Amisk Lake

Amisk Lake lies on the Sturgeon-Weir River in east-central Saskatchewan, about twenty-two kilometres southwest of Flin Flon. Its Cree name means “beaver,” an appropriate label in a lake-and-river country where fur-bearing animals made water travel profitable. The Sturgeon-Weir formed part of the canoe passage from eastern Canada toward the rich Lake Athabasca country. This chain of lakes and short portages carried traders, canoes and goods across difficult terrain.

An independent trading post appeared on the lake in 1775, followed by a Hudson’s Bay Company post in 1776. Alexander Henry the elder and the Frobishers crossed on 1 November that year; ice formed overnight and good fishing persuaded them to winter at the mouth of the West Weir, where they built a fort. Joseph Frobisher maintained the post until 1778. Cold-season conditions had made an intended transit into a winter base. The lake’s waters support walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, lake trout, whitefish, cisco and several kinds of sucker and burbot, sustaining a landscape long shaped by fishing and canoe traffic.