Waskaganish, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Waskaganish is a Cree
village of about 2000 people at the mouth of the Rupert River
on the south-east shore of James Bay
in the Eeyou Istchee territory in Northern Quebec
, Canada
. Formerly called Fort Rupert, the location is one of three original Hudson's Bay Company
posts on James Bay, the other two being Fort Albany
on the west shore, and Moose Factory
on the south.
Waskaganish has had road access to the James Bay Road since 2001. It has two school facilities: Ecole Annie Whiskeychan School (primary) and Ecole Wiinibekuu School (secondary).
explorer, Médard des Groseilliers
, first called Charles Fort and then Rupert House and Fort Rupert. It was the first fur trading
post and store of what became the Hudson's Bay Company
.
In 1686 the French captured the fort
from the English and not until 1776 did the HBC reestablish a post here. From then on until the early 1900s, Fort Rupert was an important trading location, supplying inland communities and other posts via the Rupert River with regular canoe brigades
.
impacts Waskaganish.
Billy Diamond
was the chief of the Waskaganish Cree starting in 1970.
Filmmaker Neil Diamond
was born and raised in Waskaganish. His experiences as a child there, watching Westerns with other local children in the church basement, inspired him to make Reel Injun
.
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
village of about 2000 people at the mouth of the Rupert River
Rupert River
The Rupert River is one of the largest rivers in Quebec, Canada. From its headwaters in Lake Mistassini, the largest natural lake in Québec, it flows west into Rupert Bay on James Bay. The Rupert drains an area of . There is some extremely large whitewater on the river, but paddlers can avoid...
on the south-east shore of James Bay
James Bay
James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
in the Eeyou Istchee territory in Northern Quebec
Nord-du-Québec
Nord-du-Québec is the largest of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. With , of which are lakes and rivers, it covers much of the Labrador Peninsula and about 55% of the total land surface area of Quebec....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Formerly called Fort Rupert, the location is one of three original Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
posts on James Bay, the other two being Fort Albany
Fort Albany, Ontario
Fort Albany First Nation is a community in within the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada. Situated on the southern shore of the Albany River, Fort Albany First Nation is only accessible by air or by winter road....
on the west shore, and Moose Factory
Moose Factory, Ontario
Moose Factory is a community in the Cochrane District, Ontario, Canada. It is on Moose Factory Island, near the mouth of the Moose River, which is at the southern end of James Bay. It was the first English-speaking settlement in Ontario and the second Hudson's Bay Company post to be set up in North...
on the south.
Waskaganish has had road access to the James Bay Road since 2001. It has two school facilities: Ecole Annie Whiskeychan School (primary) and Ecole Wiinibekuu School (secondary).
History
In 1668, a fort was established here by FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
explorer, Médard des Groseilliers
Médard des Groseilliers
Médard Chouart des Groseilliers was a French explorer and fur trader in Canada. He is often paired with his brother-in-law Pierre-Esprit Radisson who was about 20 years his junior...
, first called Charles Fort and then Rupert House and Fort Rupert. It was the first fur trading
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
post and store of what became the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
.
In 1686 the French captured the fort
Hudson Bay expedition (1686)
The Hudson Bay expedition of 1686 was one of the Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay. It was the first several expeditions sent from New France against the trading outposts of the Hudson's Bay Company in the southern reaches of Hudson Bay...
from the English and not until 1776 did the HBC reestablish a post here. From then on until the early 1900s, Fort Rupert was an important trading location, supplying inland communities and other posts via the Rupert River with regular canoe brigades
Fur brigade
The Fur brigade were convoys of Canadian Indian fur trappers who traveled between their home trading posts and a larger HBC post in order to supply the inland post with goods and supply the HBC post with furs. Travel was usually done on the rivers by canoe or, in certain prairie situations, by horse...
.
Contemporary
The James Bay ProjectJames Bay Project
The James Bay Project is a series of hydroelectric development with a combined installed capacity of over 16,000 megawatts built since 1974 for Hydro-Québec by the on the La Grande and other rivers of Northern Quebec....
impacts Waskaganish.
Billy Diamond
Billy Diamond
Billy Diamond was the chief of the Waskaganish, Quebec Cree in 1970, and grand chief of the Grand Council of the Crees from 1974 to 1984. In May 2008, Diamond suffered from a stroke which left him paralysed completely on his left side. On November 21, 2008 he recovered and credits Jesus Christ for...
was the chief of the Waskaganish Cree starting in 1970.
Filmmaker Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond (filmmaker)
Neil Diamond is a Cree filmmaker based in Montreal, Quebec, born and raised in Waskaganish, Quebec. Working with Rezolution Pictures, Diamond has directed the documentary films Reel Injun, The Last Explorer, One More River, Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Quebec and Cree Spoken Here,...
was born and raised in Waskaganish. His experiences as a child there, watching Westerns with other local children in the church basement, inspired him to make Reel Injun
Reel Injun
Reel Injun is a 2009 Canadian documentary film directed by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge and , that explores the portrayal of Native Americans in film...
.
External links
- Official website
- http://www.ottertooth.com/Native_K/waskaganish.htm
- http://www.cpcml.ca/Tmld2002/D32027.htm