Biography
Chief Greg Sarazin
Chief Gregory J. Sarazin, life-long resident of Pikwakanagan First Nation is a husband,
a father, and a grandfather and is the first of seven children born to Traditional Knowledge Holders and Master Birch Bark Canoe Builders Stanley and Jacqueline Sarazin, from whom he learned the traditional Art.
He has served Pikwakanagan in many roles over the past 40 years. In 1983 as a youth representative, he accompanied Chief Clifford Meness, to deliver our most recent
of dozens of historical petitions to the Governor General of Canada, to reclaim our
traditional lands through land claim negotiations.
Throughout the 1980's, he served Pikwkanagan as Manager of various First Nation Departments, as a First Nation Councillor, as Chief of Pikwakanagan and he was also elected Grand Chief of the SE Anishinabek. Throughout the 90’s he served
Pikwakanagan as Director of our Negotiation Department and Chief Negotiator of Treaty Negotiations. In recent years, Chief Sarazin continues to be a successful business owner in Pikwakanagan employing many of our community members.
Chief Sarazin has been a lifelong First Nation Rights activist, promoting and advocating
Algonquin Nation Rights. As Chief in 1987 he led the people of Pikwakanagan on several demonstrations to Parliament Hill to gain support for beginning of our Land Claim Negotiations and In September of ’88 accompanied the people of Pikwakanagan
to the Eastern Gate of Algonquin Park, holding a road blockade to raise awarenes and support for our Land Claim Negotiations.
Chief Sarazin is a published author, having penned “220 years of Broken Promises”,
featured in “Drum Beat, Anger and Renewal in Indian Country”.
You can find Drum Beat, Anger and renewal in Indian Country here​
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Chief Sarazin was awarded the OPP Commissioners Citation award for lifesaving,
having rescued a man from certain death in the icy waters of the Bonnechere River on a
cold night in May 1997.
You can find the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioners Citation for Lifesaving
here
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Having been raised on the land he has a strong and unbreakable connection to our
Algonquin homeland. He is an avid outdoorsman: hunting, fishing, trapping on his own registered trapline and gathering materials from the forest for his traditional birch bark canoes.
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His grandfather Daniel built birchbark canoes next door to his childhood home and his
father Stanley built canoes in his own shop and this is where Chief Sarazin learned the
traditional art form.
As a traditional artisan and knowledge holder, he continues to honour his traditional
responsibilities of passing that knowledge on to the next generation of Algonquin people
as his father did before him and as his grandfather did before that.
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Gregory J. Sarazin was elected Chief of Pikwakanagan in 2023, a post that he currently
holds.
Currently, Chief Sarazin is also one of the “Lead” negotiators for the Algonquin Treaty
Negotiations representing Pikwakanagan.​