Lake Mistassini

Lake Mistassini stretches through the forests east of James Bay, its waters flowing out by the Rupert River. The name means “large rock” and may refer to a great boulder near the outlet. Cree people have lived around the lake and throughout the Rupert watershed for thousands of years. Its long reaches and rocky shores formed an important stage on the canoe route between the Saguenay and James Bay.

In 1672 the Jesuit Charles Albanel and his companions reached the lake with Indigenous canoeists. After persuading Mistassini people to let the party continue, they followed the waterways to the mouth of the Rupert, where they found an English ship and two empty houses. The journey brought French missionaries and traders into closer contact with the inhabitants of the northern interior.