Big Trout Lake

Big Trout Lake is a large lake in northern Ontario, set within the wooded and watery country of the Canadian Shield. The Fawn River enters from the west and leaves from the east, making the lake part of a longer canoe and water route through the region. Irregular shores, islands and nearby wetlands break the open water into sheltered passages. Fish, waterfowl and game supplied products to communities whose travel followed the seasons and the connected lakes and rivers.

Post Island lies near the northern shore and contains the reserve of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, also known by the English name Big Trout Lake. The community’s position on an island within a large inland lake reflects the importance of water access in a northern landscape where overland movement could be difficult. Canoes in summer and routes across frozen lakes and snow in winter linked settlements, hunting grounds and wider trade networks.

The reserve and settlement are the best documented features of the area. The Fawn River’s passage through the lake gives the site a clear geographical function: it gathers water from the west and carries it eastward, while the many bays and islands create local shelter. This is a northern lake environment of forest, marsh and rock, where settlement follows the shore and movement depends on the seasonal condition of land and water.