Doug
Cuthand

NATIVE AFFAIRS


Names reflect Sask.'s diverse culture

Saskatchewan is really two separate provinces. Half exists in the southern prairies and the other half exists in the northern half, a land of forest, lakes and mighty rivers.

When the prairies were being settled, the European contact in the north was entering its second century. Saskatchewan was settled in the north first, and the names of rivers, lakes and settlements reflect this.

In the south, the railways named most of the towns and cities. In the north, the names are the result of a combination of First Nations and fur traders' names that reflect the cultural diversity.

The early explorers often would ask the local people what a certain lake or river was called and record it as such. Other times, they would name it after themselves, or a king or company owner.

Sometimes, their nostalgia would get in the way. The early French explorers who first came to Montreal Lake remarked at the abundant bird life. "This place is noisier than Montreal," one remarked. The name stuck.

On the western shore of Montreal Lake, there is a story of how a man was heading north with his dog team. At a river mouth, his dogs spotted a moose and took off in pursuit.

Apparently, the dogs were not too well-trained, because the man couldn't control them and they ended up tangled in the bush. The man cursed his dogs and the place became known as "the swearing place" or Weyakwin. Later, the river and the lake at its headwaters would receive the same name.

Weyakwin Lake is located within the Thunder Hills. One particular landmark is the high hill known as, "Thunder Mountain". This place was so named because at one time this was where a thunderbird lived. This mountain is considered sacred by the local Indian people and has been spared from development or logging.

To the north, the Churchill River received its name from the early Hudson's Bay Company explorers. However, it remains "Missinippi" to the Cree people. Missinippi means "big water", referring to the size of the river and the fact that it is more often a chain of lakes than a river.

Further north, Reindeer Lake was named by the local Dene people because it was the southern range for the great herds of caribou that migrated south every winter. It lost its true meaning in the translation because reindeer are the European equivalent of caribou.

Lake Athabaska was named after the resident Dene people who were called "Athabaskans" by the fur traders.

To the east of Lac La Ronge, Wapeweka Lake is known by the Indian people as "Pipestone Lake" because it was a place where a soft rock known as pipestone could be gathered to make pipes. "Wapeweka" means sandy hills, referring to the Wapeweka Hills south of the lake.

Further south, the early fur traders followed the Saskatchewan River south on to the Great Plains. They met a set of rapids known as "Squaw Rapids". They were so called because they were gentle, and women and children could safely traverse them.

In Cree, the word for woman is "esquew". This was turned into the pejorative "squaw" and was used to denigrate and dehumanize Indian women. Squaw Rapids has now been changed to the politically correct "Thunder Rapids", but the point is moot because the rapids have long since disappeared under a hydro-electric dam.

Further down the river, the explorers came upon a place where Indian people were camping.

They chose this location because they could see a long way down the river when they were waiting for hunting and trading parties. When they were asked what they called this place, the answer was, "the place where we stand and wait" -- and thus Nipawin received its name.

Northern Saskatchewan has a rich history that it is reflected in the variety of names in French, First Nations and English. It is one of the most Canadian of places.

(Cuthand is a Saskatoon freelance writer.)


From page A3 of The Leader-Post, Monday, April 26, 1999

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