Peawanuck First Nation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 55°0′30″N, 85°25′20″W Peawanuck is an isolated Cree community in the Kenora District, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the confluence of the Winisk and Shamattawa Rivers, about 35 km from the Winisk River's end in Hudson Bay. Its population is 139 (2001 Canada Census).

Its population used to live in the community of Winisk (55°16′N, 85°11′W), near the mouth of the Winisk River. This also used to be a Mid-Canada Line Radar site. In 1986, its population was forced to abandon Winisk as a result of the Winisk Flood Disaster. The community was relocated thirty kilometers up-river on higher ground. The new settlement was renamed Peawanuck, meaning "flintstone" in the Cree language. It is surrounded by lands of the Polar Bear Provincial Park providing Peawanuck with limited tourism opportunities.

Peawanuck is not accessible by year-round road but has an airfield (Peawanuck Airport). The town is however, linked by winter/ice roads in the winter towards Fort Severn, Ontario, and ultimately, Shamattawa, Manitoba and Gillam, Manitoba.

Peawanuck is policed by the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, an Aboriginal based service.