The Project: Five Nations

The York Factory First Nation (YFFN) Ininewuk have lived on the land that is now northeastern Manitoba for thousands of years – since the glaciers melted. During this time, we developed an intimate relationship with the land – an unbroken cultural thread transmitted from our ancestors to current members of the community. To be Ininewuk was, and still is, to be part of an ancient tradition that mastered and specialized in life in a most challenging environment. Through our cultural teachings and practices, our relationship to the land has supported our health and well-being since before recorded history.

Our ancestral lands run all along the coast of the Hudson Bay from Churchill, MB to Fort Severn, ON. The Nelson and Hayes Rivers are significant historical travel routes for our people throughout the lowlands, as well as smaller rivers like the Kaskatamakan, Pennycuttaway, and Owl/ Ohoo Seepee.

In 1957, the last of the Nayhenaway Ininewuk at York Factory were forcibly relocated to York Landing (Kawéchiwásik) and built a new community over 250 km from our original homelands.

There are currently more than 1,500 YFFN members living in Churchill, Thompson, Winnipeg and beyond, with approximately 450 of those living on reserve at York Landing.

Our home community is located in Split Lake, Manitoba, and is home to more than 2,300 of our 4,000-plus members. Our ancestral lands are marked by two mighty rivers – the Churchill and the Nelson, as well as rich boreal forest and the Hudson Bay lowlands and coastline. This land is our home, and we maintain a deep spiritual and emotional connection to it.

Through access programs and family camps, our people continue to travel throughout our territory, harvest and share our traditional foods, and maintain our connection to Askiy.

The Fox Lake Cree have inhabited Northern Manitoba for centuries. Our ancestors developed skills to allow them to live a holistic, healthy, and rich life off the land and all it provides. When European settlers arrived with the fur trade, we adapted and found ways to take advantage of the opportunities that these changes brought to our territory, all while maintaining our connection to land and culture. To this day, to the people of Fox Lake Cree Nation say, “The Land and The People are One”.

With the arrival of the Canadian National Railway (CNR), our people came to settle within our territory at what is now known as the town of Gillam. Valued for our knowledge of the northern landscape with skills that complemented a life along the remote tracks, our community adapted to employment on the railway. For decades Fox Lake people have lived in relative cooperation with the CNR, while still engaging in our traditional way of life by living off the land.

Since our settlement in Gillam, the area has become a hub for hydro-electric development along the lower Nelson River, which was our main travel route for our Nation to reach our traditional territories along the Hudson Bay coast. While this route has been disrupted, we maintain connection to the lands around the Nelson, as well as the Weir, Kettle and Fox rivers.

Our community is located in Bird, 750 kilometres (1,200 kms by road) North East of Winnipeg, Manitoba. There are approximately 1,300 Fox Lake members, of which approximately 200 live on the Fox Lake reserve land in Bird, as well as on a small piece of reserve land in Gillam. Approximately 1,000 members live off reserve, including about 300 in the Town of Gillam, with others living primarily in Winnipeg, Thompson, and Churchill, Manitoba.”

Our Nation has always lived in harmony with the land, sharing the land and its resources. Our members originated from Tataskweyak First Nation and since many resided in Ilford, it was decided among the Elders of Ilford that they wanted their own reserve.  After many talks with the Federal Government, we were granted reserve status and named War Lake First Nation. War Lake First Nation is recognized as “Mooseocoot IR reserve” and is adjacent to the town of Ilford. War Lake obtained reserve status in 1981 and has a population of 330 members living on reserve.

Our community originated as a construction and service centre during the building of the Hudson Bay Railway. Later it served as a marshalling point for prospectors during the Island Lake gold rush, and then as a similar marshalling point for the network of winter freight roads going east from Ilford. It also served as a fishing transport centre to many communities by flying the tubs of fish to fishing depots in the north. Our community was once known as the “hub of north”.  The “Gold Trail Inn” operated by Clifford (Kip) and Emily (Mickey) Thompson was the main point of communication for many years.

Our Nation continues to maintain strong connections to the land and our traditional territories that connect with the Aiken, Cyril, Fox, Hayes, and Nelson Rivers. We continue to have strong ancestral ties to our homelands along the Hudson Bay coast and seek to protect it for future generations.