Sakitawahk

Sakitawak, “where the waters meet,” is the Cree name for Île-à-la-Crosse and its lake on the upper Churchill River. A peninsula reaches into the broad water where routes from the Beaver and Churchill rivers come together. Cree and Dene people gathered and travelled through this lake country long before the arrival of trading posts.

In 1776 Thomas Frobisher established a post on the lake. Its position made it a centre of the northern fur trade: provisions could come up the Beaver River from the plains, while the route north crossed the Methye Portage towards Athabasca. Rival traders followed, and the Hudson's Bay Company sought a foothold in 1799. After its union with the North West Company in 1821, Île-à-la-Crosse became the headquarters of the district. A Métis community grew around the lake and the relationships formed through trade.