, registered PNFN members will receive PNFN status cards, the community will have its own reserve lands, and PNFN will exercise the full range of First Nation governance directly.

Pickerel Narrows Community Association (PNCA) is the community's development body.

PNCA is a Manitoba non-profit corporation established in 2006 to serve the community through economic development, fund management, and program delivery. PNCA holds and administers community funds (including the 2024 settlement of $1,050,000), delivers programs like this one, and supports PNFN's governance work with practical and financial resources. PNCA is not a government. It does not replace PNFN. It supports PNFN and the community as the economic-development arm of the community.

PNFN and PNCA work together.

The Headman and Council exercise PNFN's governance authority. The PNCA Board of Directors exercises PNCA's corporate authority. They have distinct roles, but they serve the same community. This Program — the 2013-2026 Member Acknowledgment Program — is a PNCA program administered on behalf of and for the benefit of PNFN members.

Identifying with the People of Granville Lake

This Program is for members of the Pickerel Narrows First Nation — the People of Granville Lake. Before we go further, we need you to confirm that this is who you are.

Who are the People of Granville Lake?

The People of Granville Lake are a distinct Rocky Cree (Asiniskaw Ithiniwak) community whose homeland is Granville Lake, Manitoba, in the Churchill River Basin. Our community has been at Granville Lake since long before the province of Manitoba, long before Canada, and long before the Hudson's Bay Company built Granville House on our lake between 1794 and 1796. The Hudson's Bay Company built posts where people already were, and we have always been here.

We speak the th-dialect of Cree. Our community name for our place is Okâwimithihkânâni — the narrows where the fish swim. Our identity as a distinct people is reflected in the fact that, even today, our community appears in federal records as Granville Lake Indian Settlement, Settlement Number 06457 — recognized by Canada as a distinct Indigenous community.

In 2003, an infrastructure failure displaced our community. Our people were scattered to Leaf Rapids, Thompson, Winnipeg, Flin Flon, and other locations. Many members today have lived elsewhere for most of their lives. But displacement is not dissolution. We remain the People of Granville Lake. We remain Pickerel Narrows First Nation.

Who is eligible to identify as PNFN?

You are PNFN if any of the following are true:

You are a direct descendant of the People of Granville Lake — your parents, grandparents, or earlier ancestors are from the Granville Lake community.

You were raised within the Granville Lake / PNFN community, even if your ancestry is mixed or from another Indigenous community.

You have become part of the PNFN community through marriage, long-term residence, adoption, or another genuine community relationship, and you identify as PNFN.

You are committed to the future of the PNFN community and its members.

Thank you for taking the time to explore this Program.

This Program is specifically for members of the Pickerel Narrows First Nation.

If you believe you may in fact be PNFN but answered No because you were uncertain, you can return to this page at any time.

If you identify with a different community, we wish you well.

Return to pnfn.ca

STEP 4 OF 9: STATUS CARD CLARIFICATION

Your Current Status Card Does Not Determine Your Identity

This is an important clarification for every PNFN community member.

Many PNFN community members today hold Indian Act status cards that show Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) as the registering band. This is not because we are MCCN. It is because the Crown placed our community under MCCN administrative oversight in 1910 without our consent, and that administrative attachment has persisted for more than a century.

What happened i 1910.

Between 1908 and 1910, the Crown sent Treaty Commissioners through northern Manitoba to sign Treaty 5 adhesions with First Nations communities that had been skipped in the original treaty process. Our community was scheduled to be visited. The Commissioners skipped us — citing frozen lakes. Rather than return the following year, someone in Ottawa simply wrote our community down on paper as part of MCCN.

There was no treaty signing with our community. No vote in our community. No merger agreement. No notification to our people. Just a paperwork shortcut.

MCCN itself has admitted this

On October 15, 2004, MCCN Chief and Council passed a Band Council Resolution stating, in MCCN's own words, that in 1911 the People of Granville Lake were admitted to MCCN 'without their consent.' In June 2003, MCCN's own Chief wrote to the federal Minister asking Ottawa to finalize Granville Lake as a separate reserve — the same lands MCCN is now trying to claim for MCCN through its TLE process.

What this means today.

Our status cards today show MCCN because of the 1910 administrative attachment, not because we are MCCN. PNFN is currently pursuing formal band recognition under section 17 of the Indian Act with Indigenous Services Canada. When that recognition is granted, registered PNFN members will be transferred from the MCCN band list to the PNFN band list under section 11(4) of the Indian Act, and new PNFN status cards will be issued.

