Nemaska ( cr, ᓀᒥᔅᑳᐤ/Nemiskâw, meaning ''underwater point,'' but commonly associated with the word ''namesiskâw'', meaning ''many fish''.) is a small

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

community located on the shores of Lake Champion, 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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is a small Cree village with a population of 832 people at the 2021 census. Nemaska is the seat of the

Grand Council of the Crees The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) or the GCC(EI) (ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐊᔅᒌ in Cree), is the political body that represents the approximately 18,000 Cree people (who call themselves "Eeyou" or "Eenou" in the various dialects of East ...

and

Cree Regional Authority The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) or the GCC(EI) (ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐊᔅᒌ in Cree), is the political body that represents the approximately 18,000 Cree people (who call themselves "Eeyou" or "Eenou" in the various dialects of East ...

. It was officially known (by the Quebec government) as Nemiscau until May 8, 2010. Nemaska is a new and modern village that consists of Cree families originally living at the Nemiscau trading post on

Lake Nemiscau Lake Nemiscau (in French: ''Lac Nemiscau'') is a freshwater lake, located in the municipality of Eeyou Istchee James Bay, in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, in north-western Quebec, in Canada. The lake Nemiscau is crossed by Rupert R ...

(). The settlement was abandoned in the mid-1970s when

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec is a public utility that manages the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the Canadian province of Quebec, as well as the export of power to portions of the Northeast United States. It was established by the ...

proposed hydro-electric development on the Rupert River, which would have resulted in the flooding of the area. The nearby Hydro-Québec

electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...

and airport, both called Nemiscau, create confusion as to the town's name. As a result, many maps indicate the new site by the old name Nemiscau. Nemaska is accessible by air (from Hydro-Québec's

Nemiscau Airport Nemiscau Airport is located southeast of Nemaska, Quebec, Canada, along Route du Nord at km 294. It was built and is operated by Hydro-Québec to serve their large electrical substations of Nemiscau and Albanel. Air Creebec Air Creebec I ...

) and by car over the gravel North Road (''

Route du Nord The ( French for North Road) is an isolated wilderness road in central Quebec, Canada, connecting Chibougamau with the James Bay Road (french: Route de la Baie James, links=no) at km 275. It is long, all of it unpaved. Extensive logging takes p ...

''). About east from the village is the huge Hydro-Québec substation of Nemiscau.

Education

The

Cree School Board Cree School Board (CSB; french: Commission scolaire Crie; cr, ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ) is a school district in northern Quebec, headquartered in Mistissini, with an additional office in the James Bay Eeyou School in Chisasibi. ...

operates the Luke Mettaweskum School ( cr, ᓘᒃ ᒣᑕᐧᐁᔥᑲᒻ ᒋᔅᑯᑕᒫᒉᐅᑲᒥᒄ).Luke Mettaweskum School
"

. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.

References

External links

Official website of the Cree Nation of NemaskaOfficial website of Grand Council of the Crees
Cree villages in Quebec Eeyou Istchee (territory) {{Quebec-geo-stub