Fort Albany
One Of The Oldest Fur Trade Posts On James Bay, A Cree Community At The Mouth Of The Albany River With A Long Hudson'S Bay Company History, Goose Hunts In Spring And Autumn And A Church. A Remote Community, Reached By Air Or The Winter Road · Fort Albany, Ontario
Fort Albany is a Cree community of roughly 800 to 900 people on Albany Island in the Albany River, close to where the river reaches James Bay in northern Ontario. The Hudson Bay Company built a post here in 1679, among the oldest on the bay, and English and French traders fought over it in the decades that followed. The people of Fort Albany First Nation are Mushkegowuk, or Swampy Cree, who hunted and fished this coast long before any post and still follow the seasons of goose, fish and fur. The community also carries a hard memory: St. Anne Indian Residential School operated here for most of the twentieth century, and many survivors speak of it. There is no all-season road. Visitors come by scheduled flight, by winter road in a cold year, or by boat in summer, and should arrange a host and permission through the band office before travelling, as respectful guests who ask first and take nothing for granted.
Fort Albany, a Cree community of about 800 people on Albany Island in the Albany River near James Bay in northern Ontario, reached by air, winter road or boat; coordinates approximate, Fort Albany, Ontario, Canada
Fort Albany keeps no visiting hours because it is a living community. The store, the band office and the school follow weekday patterns, roughly 9 to 5, and close on Sundays and public holidays - confirm by phone. Scheduled flights serve the airstrip several days a week and weather cancels many of them. The winter road to Moosonee and the neighbouring coast opens only in the coldest months, commonly late January to March, and boat crossings run only when the river is free of ice (confirm). The spring goose hunt takes many families to camps. Walking the streets and the shore costs nothing, but ask before leaving the road.