Eastmain

Eastmain, river, c.510 mi (820 km) long, rising in the Otish Mts., central Que., Canada, and flowing W into James Bay. Three miles (4.8 km) from its mouth is East Main (founded 1685), one of the oldest Hudson's Bay Company posts.

Eastmain is a Cree community located on James Bay at the mouth of the Eastmain River, Quebec, Canada. It is the smallest of the coastal Cree villages with a population of 606 people (2001 Canada census). Its alternate Cree name is "Wapanoutauw", meaning Lands east of James Bay.

Like the other coastal villages on Hudson and James Bay, Eastmain also started out as a Hudson's Bay Company trading post, originally called East Main House.

Eastmain is accessible by air (Eastmain River Airport) and by car over a gravel road linking it to the Route de la Baie James.

The Eastmain community was greatly affected by the James Bay Hydroelectric Project, which saw 90% of the Eastmain River diverted to the La Grande River in 1980.

See also

• Hudson's Bay Company
• Grand Council of the Crees

External links

• http://www.ottertooth.com/Native_K/eastmain.htm