Mistissini ( meaning Big Rock) is a

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 ...

town located in the south-east corner of the largest natural lake in

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, ...

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, app ...

. 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 20,000 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 7,233 people (2021 Canadian census). Chibougamau is surrounded by, but not part of, the local municipality of Eeyou ...

, 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 a river 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 large whitewater on ...

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), 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 ...

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

Waskaganish Waskaganish (/, 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 Nord-du-Québec, Canada. Waskaganish is part of the territory referred to as " Eeyou Istchee" ( ...

) 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 Eastm ...

. 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 (, ) 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 of , and is ...

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 (). 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)