Punnichy ( 2016 population: ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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 ...

within the Rural Municipality of Mount Hope No. 279 and Census Division No. 10. It is northeast of the City of Regina. This village is part of the original " Alphabet Line" of the main

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

line with Lestock to the east and Quinton to the west (the M, N, O towns have long since been deserted). Punnichy derived its name from , "fledgling bird with few feathers", a

Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and Ojibwa ethnonyms, other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band governm ...

joke referring to the appearance of a pioneer merchant. Punnichy is along Highway 15 in the heart of the

Touchwood Hills Touchwood Hills are a range of hills in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The hills are composed of the "Big" Touchwood Hills and the Little Touchwood Hills. Together they are referred to as the Touchwood Uplands. The hills are in the Pra ...

between Quinton and Lestock. It is surrounded by four First Nation reserves: Muskowekwan, Kawacatoose, Daystar and

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

. Punnichy was the location of one of the last operating residential schools in Canada, Gordon Indian Residential School, which closed in 1996. Punnichy is part of the provincial constituency Last Mountain-Touchwood and federal constituency

Regina—Qu'Appelle Regina—Qu'Appelle (formerly Qu'Appelle) is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1968 and since 1988. Geography The district includes the northeastern ...

. In 2009, Punnichy celebrated its centennial.

History

Punnichy incorporated as a village on October 22, 1909.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the 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%, which is sli ...

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 ...

, Punnichy 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. In the 2016 Census of Population, the Village of Punnichy recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Education

Punnichy has an elementary school, high school and a Carlton Trail Regional College centre. Punnichy Community High School is unique within the Horizon School Division, in that it is run on the quadmester system, with 4 terms in a school year. The students take four classes in the first quadamester, two each morning and another two each afternoon. The first quadmester lasts 90 school days and the remaining 3 each last about 35 days. In the last 3 quadmesters, students take one class all morning and another all afternoon. A satellite facility of Punnichy high school is the George Gordon Computer Education Centre in the community centre on Gordon First Nation. The facility assists First Nations students to return to school or pick up extra classes to move into post-secondary or job training. The program is "at your own pace" and is similar to "store front" programs in urban centres. Gordon's Indian Residential School, located in Punnichy and which closed its doors in 1996, was one of the last federally-funded residential school in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

.Miller, J.R. 2012 October 10.
Residential Schools in Canada
" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (last edited 2020 September 2).Gordon’s
" ''

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR; , ) is the Archive, archival repository for all of the material collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, purposed to compile the complete history and legacy of Canadia ...

''.

Notable people

* Nolan Yonkman, a defenceman for the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

, was born in Punnichy. *Ernest Luthi, noted Saskatchewan artist * Jim Sinclair, Indigenous political leader * Dr. Raymond Sentes- Professor of Political Science, Anti-Asbestos Activist *

Jeffery Straker Jeffery Straker is a Canadian folk/roots singer-songwriter, based in Punnichy, Saskatchewan. His piano-based folk/roots musical style has drawn comparisons to Kris Kristofferson, Elton John, Neil Young, and Rufus Wainwright Biography Early li ...

, singer

References

{{SKDivision10 Villages in Saskatchewan Mount Hope No. 279, Saskatchewan Division No. 10, Saskatchewan

History

Demographics

Education

Notable people

See also

References