The Town of Matagami was founded in 1963. It originated with the development of mining in the area.

Before Matagami

The Matagami territory has been occupied long before the arrival of white men. In the 17th century already, the Crees in the area took part in fur trading with English traders from James Bay and French traders from Abitibi and Temiscamingue.

As sturgeons and white fish were plentiful at Waswanipi Lake, a commercial fishery was started in the thirties. Later in 1962, several Cree families moved to Matagami, the first of which were the Kitchen and Otter families. The Cree population increased steadily until 1975, when a massive migration took place towards the Waswanipi community.

The Crees have a long tradition centered for the most part on hunting and fishing. Learning how to be a good hunter or skilled fisherman, travelling in a canoe or with a dogsled, preparing and preserving wild foods, tanning pelts and making snowshoes : those are all part of the knowledge passed on from generation to generation.

From yesterday to today : Relive Matagami's history, from 1960 till today.