Chisasibi (; meaning Great River) is a village and

Cree reserved land The following is a list of the types of Local government in Quebec, local and Wiktionary:supralocal, supralocal territorial units in Quebec, Canada, including those used solely for statistical purposes, as defined by the Ministry of Municipal Affa ...

(TC) on the eastern shore of

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

, in Eeyou Istchee, an equivalent territory (ET) in

Nord-du-Québec Nord-du-Québec (; ) is the largest, but the least populous, of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. Spread over nearly 14 degrees of latitude, north of the 49th parallel, the region covers on the Labrador Peninsula, making ...

, Canada. It is situated on the south shore of

La Grande River La Grande River (, ; ; both meaning "great river") is a river in northwestern Quebec, Canada, rising in the highlands of the north-central part of the province and flowing roughly west to its drainage at James Bay. It is the second-longest rive ...

(the Grand River), less than from the river's mouth. Chisasibi is one of nine

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

villages in the region, and is a member 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 20,000 Cree people (who call themselves "Eeyou" or "Eenou" in the various dialects of East ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The territory surrounding Chisasibi is part of the municipality

Eeyou Istchee James Bay Eeyou Istchee James Bay (, ) is a local municipality in the (TE) in administrative region of . Located to the east of James Bay, Eeyou Istchee James Bay covers of land, making it the largest incorporated municipality in Canada — only eight ...

, of which parts are jointly managed by the municipalities of the

Jamésie Jamésie () is a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) of Nord-du-Québec, Canada. Its geographical code is 991 and together with Kativik TE and Eeyou Istchee TE it forms the administrative région and census division ( ...

TE and the Cree Regional Authority of the Eeyou Istchee TE. The land area of the town is and the area of the associated Chisasibi Cree village municipality is .

History

The Cree have lived in the region for many centuries but were nomadic. In 1803, 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 ...

founded Fort George, a trading post on the north shore which was relocated to the largest island at the mouth of La Grande River in 1837. Fort George became a permanent village as the local Cree population abandoned their nomadic way of life in the early 20th century and settled nearby. In 1940, its population was about 750 and grew to almost 2,000 in 1980. In the mid-1970s, the construction of the James Bay hydro-electric project began, diverting upstream rivers into the La Grande watershed, increasing its flow significantly, resulting in erosion of Fort George Island (also called Governor's Island) and disruption to the formation of a solid ice cover in winter. In response, the Quebec Government built a new community on the mainland's south shore, relocating the population and some 200 houses to the new site in 1981. The village was renamed Chisasibi (official name: Cree Nation of Chisasibi). At the same time, the Fort George Relocation Corporation was formed to oversee the relocation.

Geography

Chisasibi is the most northern Cree village accessible by road and the northernmost community with year-round road access in eastern North America. A paved road, running from Radisson and parallel to

, connects Chisasibi to the

James Bay Road The James Bay Road (), officially the Billy-Diamond Highway (), is a remote wilderness highway winding its way through the Canadian Shield in northwestern Quebec and reaches into the James Bay region. It starts in Matagami, Quebec, Matagami as an ...

(also known as the Billy Diamond Highway, French: ''Route de la Baie James''). The James Bay Road (formerly part of Route 109) was built from 1971 to 1974 as part of the James Bay hydroelectric project and connects Matagami to Radisson. Chisasibi Airport is located northwest of the village and

Air Creebec Air Creebec Inc. is a Cree-owned regional airline based in Val-d'Or, Quebec, Canada. It operates scheduled and air charter, charter services to 16 destinations in Quebec and Ontario. Its main base is Val-d'Or Airport, with a hub at Timmins Vi ...

operates scheduled service from this airport. Though this is the most northern village, this is not where the road ends. From La Grande-1 generating station (LG-1), the road continues north to a location called Longue Pointe (Long Point). It is the farthest north one can go by road east of the

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

. Many

in Chisasibi engage in hunting, trapping, and fishing activities, but all catch is for local consumption. Other economic activity includes local services (health care and education), employment by

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...

and some hospitality services. An elected Chief, Deputy Chief, and Council help administer the Cree Nation of Chisasibi Office. Other Cree villages near Chisasibi are

Whapmagoostui Whapmagoostui (, "place of the beluga") is the northernmost Cree village in Quebec, Canada, located at the mouth of the Great Whale River () on the coast of Hudson Bay in Nunavik. About 906 Cree with about 650 Inuit, living in the neighbourin ...

