Mistissini ( cr, ᒥᔅᑎᓯᓃ/Mistisinî meaning Big Rock) is a

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. In Canada, over 350,000 people are Cree o ...

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 thirte ...

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). Mistissini is part 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 ...

(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 Chibougamau () is the largest town in Nord-du-Québec, central Quebec, Canada. Located on Lake Gilman it has a population of 7,504 people (2016 Canadian Census). Chibougamau is surrounded by, but not part of, the local municipality of Eeyou Istc ...

, 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 t ...

) up the Rupert River or through Neoskweskau (a former Cree site) on the Eastmain River. The travel route shifted to the south - first through Oskelaneo when the railroad was built in 1910, and subsequently through the Lac Saint-Jean 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 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 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
"

. 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)