Hundreds of years of settlement by Europeans still has not managed to make people set aside or forget who the original inhabitants were here. It is impossible to forget who the inhabitants were here simply due to the historical reminders or evidence in the names of many Canadian and American cities. Do a little test for yourself by just thinking about how many Native names of rivers and lakes and places there are right in your own location.
First Nation people through history give names to places, rivers or lakes on the land with references that describe the place or something that happened there. This is in contrast to a European manner of naming places on the land after people. In my own experience as a Cree born and raised in Attawapiskat I have visited many places on the land on the shores of the great James Bay and most were named in my language.
For instance, there is a very popular island that we Crees use for hunting, trapping and recreation. In the summer months Akamiski is visited by many families who stay for long durations. They are happy to leave town and go on a holiday where they revisit how my people lived for thousands of years. I guess you could compare people leaving Attawapiskat and going to Akamiski to people down south leaving their towns and cities and going to the cottage. Going to Akamiski is a kind of escape from the community and the modern life we have to live. Akamiski is named for its location (Land on the Other Side). A hundred years ago my people only had canoes in the warm seasons to travel the rivers and the great James Bay and in the winter transportation was by snowshoe or by dog sled. Akamiski was very far away in those days, hence the reference to land on the other side.
Attawapiskat was actually named also for its location, and the word comes from the Cree word Katawapiskak (River Between Rocks). If you head down the river by boat for a few hours you will come across the area that features high rock cliffs on either side of the river. Kashachewan, a community about 100 kilometres south of Attawapiskat, is named for the flow of the river (Swift Current). Fort Albany across the Albany River from Kashachewan is known in Cree as Peetabek (an area of many waterways that meet and flow into the Albany).
About 20 kilometres south of Attawapiskat there is a river called Akiko Sipi which refers to the great number of seals that have been seen on this water way. Akiko Sipi means (Seal River). Wapashiwi Sipi is a river 80 kilometres north of Attawapiskat. Wapashiwi Sipi (Swan River) is named for swan sightings and is a favourite hunting ground for geese and moose. Cheepawi Shipishish meaning (Ghost Creek) is a small artery of water north of Attawapiskat where my family has hunted in the past. Kashipieyak refers to a place about 40 kilometres north of Attawapiskat on the banks of the James Bay. Kashipieyak is a description of the forest where the branches of the pine trees start far up the trunk which is unique in this part of the country. About 160 kilometres north of Attawapiskat there is a place called Mooshawak which refers to the land at that spot. Mooshawak (Barren Land) is a description of the flat tundra this far north. This is one of the places where my people travel many hours to hunt caribou.
All along the James Bay coast, in the interior and on the islands, Cree families have their own traditional hunting, trapping and fishing grounds. My father Marius and my mother Susan as well as other Elders in Attawapiskat know these areas by name, but also the families that hunt, trap and fish there. These places are also remembered by my people for happenings such as a location where someone was born or passed away and was buried.
If you get a map of Ontario out and look on the coast of James Bay you will see some of the places I have noted. Then again, you can see right in your own back yard that Native names are prevalent. Just for an example consider Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Cayuga, Winnipeg and of course let’s not forget Canada.
