Les Couchi's new book traces the history of NFN, from its beginnings to today

Hamilton Spectator

25-05-2025

Les Couchi's new book, Our Warrior Spirit, presents a history of Nipissing First Nation, from the early days to the present. He covers a lot of territory within the pages, as the community 'has seen an enormous change in my lifetime.'
The book, which is lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps, contains four main parts, with each discussing different eras of the community's history. Much of Our Warrior Spirit draws on Couchi's own experiences. He has lived in Nipissing First Nation his whole life, and the book's style is often very conversational. He also conducted interviews with many elders to provide more colour to the history.
As he wrote in the book's dedication, 'Nipissing First Nation is thankful for our ancestors who defiantly challenged colonialism and succeeded in overcoming many obstacles confronting our Nation. This book will showcase their tenacity, endurance, and defiance that led us back to our cultural roots.'
Couchi also explained that part of his inspiration to write the book was to leave a path for the younger generation — 'a book of tracks that I would leave behind.'
One section details the importance of hockey within the community, especially how the Nipissing Warriors team — which Couchi played for — inspired so many. 'The hockey team helped unite the community,' Couchi said, which is why he dedicated a few chapters to its history and significance.
He also recalled the sense of isolation many felt in the community, especially in the early days. 'Back then in the '30s, 40s, and even the 50s, there were very few people who could afford a car on the First Nation. So, if you lived in the North Bay end, and someone else lived near the Sturgeon end, you might as well be in another country.'
'Even to call people over there was a long-distance call,' Couchi recalled.
He emphasized that through the Nipissing Warriors team, 'We both came together, the Duchesnay and Garden Village communities, in the 60s, as both had been developing hockey players at the same time. They brought them together and they became a winning franchise, so to speak, and the people responded by going to all the games.'
As for the title, which draws from the Warrior hockey team, Couchi explained, 'In the Aboriginal community, the Ojibwe community, a warrior is not just someone who fights to defend his country or his territory, he works with the community to help it survive.'
Couchi's history continues with a section entitled Growth and Prosperity, and concludes with a chapter titled Journey Forward, which also includes an appendix of some Ojibwe stories.
Throughout the book, Couchi draws from many of his personal experiences as a police officer, an educator, and his recovery from substance abuse. The later of which is often used as an analogy for the recovery of the community itself.
'The book talks about survival of individuals,' Couchi noted. 'And how our lives have changed during our lifetimes, and how the hockey team united us. Now the kids all were our logo that we wore back in the day. The culture is back, and we're a very financially secure First Nation, probably more secure than some of our neighbours.'
Couchi concluded, 'It's kind of a Phoenix story, and you have to give the dark side before you start raving about how good things are today. We use the warrior spirit for everybody in the community to stick together and help to build this place.'
Couchi's Our Warrior Spirit is available to order from Amazon.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.