The Communities of Lac La Ronge
Lac La Ronge is one of the largest Lakes in Northern Saskatchewan. Because of it’s size and it’s connection of rivers to other water systems, Lac La Ronge is home to multiple communities.
Find out more about these communities that surround Lac La Ronge.
Village of Air Ronge
The Northern Village of Air Ronge is located in North-central Saskatchewan in between the Town of La Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. Located on the shores of the Bigstone Lake, Lac La Ronge, and along the Montreal River, this community embraces the natural beauty of the area and its history as the original airstrip in the region.The community has a population of 1,365 (2021 Census).
Photo: Village of Air Ronge
Air Ronge Photos
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La Ronge
La Ronge is a northern town in the boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is approximately 250 km (160 mi) north of Prince Albert where Highway 2 becomes Highway 102. La Ronge lies on the western shore of Lac la Ronge, is adjacent to Lac La Ronge Provincial Park, and is on the edge of the Canadian Shield.
This town is also the namesake of the larger La Ronge population centre comprising the community, the Northern Village of Air Ronge and the Kitsakie 156B and Lac La Ronge 156 reserves of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band.
The name of La Ronge comes from the lake. The origin of the name is uncertain; the most likely explanation is that early French fur traders named it la ronge (the chewed) because of the large amount of beaver activity along the shoreline—many of the trees would have been chewed down for beaver dam construction.
In 1782, the Swiss born fur trader Jean-Étienne Waddens had a fur trade post on Lac La Ronge. In March 1782, Waddens was fatally wounded in a quarrel with his associate Peter Pond.
La Ronge began in 1904 as a fur trading post and meeting place, but with the decline of hunting and the fur market, La Ronge has diversified into other areas. Many of the Dene, Cree, and white trappers used La Ronge as their central service point. It incorporated as a northern village on 3 May 1905.
Photo: Town of La Ronge
La Ronge Photos
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Missinipe
Missinipe, meaning “big water” or “difficult river”, is a northern settlement in northern Saskatchewan located in Treaty 10 territory and along the western shore of Otter Lake. The hamlet is situated 80 km (50 mi) north of La Ronge along Saskatchewan Highway 102. As of the 2016 census, Missinipe had a population of 5, an 87% decrease from 2011. The hamlet is located within the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District and the provincial Census Division No. 18.
As a result of its status as a main access point to the Churchill River, Missinipe is home to a float plane service, a canoe outfitter, and fishing outfitters. While generally empty during winter, the community is home to a seasonally operated general store, tourist cabins and other accommodations in the summer months. Tourism brings in seasonal campers, birdwatchers, and fishers, among others.
There are provincial campgrounds 5 km north at Otter Rapids, 7 km north at the Devil Lake Provincial Recreation Site, and 1.5 km south of the hamlet. There is also a provincial campground within the community itself, as the hamlet is nearby Lac La Ronge Provincial Park.
Photo: Churchill River Bridge
Missinipe Photos
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Photo: Rock Painting near Stanley Mission
Stanley Mission
Stanley Mission is a First Nations settlement in the boreal forest northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is on the banks of the Churchill River, 80 km (50 mi)s north east of the town of La Ronge, 305 km (190 mi) north of Prince Albert. Access is provided by Highway 915.
The community consists of the northern settlement of Stanley Mission with a population of 124 and Stanley 157, IR a reserve of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band band government with a population of 1,634.
People have lived in the area for several thousands of years. Across the river at the original site of Stanley Mission is Holy Trinity Anglican Church, built between 1854 and 1860. It is the oldest standing building in Saskatchewan.
The community was founded in 1851. The name was derived from Stanley Park, a now-former manor house in Selsley, Gloucestershire, England, which had been the home of the wife of the Rev. Robert Hunt, an Anglican missionary.
The community has two stores, a band office, a health office, elementary and high schools, a post-secondary learning centre, a community hall, arena (ice skating and hockey), other services. It is an access point to the northern parts of Lac La Ronge Provincial Park, several tourist fishing camps, and a major recreational canoe route, formerly part of the voyageurs trade routes used by the Hudson’s Bay Company and North West Company. It is the closest road access to Nistowiak Falls, one of the tallest in Saskatchewan. There are ancient pictograph sites in the vicinity. Otter Rapids 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the settlement of Missinipe (Missinipi) are the next landmarks and community along Highway 102, to the north on the Churchill River (Missinipeis also the Woodland Cree name for the Churchill River).
Stanley Mission Photos
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Lac La Ronge Indian Band
The Lac La Ronge Indian Band is the largest Cree First Nation band government in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, and one of the 10 largest in Canada, with a 2016 population of 10,408. Its location is in north-central Saskatchewan. They are a Woodland Cree First Nation.
Reserve lands extend from rich farmlands in central Saskatchewan, north through the boreal forest to the Churchill River and beyond. The central administration office is located in La Ronge, 241 km north of Prince Albert, on the edge of the Pre-Cambrian Shield.
La Ronge & Stanley Mission Band of Woods Cree Indians became a signatory to the Treaty 6 on February 11, 1889, signed by Chief James Roberts. In 1900 Peter Ballantyne was allowed to separate from the La Ronge and Stanley Mission Band to form the Peter Ballantyne Band of Cree Indians, the predecessor to the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. In 1910, the La Ronge & Stanley Mission Band split into two entities: Amos Charles Band of Cree Indians (located in Stanley Mission) and the James Roberts Band of Cree Indians (located in La Ronge). In 1950, the two Bands amalgamated and became the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, the current legal name.
Photo: Nemebien Lake
LLRIB Photos
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