Buffalo Narrows () is a northern village in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, 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 the north-western part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the Boreal forest of Canada, boreal forest and Canadian Shield within the Churchill Riv ...

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

History

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 Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ...

settlement. John Macoun, 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 ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

route from

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

Lac Île-à-la-Crosse Lac Île-à-la-Crosse is a Y-shaped lake in the north-central region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan along the course of the Churchill River (Hudson Bay), Churchill River. At the centre of the "Y" ...

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), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

much like Buffalo House at Dillon 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 30 January 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 ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

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

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

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; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, 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 cold ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * (1929–1990), German literary scholar * (1855–1922), German author * Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991), American aircraf ...

: ''Dfb'') bordering on a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental 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 ...

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

Attractions

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 boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

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

(). 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, 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. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

, 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, Passerellidae, sparrow-sized wader, shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band acro ...

Gallery

File:Buffalo Narrows Sand Dunes.jpg, Buffalo Narrows Sand Dunes Park File:Churchill Lake at Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan.JPG, Park on Churchill Lake File:Highway 155 bridge at Buffalo Narrows.JPG, Highway 155 bridge over the Kisis Channel File:Churchill Lake at Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan 2.JPG, Churchill Lake viewed from Buffalo Narrows

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 tha ...

every four years. Shaylee Gardiner is the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

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

automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, funds transfers, balance inquiries or account ...

.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 maintains a satellite campus in Buffalo Narrows.

References

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