James Bay Lowlands

The James Bay lowlands are a country of flat wetlands and river routes long inhabited by Cree communities. Their seasonal movements connected coastal camps with inland hunting grounds. In summer, larger groups gathered near shorelines to fish and hunt waterfowl and other game, while berries and plant foods supplemented their diet. Councils, exchange and ceremonies also brought people together. In winter, extended families dispersed toward hunting country in smaller groups.

The seventeenth-century fur trade added European posts to this existing network. The Hudson's Bay Company established Moose Factory in 1673 on the Moose River near the bay, where Cree traders exchanged furs with its employees. Such posts depended on connections extending beyond their small settlements into the lowlands and interior. The region's history therefore includes both the continuity of Cree seasonal life and the growth of commercial relationships at river mouths; the arrival of a trading establishment did not mark the beginning of human occupation.