Fort Severn First Nation () is a Western Swampy Cree First Nation

band government In Canada, an Indian band (), First Nation band () or simply band, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the ''Indian Act'' (i.e. status Indians or First Nations). Bands are typically small groups of people: the largest in ...

located on the Severn River near

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

. It is the northernmost community in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. In 2001, the population was 401, consisting of 90 families in an area of 40 square kilometres. The legal name of the reserve is Fort Severn 89, with the main settlement of Fort Severn (; ). The town is linked by a

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

/ ice road called the Wapusk Trail during the winter to Peawanuck,

, in the east, and Shamattawa and Gillam, Manitoba, to the west. Fort Severn is

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

d by the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, an Indigenous-based service.

History

This area was inhabited for thousands of years by varying cultures of

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. At the time of European contact, the historic Swampy Cree, an Algonquian-speaking people, lived in the area. In 1689 the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

built Fort Severn at this site, originally naming it Fort James; it was one of the earliest English

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

posts in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

. After years of international competition between the English and French, with their wars playing out in North America, the French attacked the outpost and pillaged it in 1782 when they were allies of the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. In the early 20th century, when the federal government negotiated a treaty with the First Nations, it set aside land for a native reserve in the Rocksand area at the confluence of the Severn and Sachigo Rivers, with the consent of the leaders at the time. In 1973, the reserve was relocated to the mouth of the Severn River on

, for more direct access to shipping. The reserve achieved full status on January 11, 1980.

Government

The local band council consists of an elected chief, a deputy chief, and four band councillors.

Community services

There is no hospital in Fort Severn, with medical needs provided either at the local nursing station or via Keewaytinook Okimakanak Telemedicine (KOTM) link. The Community Doctor (Christopher Arthur Giles) travels in every month to do regular check-ups, follow-ups, and schedule appointments and surgeries. Specialists such as optometrists, dentists, and hygienists travel to Fort Severn every two to three months.

Transportation

There are only local roads in town and residents travel by car, snowmobile, four-wheelers, or walking. The Fort Severn Airport is located a short distance from the settlement and is reached by an access road.

Education

Wasaho Cree Nation School is the full functioning school providing primary education needs. It was built in 2016, preparing students for 21st century learning. Keewaytinook Internet High School is housed in a small building and provides distance learning for residents needing secondary education.

Climate

Fort Severn has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

( Dfc) and is one of the coldest communities in Ontario. Summers typically have cool to mild weather with short heatwaves, while winters are severely cold and long, lasting from October to sometimes through May.

In popular culture

Fort James, a British settlement controlled by a governor who reports to the king and who represents Hudson Bay Company, is the principal setting of the 2016 television series, ''Frontier''. As Ann Foster describes for ScreenerTV, "'Frontier' is set in the coastal settlement of Fort James: A snowy, treacherous pocket of land that would, in a century’s time, become part of Canada." A town by the name of Fort Severn is featured in several episodes of the 1996 anime series '' After War Gundam X''. Johnny Cash mentions Fort Severn in the last line of the song " Girl in Saskatoon" (alternate version), written by Cash and Johnny Horton while they travelled through Canada in 1960.

References

Stats Canada

External links

Fort Severn First Nation
{{authority control Populated places on Hudson Bay Cree reserves in Ontario Communities in Kenora District Nishnawbe Aski Nation Hudson's Bay Company forts Road-inaccessible communities of Ontario Swampy Cree