, to the north in

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homelan ...

, on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay near the Northern village of Kuujjuarapik, and

Wemindji Wemindji () is a small Cree community on the east coast of James Bay at the mouth of the Maquatua River in Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Cree Nation of Wemindji. The community is located within the federal riding of Abitibi—Baie-Ja ...

, about to the south.

Climate

Chisasibi has 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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfc''), typical of the central latitudes of Quebec, with cold and snowy winters and mild, rainy summers.

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

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 ...

, Chisasibi had a population of 4,985 living in 1,056 of its 1,281 total private dwellings an increase of 2.3% from its 2016 population of 4,872. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. As of the 2021 census the population of Chisasibi comprises 4,305

, 345 other

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

, 240

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

, 10

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 ...

, and 245 non-native people. The average age is 30.0 with 29.6 for men and 30.5 for women. The majority of the population is between 15 and 64 years old (61.5 per cent), 31.1 per cent are under 15 and 7.8 per cent are 65 and older.

Languages

is spoken as the first language in Chisasibi, in addition to English, as a primary language for official dealings. The

mother tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

of the majority of the residents is Cree at 81.3 per cent, with 6.6 per cent for other

indigenous language An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by its indigenous peoples. Indigenous languages are not necessarily national languages but they can be; for example, Aymara is both an indigen ...

s. For Canada's

official languages An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

, English is the mother tongue for 8.4 per cent and French for 2.9 per cent of the population. In addition 0.7 per cent report a non-Indigenous language as their mother tongue Around 76,4 per cent of the population speak English, with 3.5 per cent speaking French, 15.7 per cent speaking both English and French, and 4.4 per cent speaking neither. There has been criticism of the

Quebec language policy Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

with respect to native languages, particularly Cree, many related to

's hydroelectric dam project in the James Bay region.

Education

The

Cree School Board Cree School Board (CSB; ; ) is a school district in northern Quebec, headquartered in Mistissini, with an additional office in the James Bay Eeyou School in Chisasibi. While most Quebec school boards are categorized by language, CSB is categorize ...

operates Waapinichikush Elementary School (with 788 students) and the James Bay Eeyou School, a high school, which has 494 students ; ). The Eeyou School opened in 1980. Previously, the school provided boarding services for high schoolers from further afield of the

region, such as

Eastmain Eastmain (; ) is a Cree community located on the east coast of James Bay at the mouth of the Eastmain River, Quebec, Canada. It is a small coastal Cree village with a population of 924 people in the 2021 Canadian Census up from 866 people at ...

, and

, as (at the time) all high school classes in the region were located in Chisasibi. In addition,

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

is available in Chisasibi, including

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity. A calling, in the reli ...

and general education.

Gallery

File:20_Chisasibi_-_Administrative_Center.jpg, Administrative Centre File:Chisasibi_-__Church.jpg,

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

File:Chisasibi_-__Cree_girl.jpg, A Cree girl in Chisasibi File:Chisasibi_-_stop_sign.jpg, A stop sign, written in

File:16_Chisasibi_General_Store.jpg, Chisasibi General Store File:Chisabisi Palais de Justice.jpg, Chisasibi Courthouse (2015)

References

External links

Official website
{{Administrative divisions of Quebec region, Nord-du-Québec Cree villages in Quebec James Bay Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Eeyou Istchee (territory)