The North West Company Île-à-la-Crosse

Ile-a-la-Crosse is the second oldest community in Saskatchewan. It has a rich history being connected to the Churchill River, Beaver River and Canoe River systems. This Métis village of approximately 1300, is situated at the end of a peninsula that stretches into Lac Ile-a-la-Crosse. The community is located 685 km from Saskatoon. The Cree name for Ile-a-la-Crosse is Sakitawak which means “the place where the river flows out.” Because of its strategic location, it became the administrative centre of the English River District of the Hudson’s Bay Company and an important supply depot on the fur trade route during the latter part of the 18th century and most of the 19th century.