Wemindji, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Wemindji is a small Cree
community on Paint Hills Bay off James Bay
at the mouth of the Maquatua River in Quebec
, Canada
. The community has a population of 1238 people (2001 Canadian census).
Wemindji (Cree for "red ochre mountain") gets its name from the red pigment found in the hills surrounding it. It has also been known as "Nouveau-Comptoir".
Wemindji is a fairly new community comprising Cree families originally living at the trading post on an island in the Vieux-Comptoir River, known as "Vieux-Comptoir" or its English equivalent "Old Factory". This post was founded in the seventeenth century and was alternately under British or French control. In 1959 the community was relocated about 45 km north to its present location. The current chief is Rodney Mark.
Wemindji is accessible by air (Wemindji Airport
) and, since 1995, by car over a gravel road linking it to the James Bay Road.
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...
community on Paint Hills Bay off 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...
at the mouth of the Maquatua River in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, 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...
. The community has a population of 1238 people (2001 Canadian census).
Wemindji (Cree for "red ochre mountain") gets its name from the red pigment found in the hills surrounding it. It has also been known as "Nouveau-Comptoir".
Wemindji is a fairly new community comprising Cree families originally living at the trading post on an island in the Vieux-Comptoir River, known as "Vieux-Comptoir" or its English equivalent "Old Factory". This post was founded in the seventeenth century and was alternately under British or French control. In 1959 the community was relocated about 45 km north to its present location. The current chief is Rodney Mark.
Wemindji is accessible by air (Wemindji Airport
Wemindji Airport
Wemindji Airport, , is located near the town of Wemindji, Quebec, Canada....
) and, since 1995, by car over a gravel road linking it to the James Bay Road.
External links
- Cree Nation of Wemindji official website