Muskrat Dam

History

The Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation is part of the 1929-30 Adhesion to the James Bay Treaty of 1905 - Treaty 9. The Muskrat Dam people have historical links to the people of Bearskin Lake, and several families have relocated from Bearskin Lake to Muskrat Dam Lake. The families that relocated to Muskrat Dam were that of Tommy and Victoria Beardy, who were joined by Jeremiah and Juliet Duncan, Moses and Eunice Fiddler, Jake and Esther Beardy and Roderick and Effie Fiddler. Later, Fiddlers' son Billy and Moses Fiddler's mother Nainee also joined the little settlement. Due to abundance of natural resources in the area, the small community started living off the land: fishing, hunting, trapping and logging. Weagamow Lake, Ontario helped them start a sawmill operation, as well as to fly in tools, gas and grocery supplies. Until it officially gained reserve status in 1976, Muskrat Dam was a satellite community of the Big Trout Lake.