Turnor Lake

This article is about the community. For the lake, see Turnor Lake (Saskatchewan).

Turnor Lake (Woods Cree: ᒥᓂᐢᑎᑯ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᕽ, romanized: ministiko-sâkahikanihk) is a community on the southern shore of Turnor Lake. From Highway 155 it is accessible by Highway 909. The community includes the Northern Hamlet of Turnor Lake and Turnor Lake 193B of the Birch Narrows First Nation.

Turnor Lake

Turnor Lake, Saskatchewan

The combined population was 598 in the 2011 Canada Census. Turnor Lake had 179 people^[1] and Birch Narrows (Turnor Lake 193B) had 419 people.^[2]

History

The lake was once called Island Lake (Lac des Isles). In 1895, Birch Narrows had 5 families or 25 people in residence.
Father Penard of La Loche mentions in his letter of 1911 ^[3] that there were six or seven families living at "le Detroit du Bouleau" (Birch Narrows) 35 miles east of La Loche.

In 1938, Father Ducharme had a chapel built in the community.

In 1966, the people of Clear Lake were relocated to Turnor Lake. (Clear Lake had about 60 people in 1944 according to the Piercy Report.)

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Turnor Lake had a population of 154 living in 44 of its 60 total private dwellings, a change of 3.4% from its 2016 population of 149. With a land area of 5.07 km² (1.96 sq mi), it had a population density of 30.4/km² (78.7/sq mi) in 2021.^[4]

Birch Narrows Dene Nation

As of June 2012, Birch Narrows Dene Nation had 409 members living on reserve and 299 members living at locations off reserve.^[5] It is affiliated with the Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC).^[6]

Birch Narrows Dene Nation has territory at three sites:

• Turnor Lake 193B with 296.7 hectares (733 acres) 56.4726°N 108.6869°W / 56.4726; -108.6869, which adjoins the Northern Hamlet of Turnor Lake;^[7]
• Churchill Lake 193A with 159.8 hectares (395 acres),^[7] which contains the historic site of Clear Lake 56.1408°N 108.2072°W / 56.1408; -108.2072^[8] at the junction of Churchill Lake and Frobisher Lake; and
• Turnor Lake 194 with 2,445.9 hectares (6,044 acres) 55.9353°N 108.8450°W / 55.9353; -108.8450,^[7] which is on Peter Pond Lake east of Dillon.

See also

• Denesuline language
• Denesuline

References

1. "Corrections and updates". Statistics Canada. August 13, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
2. "Statistics Canada 2011 Community Profiles (Turnor Lake 193B)". Retrieved October 12, 2012.
3. "Peel's Prairie Provinces (Peel 7848)". Retrieved October 13, 2012.
4. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Saskatchewan". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
5. "AANDC (Birch Narrows First Nation)". Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada.
6. "Meadow Lake Tribal Council". Archived from the original on March 23, 2012.
7. "AANDC Reserves/Settlements/Villages". Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada.
8. "Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan (list of forts in Northern Saskatchewan)". Retrieved October 12, 2012.

56°28′22″N 108°42′22″W