History

Origins of the Moose Cree

Dwellers of the Muskeg

For millennia, we Mushkego Ininewuck (dwellers of the muskeg) have resided in our Homeland. We're a relatively homogenous linguistic and cultural group, differing in many ways from the east coast Cree of Quebec and other Cree groupings.

We are traditionally a peaceful nation and we have a peaceful history in and around the James Bay and Hannah Bay regions.

A culture of learning through stories and actions

We are an oral people and our understanding of what is called "history" has been passed down from generation to generation through stories and actions. Much of our history is found in our traditional practices on the land and within our homes.

The Fur Trade

There are many Cree stories, as well as written historical accounts, of Hannah Bay's role in Canada's fur trade history. Most historians agree that the first contact between Europeans and the Cree occurred in 1611 at the mouth of the Churchill River.

After a visit to the Rupert River in 1668, trade began in southern James Bay near present day Waskaganish, Quebec, where the Hudson's Bay Company's first Canadian outpost was established. Attracted by more lucrative trading opportunities, the HBC relocated its headquarters to the Moose River in 1673, where Ontario's first English settlement, Moose Factory, was established.

An outpost at Hannah Bay was launched soon after the establishment of the Moose Fort, serving as a trade centre for Crees to the north-east and Algonquians and other groups to the southeast, and was active well into the nineteenth century.

Washow is situated on this rich historical and archaeological site, which has been well-documented through professional archaeological work by John Pollock in the first phase of this initiative. The Washow site itself was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post during the fur trade. And between 1947 and 1992, the Ontario Northland Railway operated its Hannah Bay Goose Camp here.

Now, it is an ecotourism lodge that welcomes the world.