Buffalo Narrows is a northern village in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada. It is a community of 1,110 people. Located at the "Narrows" between

Peter Pond Lake Peter Pond Lake is a glacial lake in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located in northwestern Saskatchewan in the Boreal Forest and Canadian Shield within the Churchill River drainage basin. It was on the fur trade route to the Methye Portage which c ...

and

Churchill Lake Churchill Lake is a glacial lake in north west Saskatchewan, Canada. Frobisher Lake flows in from the north while Peter Pond Lake flows in from the east through the Kisis Channel. Highway 155 crosses this channel at the village of Buffalo Narr ...

, tourism and resource extraction (logging, fishing) are its main economic activities.

History

Route of the Franklin Expedition from Isle a la Crosse to Fort Providence in 1819 & 20 (1823)

Buffalo Narrows or ''Détroit du Boeuf'' as it was called in French was founded in the early 20th century as trapping, mink ranching and fishing settlement by Scandinavian traders. The community developed around an earlier

Dene The Dene people () are an Aboriginal peoples in Canada, indigenous group of First Nations in Canada, First Nations who inhabit the northern Boreal forest of Canada, boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languag ...

settlement.

John Macoun John Macoun (17 April 1831 – 18 June 1920) was an Irish-born Canadian naturalist. Early life Macoun was born in Magheralin, County Down, Ireland in 1831, the third child of James Macoun and Anne Jane Nevin. In 1850, the worsening ec ...

, who was travelling the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

route from

Methye Portage The Methye Portage or Portage La Loche in northwestern Saskatchewan was one of the most important portages in the old fur trade route across Canada. The portage connected the Mackenzie River basin to rivers that ran east to the Atlantic. It was ...

Lac Île-à-la-Crosse Lac Île-à-la-Crosse is a Y-shaped lake in North-Central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the Churchill River. At the centre of the Y is the town of Île-à-la-Crosse, the second oldest town in Saskatchewan. The Churchill exits the north-east arm a ...

visited the "Narrows" in September 1875. He described his visit to this old community in the following lines: "After sunrise, a headwind sprang up with which we battled all day and reached the "Narrows," that connect Buffalo and Clearwater lakes, before dark. "Chipewyan House" is situated at the eastern end of the "Narrows," and at the head of Clearwater Lake. Here the Chipewyans have built themselves several houses." Chipewyan House where Macoun stayed for about four days was probably a small outpost of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

much like Buffalo House at

Dillon Dillon may refer to: People *Dillon (surname) * Dillon (given name) * Dillon (singer) (born 1988), Brazilian singer *Viscount Dillon, a title in the Peerage of Ireland Places Canada *Dillon, Saskatchewan United States *Dillon Beach, Californi ...

and Bull's House on the La Loche River. Clearwater Lake (or Clear Lake) was renamed Churchill Lake in 1944 and Buffalo Lake was renamed Peter Pond Lake in 1932.

1969 axe massacre

On January 30, 1969, the community was the site of the killing of the Pedersen family, and their friend John Herman. Seven people were killed by 19-year-old

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

Labourer Frederick Moses McCallum (b. 1949), who was arrested, diagnosed with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

and found not guilty by reason of insanity. As of February 2019, he lives in Ontario.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Buffalo Narrows had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Climate

Buffalo Narrows has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * Erwin Koppen (1929–1990), German literary scholar * Luise Koppen (1855–1922), German author * Wladimir Köppen (1846� ...

: ''Dfb'') bordering on a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(''Dfc''). Summers are comfortably warm with cool nights, while winters are very cold and dry.

Attractions

Churchill Lake at Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan

Churchill Lake at Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan 2

Buffalo Narrows is notable for its scenery and its bridge that crosses the Kisis Channel. The bridge was officially opened in 1981 replacing a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

that was set up in 1957. This channel links Peter Pond Lake and Churchill Lake.

Buffalo Narrows Sand Dunes Park

The dunes of Buffalo Narrows Sand Dunes Park located north of downtown create a fine sandy beach along the southwest shore of Big Peter Pond Lake (). The park, which is in size, includes the peninsula that nearly cuts Peter Pond Lake in two creating Little Peter Pond, the southern section and Big Peter Pond, the northern section. Formerly

Crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

, the recreation area was transferred to the Northern Village of Buffalo Narrows in 2003. The community has assumed the responsibility for its maintenance and development. The beach is a nesting site of the vulnerable sparrow-sized

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from e ...

Governance

As set out by the Northern Saskatchewan Municipal Government Act, and overseen by Municipal Relations, the village is governed by six Councillors, who are elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

every four years. Robert Woods is the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Transportation

Buffalo Narrows is connected to the rest of

by Highway 155. Highway 155 is paved along its whole length. The community is served by the Buffalo Narrows Airport and the Buffalo Narrows Water Aerodrome.

Financial Services

Innovation Credit Union Innovation Federal Credit Union is a Canadian credit union. It was formed on January 1, 2007, through the merger of Southwest Credit Union and BCU Financial (previously Battlefords Credit Union). Innovation is the third largest credit union in S ...

has an Advice Centre located at #3-1491 Pederson Ave. The location includes a full service

automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fun ...

.Innovation Credit Union Branch and ATM locator. https://www.innovationcu.ca/ToolsAndCalculators/FindBranchATM/

Education

The school in Buffalo Narrows is called Twin Lakes Community School or "TLCS". The K-12 school has approximately 310 students and about 30 teachers and is part of the Northern Lights School Division # 113.

Northlands College Northlands College is a public post-secondary educational institution in Northern, Saskatchewan, Canada. Northlands College is a dynamic and growing Public Regional College located in northern Saskatchewan that provides a diverse mix of educa ...

maintains a satellite campus in Buffalo Narrows.

References

{{Authority control Division No. 18, Saskatchewan Northern villages in Saskatchewan