Fort-Rupert
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Waskaganish ᐙᔅᑳᐦᐄᑲᓂᔥ (Cree) |
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|---|---|
| cree community | |
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| Etymology: Little House | |
 Waskaganish
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| Coordinates: 51°29′N 78°45′W / 51.48°N 78.75°WCoordinates: 51°29′N 78°45′W / 51.48°N 78.75°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 Quebec
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| Region | Northern Quebec |
| TE | Eeyou Istchee |
| Government | |
| • Type | Cree reserved land |
| • Chief | Darlene Cheechoo |
| Area | |
| • Land | 502.26 km2 (193.92 sq mi) |
| Population (2016 Census) | |
| • Total | 2,196 |
| • Density | 4.4/km2 (11/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
| Postal Code | J0M 1R0 |
| Area code(s) | 819 |
| Website | www |
Waskaganish (Cree: ᐙᔅᑳᐦᐄᑲᓂᔥ/Wâskâhîkaniš, Little House) is a Cree community of over 2,200 people at the mouth of the Rupert River on the south-east shore of James Bay in the Eeyou Istchee territory in Northern Quebec, Canada. Formerly called Fort Rupert, the location is one of three original Hudson's Bay Company posts on James Bay, the other two being Fort Albany on the west shore, and Moose Factory on the south.
Waskaganish has had road access to the James Bay Road since 2001. It has two school facilities: Ecole Annie Whiskeychan Memorial Elementary School (primary) and Ecole Wiinibekuu School (secondary).
According to the Waskaganish First Nation official website,
"Human presence in the James Bay area is believed to have begun some 7000 years ago, although the earliest artefacts recently found in the region of Waskaganish date to some 3000-3500 years old. Aboriginal hunting groups migrated from the south and west, first as seasonal hunting parties and later permanently establishing themselves in what is known as Eeyou Istchee (the Cree traditional territory in eastern James Bay). Although populations fluctuated over the centuries, the pre-contact period is characterized by a subsistence economy based on hunting and trapping of small and large game, fishing and seasonal gathering.
According to a study on aboriginal fur trade, Cree hunting groups of three or four families moved from traditional seasonal fishing and hunting camps. They often stayed close to watersheds.
In 2012, a local resident of Waskaganish found rough-looking stone blades and arrowheads at the Saunders Goose Pond on Waskaganish territory that could be between 4,000 and 7,000 years old. In 2012 archaeological teams were digging near the Smokey Hill rapids about 20 kilometres from Waskaganish, a traditional weir fishing site where families have gathered annually in late summer for generations. Prior to construction of the hydroelectric project and the partial diversion of the Rupert River which exposed the shoreline, the natural current forced fish into the weir. After the diversion, scoop-net fishing pools were unusable. By 2011 there were larger concentrations of cisco at Gravel Pit, they were smaller than previous years.
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Wikipedia