Missinihe

Missinnihe, the “trusting creek”, is the Mississaugas' name for the river that flows south into Lake Ontario. Its valley was a favoured place for hunting, fishing, gathering and spiritual activities. French traders gave the river its later name, Credit, after advancing goods against furs to be delivered in the following season. In 1805 the Mississaugas and the Crown made an agreement concerning lands at the head of Lake Ontario, confirmed in 1806. The Mississaugas retained a strip on each bank of the Credit River and the sole right to fish there. The river remained central to the community even as settlement spread across the surrounding country.