Mattagami

Mattagami lies in the lake country of northeastern Ontario, at the headwaters of the river that bears its name. The Mattagami flows north to join the Missinaibi, forming the Moose River on its way to James Bay. Its name has been interpreted as “lake at the forks,” an apt designation in a country of branching waters.

During the 1790s the Hudson’s Bay Company established a trading post on the upper Mattagami, while the North West Company also sought trade on Mattagami Lake. Their competition drew on the hunting, travel and trading networks of the Indigenous people of the region. Mattagami Post belonged to the company’s Kenogamissi district, alongside Flying Post on the Groundhog River, another river draining north toward James Bay.