Fort Chipewyan, established in 1788 by the North West Company, was named for the Chipewyan Indians who lived in the region surrounding Lake Athabasca in present day northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. The original Fort Chipewyan, located on the south shore of Lake Athabasca, served as the base for Alexander Mackenzie's northern explorations and was the centre of the richest fur producing area in North America during the final years of the 1700s. The immediate area around the fort was a massive delta region teeming with animal life. The fort was also strategically located to draw Indian hunters from the Peace and Slaye River region. The post was moved to the north shore of Lake Athabasca in the early 1800s, possibly to have more open space and to take advantage of earlier ice breakup in spring. The illustration, painted by the arctic explorer George Back (1796-1878), shows the third Fort Chipewyan on the far right in its magnificent setting overlooking the lake from a high point of rock, the extreme western edge of the Canadian Shield. A trading post occupied the site from 1803 to 1940 and it is still part of the present-day community of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta.
Courtesy: Picture Division, Public Archives of Canada (C-15251)
