Peawanuck is an isolated

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 ...

community in the

Kenora District, Ontario Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora. It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it larger ...

, Canada. It is located near the confluence of the Winisk and Shamattawa rivers, about 35 km from the Winisk River's end in

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 ...

. Its population is 237. Its population used to live in the community of Winisk (), near the mouth of the Winisk River. This also used to be a

Mid-Canada Line The Mid-Canada Line (MCL), also known as the McGill Fence, was a line of radar stations running east–west across the middle of Canada, used to provide early warning of a Soviet bomber attack on North America. It was built to supplement the ...

Radar site. In 1986, its population was forced to abandon Winisk as a result of the Winisk Flood Disaster. The community was relocated thirty kilometers up-river on higher ground. The new settlement was renamed Peawanuck, meaning "flintstone" in the

Cree language Cree ( ; also known as Cree–Montagnais language, Montagnais–Naskapi language, Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 people across Canada in 2021, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to ...

. It only took seven months for the community to be rebuilt in Peawanuck, with much credit going to the community members who were determined to have their new homes ready by the winter. It is surrounded by lands of the

Polar Bear Provincial Park Polar Bear Provincial Park is an isolated wilderness park in the far north of Ontario, Canada. It lies on the western shore where James Bay joins Hudson Bay. The terrain is part of the Hudson Bay Lowlands and features unspoiled low-lying tundra i ...

providing Peawanuck with limited tourism opportunities. It lies at similar latitudes to

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a po ...

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

but has much harsher winters than those other cities.

Transportation

Peawanuck is not accessible by year-round road but has an airfield ( Peawanuck Airport). Marked roads exists for travel within Peawanuck. While the roads have no names, the main road in town is referred to as ''Main Street'' and the one along the river as ''Riverside''. There are private cars or light trucks in town, but other modes of travel include snowmobiles and canoe. The town is linked by

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Int ...

s in the winter towards Fort Severn, Ontario, and ultimately, Shamattawa, Manitoba and

Gillam, Manitoba Gillam is a town on the Nelson River in northern Manitoba, Canada. It is situated between Thompson and Churchill on the Hudson Bay Railway line. Many residents of Gillam are employed by Manitoba Hydro at one of their many facilities or suppo ...

Emergency Services

Peawanuck has no hospitals, and is only served by one of two

Health Canada Health Canada (HC; )Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary units, department of the Gove ...

funded Weeneebayko Area Health Authority Partnership Sites. The Peawanuck Nursing station provides basic health care needs in the community. It is federally run by

's First Nation and Inuit Branch, and partnered with Weeneebayko Area Health Authority. Peawanuck Nursing Station (staffed by two nurses) can be assisted by doctors at Weeneebayko Area Health Authority via teleconference, with occasional physician visits. Advanced medical care requires transport by air ambulance operated by James Bay Ambulance Services from Peawanuck Airport to Timmins or Kingston. There is a fire station in town, which is staffed by about a dozen volunteers using a single fire truck. Peawanuck is

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

d by the

Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS), also occasionally known as the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (without a hyphen) is the police agency for Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN). As of July 2020, NAPS has 34 detachments in NAN communities across the ...

, an Aboriginal-based service staffed by two officers.

Utilities and Public Works

Electricity for the community is provided by three diesel generators and are maintained by the

Ministry of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

. There is a waste water treatment plant that serves all residential homes and most business. There is no sanitation services in Peawanuck due to lack of funds so waste is handled locally.

Government Services

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources The Ministry of Natural Resources is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that is responsible for Ontario's provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87 pe ...

provides staffing at the

Office.

Ontario Ministry of Transportation The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is the provincial ministry of the Government of Ontario that is responsible for transport infrastructure and related law in Ontario, Canada. The ministry traces its roots back over a century to the 1890s, wh ...

has a garage in Peawanuck, maintains the power generators and manages the local airport. MTO has housing for out of town staff. A

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...

postal station is located in the Band Administration offices. Mail is delivered to Peawanuck by air with contract services with

Thunder Airlines Thunder Airlines is a Canadian scheduled flight, air charter, charter and Medical evacuation, medevac airline based in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It offers an on-demand charter service from bases in Thunder Bay and Timmins. The company was founded i ...

Local Government

The local band council consists of band chief with 2 or 3 councilors elected to 2 year terms. Band Offices are located at a shared facility with FNP and Canada Post.

Media

There are no newspapers in town. The Band Office maintains a local radio station, but has limited service time. Television and radio services is by satellite only.

Religion

Peawanuck has a local Catholic Church shaped as a teepee. Most residents are Catholic with a few Traditionalist or

Born Again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

Recreation

There is no community centre and limited recreation facilities maintained by the Band Council or Catholic Church: * 2 outdoor

ballparks A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

* Catholic Church Children's

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

* Outdoor

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

with Zamboni (broken) * Multi-purpose Room * Drop-In Centre

Education

Matahhamao opened in 1995 by Weenusk Education Services is the only school in the community and offers classes up to Grade 8. Students moving on to Grades 9 to 12 and beyond must travel to large communities like Timmins and

Moosonee Moosonee () is a town in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, on the Moose River approximately south of James Bay. It is considered to be "the Gateway to the Arctic" and has Ontario's only saltwater port. Nearby, on Moose Factory Island, is the com ...

Economy

The community is served by a single store, a

Northern Store The North West Company Inc. is a multinational Canadian grocery and retail company which operates stores in Canada's western provinces and northern territories; the US states of Alaska and Hawaii; and several other countries and US territo ...

, and other goods must be shipped in by air. Northern Store provides banking services via fax to

CIBC The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

Scotiabank The Bank of Nova Scotia (), operating as Scotiabank (), is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada's Big Five (banks), Big Five banks, it is the ...

in Moosonee and Timmins respectively. * Peawanuck Development Corporation - operates Peawanuck Petroleum, General Store, Annual Barger Services and maintains winter road * Hudson's Bay Adventures - offers outdoor adventures at Polar Bear Provincial Park * Louie's Store (Louis Chookomolin Diversified Products)

Climate

Peawanuck 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 ...

( Dfc) due to its location in far

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

, which brings long cold winters and short but mild summers. Peawanuck is one of the coldest communities in Ontario, having far different weather than the more populous parts of Ontario.

Notes

References

{{authority control Communities in Kenora District Algonquian ethnonyms Cree reserves in Ontario Swampy Cree