This is not separation. This is correction of a 115-year-old administrative wrong. Our identity has always been Pickerel Narrows First Nation. Our band registration will soon match

Thank you for being honest about your identification.

This Program is for members who identify as PNFN. We respect your connection to MCCN and wish you well.

If your identification changes in the future, you are welcome to return.'

Return to pnfn.ca

STEP 5 OF 9: COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Identifying with the People of Granville Lake

This step captures your connection to the People of Granville Lake. Your answer helps the Registrar understand your relationship to the community.

Most PNFN members are connected by descent — through parents, grandparents, or earlier ancestors from the Granville Lake community. Some members are connected through other genuine community relationships. Both paths are valid.

STEP 6 OF 9: REQUIRED DISCLOSURE

Disclosure of External Appointments

This step is a required disclosure. Every PNFN member registering through this Program is asked to disclose any past or present appointments from outside bodies that purported to represent PNFN, the People of Granville Lake, or the community.

Why this matters.

PNFN-LAW-2026-01 — the community's Election Integrity and Governance Accountability Law — establishes that only the elected PNFN Headman and Council have the authority to represent our community. Appointments from outside bodies (MCCN, MKO, Tribal Councils, or anyone else) that purport to speak for PNFN without PNFN's authorization are not recognized by the community.

The Law requires candidates for PNFN office to disclose any external appointments they have held. This Program extends that disclosure requirement to all members during registration — so the community's Member Register includes this information from the start. It is not used against you. It is part of the community's commitment to transparency about who has been speaking for our community, and under whose authority.

How it affects the Program

If you currently hold an active external appointment adverse to PNFN, you can still register as a PNFN community member. However, you are not eligible for the Program payment until the appointment is resolved. This is because the Program payment comes from community funds that should not flow to someone currently speaking against the community's interests. If your appointment has ended, or was limited to matters not adverse to PNFN, you remain eligible for the Program.

What is Official First Nation Band Recognition?

STEP 7 OF 9: AGE VERIFICATION

Age Verification

This Program is specifically for PNFN community members who turned 18 between October 31, 2013 and October 31, 2026 — the generation of young adults who came of age during the years when the community was without a functioning support structure.

Please provide your date of birth. The Program requires that you turned 18 during the eligibility window. We will verify this against your photo ID when you submit your Application.

Thank you for your interest in this Program.

Unfortunately, this Program is specifically for PNFN community members who turned 18 between October 31, 2013 and October 31, 2026, and your date of birth indicates you fall outside that window

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The Board may authorize additional community programs in the future for members outside this age window. Stay connected through the PNFN website and community communications to be notified of future programs.

Your ineligibility for this specific Program does not affect your standing as a PNFN community member. You are still welcome to complete the Member Declaration to register as a PNFN member (if you have not already), which places you on the PNFN Member Register for elections, governance, and any future community programs

The Board may authorize additional community programs in the future for members outside this age window. Stay connected through the PNFN website and community communications to be notified of future programs.

COMPLETE MEMBER DECLARATION ONLY

Return to pnfn.ca

STEP 8 OF 9: CURRENT RESIDENCY

Where Do You Currently Live?

This Program operates on a priority basis. Applicants who currently live within the PNFN traditional territory — Granville Lake, Leaf Rapids, and the surrounding community locations — receive priority processing. Applicants who live outside the traditional territory remain eligible, but their applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis once priority applicants have been served, subject to funds remaining.

STEP 9 OF 9: QUALIFICATION SUMMARY

Your Qualification Summary

You have completed the Qualification Questionnaire. Below is a summary of your responses. Please review carefully. You can go back to change any answer before proceeding.

Your Qualification Status

FULLY QUALIFIED (Priority):

Our internal review is underway, and you will soon receive a notification via email or phone detailing your next steps. We appreciate your patience.

FULLY QUALIFIED (Non-Priority):

Our internal review is underway, and you will soon receive a notification via email or phone detailing your next steps. We appreciate your patience.

QUALIFIED WITH BOARD REVIEW (Non-Lineage):

Our internal review is underway, and you will soon receive a notification via email or phone detailing your next steps. We appreciate your patience.

REGISTRATION ELIGIBLE, PROGRAM PAYMENT ON HOLD:

Based on your disclosed active external appointment, you can register as a PNFN community member but are not eligible for the Program payment until the appointment is resolved. You may continue to the Member Declaration to complete your registration. The Program payment will be reviewed if and when the appointment status changes.