In 1670, a Royal Charter was granted to the "Governor and Company of Adventures of England trading into Hudson's Bay" and marked establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company. Other seasonal posts were established at the confluence of the Missisa and Attawapiskat rivers, the Opinnagau and Kapiskau rivers and Ghost River Post at the confluence of the Cheepay and Albany rivers. 2002. Somebody opened the door of the house where the affair was taking place before we reached it, and out into the darkness of the night streamed a cloud of steam, lighted from within, eerily mysterious, holding a magic like music in its swirl. And yet, we are all part of the same family. Then we heard the guns in the distance. News travels along our trails, and as we visited, we talked of the camp they had set up, and that they would trade us. We tried to talk about something general, but the conversation kept swinging back to Billie, and what might have happened in the Watts’ home across the way. It was our home. More than sixty-five tonnes of tobacco moved through York Factory between 1720 and 1774. George found a snow-drift contour which told him a tent had once been pitched on the spot. No one knew how badly Billie might have been burned — a boiling can, if opened without the greatest care, will violently spurt its scalding contents. Getting to Moosonee is half the fun! George Moore, our guide, was far ahead, finding the best trail (if trail there were in that chaos of jagged ice ridges and piled snow). Our Native land was changing. Although several Metis families living at Moose Factory and Fort Albany at the time of the Treaty were included in Treaty No. Priscilla is on the left. [5], The Hudson's Bay Company set up a new fort in 1730, one mile upstream from the old site, to accommodate Cree traders for whom travel to the other James Bay posts was too dangerous. Yet Mrs. Watt had made a casual statement and quietly but quickly gone to her son. Hwit!, Oke! We arrived at Moose Factory early in December 1941, and by the fifteenth had organized an expedition to Hannah Bay to shoot key scenes for the film. Hamilton, Ontario. Northern Stores, G.G. There were no shadows on the walls, where they should have been. The Moosonee Development Area Board. The staff house was built between 1847 and 1850, making it the oldest building in the James Bay area and the last surviving HBC officers' dwelling. From the lodge visitors can see Sawpit Island on the southern side of the canal and Charles Island on the opposite side of the canal. The largest employer is the Weeneebayko General Hospital, followed by Moose Cree First Nation and Northern Stores.[1]. You can help make our past relevant, engaging, empowering and accessible. Curry, Bill; Howlett, Karen (24 April 2007). Something so red, so beautiful, must have been the sweetest, juiciest berry ever to be eaten. He found it most puzzling. Not as a venture or a visit to the post, but came back because there was something entrancing there. The blacksmith shop is the last known surviving HBC blacksmith shop, built in 1849, and was used until 1934. It was as though our lives had begun when we returned to Moose Factory at three o’clock in the afternoon of Christmas day. We are committed to the preservation, education, and promotion of Hudson’s Bay Company’s history and the ongoing care and maintenance of the Company’s historical HBC Corporate Art, Artifact, Image, and Reference Collections. The musicians sat against one side of the room, holding their instruments casually, low. She lived by trapping furs and selling rabbits and fish to the residents of Moose Factory. Many of us carry links back to the treaty in our names and relatives. The room rang with Scotch accents — synonymous, we were learning, with the Hudson’s Bay Company northern personnel. Much to his surprise, there was no sweetness. 9, a regional federation of Indian Chiefs, now known as the "Nishnawbe-Aski Nation", as well as a local branch of the Ontario Metis and Non-Status Association, was organized. To the visitors, this was a strange and dangerous land. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries played an significant and almost irreversible role in the fields of education and medicine. Construction began in 1864 and was completed in 1885. Those of us who lived in the vicinity of the trading posts came to be known as the " Home Guard Cree" and they were the primary supplier of "country food" . Ten years later in 1696, the English recaptured it and burned it to the ground. Queen's University is the primary university[8] link with many medical students completing placements at the hospital. That was our 1941 Christmas Holiday at Moose Factory. They became dependent on the trading posts for arms and munitions as well as for a variety of other items such as fire-steels, knives, hatchets, ice chisels, and clothing. And to them, this was our Native land. Some post-secondary programs are provided by Northern College via distant learning (correspondence, video, and web-based courses) or Ontario Learn Courses (web-based). “The White Cockade,” reserved by the Moose Cree First Nations for this New Year’s custom. Billie might have to wear an eye shield for a day or two, but his burns were superficial. Ahead, George had stopped again, was waiting for us. But the Bay trail was unusually rough, and by the afternoon of the day before Christmas we were hardly half way to Moose Factory. In the struggle between the English and French in Canada, the fort changed hands several times and shortly after 1696 was destroyed. Will you come?”. The Moose Factory and Moosonee area has a very cold humid continental climate. The head of the goose was dried, decorated with beads and saved in honour of the spirit. In total, 51 graves stones can be found here. Most of the time, we had good relations with them. Doug Sinclair and I were making Fur Country, a colour film on trapping for the National Film Board of Canada. James Bay is on what is called the, 'North Atlantic Flyway', a major migration route for geese, ducks and many other migrating species. [5] Today, the North West Company operates a grocery and general goods store at the Moose Cree Complex and a furniture, outdoor vehicles, fast food outlet and convenience store near some of the historic HBC buildings. Eden, but his burns were superficial routes to supply the Company reestablished it in 1730 the Hudson Bay.... `` a long time by metal tools and firearms 1864 and was completed at Moosonee the... And saved in honour of the most renowned of the Moose River opposite of Moosonee, town Cochrane. 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