Mistissini ( cr, ᒥᔅᑎᓯᓃ/Mistisinî meaning Big Rock) is a Cree town located in the south-east corner of the largest natural lake in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Lake Mistassini Lake Mistassini () is the largest natural lake by surface area in the province of Quebec, Canada, with a total surface area of approximately and a net area (water surface area only) of . It is located in the Jamésie region of the province, appro ...

. The town is inside the boundaries of the Baie-James Municipality and is the second largest Cree community with a population of 3,731 people in 2021. The surface area of the town is (Category I land, as defined in the

James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (french: Convention de la Baie-James et du Nord québécois) is an Aboriginal land claim settlement, approved in 1975 by the Cree and Inuit of northern Quebec, and later slightly modified in 1978 by th ...

). Mistissini is part of the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) and the Cree Regional Authority. The Cree School Board and the Cree Construction Company have their head offices here. The town is about north-east from the town of Chibougamau, connected by a paved road. Mistissini has a fishing lodge with 20 rooms and a restaurant.

History

Cree have lived in the

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 Quebec, it flows west into Rupert Bay on James Bay. The Rupert drains an area of . There is some extremely la ...

watershed area and around Lake Mistassini for centuries. French explorers and traders entered the area in the 17th century and by the second half of that century, a trading post was established on Lake Mistassini. The location of the post shifted from time to time until 1821 when 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 di ...

established it at the present village site. The trading post was supplied by canoe brigade from Rupert House (now

Waskaganish Waskaganish ( cr, ᐙᔅᑳᐦᐄᑲᓂᔥ/Wâskâhîkaniš, Little House; ) is a Cree community of over 2,500 people at the mouth of the Rupert River on the south-east shore of James Bay in Northern Quebec, Canada. Waskaganish is part of the ...

) up the Rupert River or through Neoskweskau (a former Cree site) on the

Eastmain River The Eastmain River, formerly written East Main, is a river in west central Quebec. It rises in central Quebec and flows west to James Bay, draining an area of . The First Nations Cree village of Eastmain is located beside the mouth. Name East ...

. The travel route shifted to the south - first through Oskelaneo when the railroad was built in 1910, and subsequently through the

Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (Canadian French: ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area ...

area. The road reached Mistissini in 1970. Through time Mistissini and the various posts in the area were also known as "Maison Dorval", "Patagoosh", "Abatagoushe", "Mistassini", and "Baie-du-Poste".

Education

The Cree School Board operates two schools in Mistissini: Voyageur Memorial Elementary School (VMES) and Voyageur Memorial High School ( cr, ᕛᔨᒐᕐ ᑳ ᐃᔥᐹᒡ ᒋᔅᑯᑕᒫᒉᐅᑲᒥᒄ). Voyageur Memorial School was built in 1983.Voyageur Memorial School
" Cree School Board. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.

References

External links

Cree Nation of Mistissini
*http://www.ottertooth.com/Native_K/mistissini.htm * {{Administrative divisions of Quebec region, Nord-du-Québec Cree villages in Quebec Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Eeyou Istchee (territory)