Oxford House is a First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 Cree

Cree

The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...

 community in Northern Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, located on the Oxford House 24 Indian Reserve

Indian reserve

In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...

. According to the web site of the Bunibonibee Cree Nation

Bunibonibee Cree Nation

Bunibonibee Cree Nation, formerly known as Oxford House First Nation and as Oxford House Band of Indians, is a First Nation located along the eastern shoreline of Oxford Lake at the mouth of the Hayes River and is approximately northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The residents are predominantly...

, "Oxford House was originally one of the trading posts set up by the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

, en route to Norway House

Norway House, Manitoba

- Treaty and York Boat Days :Held annually each summer, the York Boat events serve as the main attraction.-External links:* * * *...

. People from nearby areas, as far as York Factory

York Factory, Manitoba

York Factory was a settlement and factory located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. The settlement was headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Northern Department, from 1821 to...

, moved to the trading site and formed the community of Oxford House. The main dialect spoken is Cree

Cree language

Cree is an Algonquian language spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Labrador, making it the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada. It is also spoken in the U.S. state of Montana...

. The United Church

United Church of Canada

The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...

 played a major role in the development of the community. The ministers and their wives were the first nurses and teachers. Oxford House officially became a community in 1798. The community is located along the Eastern shoreline of Oxford Lake

Oxford Lake

Oxford Lake is a lake on the Hayes River in Manitoba, Canada. It is vaguely man-shaped, with a 'head' on the east, a 'neck', a northwest-southeast shoulder line and a 'torso' that tapers to a point in the west. The head is about 7 by 5 miles, the neck one mile across and the shoulder line 11...

 at the mouth of Hayes River, 950 kilometres (590.3 mi) North of Winnipeg." Oxford House has a high school, a nursing station and a Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

detachment.

External links

• Map of Oxford House 24 at Statcan