Abel Charles contributed this article. He is currently employed by MBC Radio as a Cree Broadcaster in La Ronge.

Location/Setting
Grandmother’s Bay is located in north central Saskatchewan, approximately 105 kilometers north of La Ronge on the north shore of Otter Lake. This lake is part of the Churchill River System. Most of the people that live in Grandmother’s Bay are of Woodland Cree ancestry and are members of the Lac La Ronge Indian band.

The immediate area is in the midst of the Precambrian Shield. The terrain could be described as mixed wood forest comprised of trembling aspen, white birch, poplar, white spruce, jack pine, black spruce, with various tall and low shrubs. All this is associated with lakes connected by streams and rapids. This environment creates a varied habitat for numerous wildlife, birds, and fish. The Churchill River System contains a high concentration of bald eagles.

Any avid outdoorsman would consider this area a paradise. The cold and clean lakes abound with several different species of fish. Cast a few lines, and in less than an hour, you could be enjoying a delicious, golden brown, walleye fillet. There are connecting lakes that have trails suitable for canoeing, cross-country skiing, or ski-dooing.

History
The Woodland Cree have inhabited this area for many moons. The people of GMB have familial connections to the people of Stanley Mission, which is a larger community down river to the east. Some families would consider themselves to be formerly from there. Grandmother’s Bay was one of the places used as a base camp during the height of the trapping industry. Trapping and other gathering activities necessitated a nomadic lifestyle. Grandmother’s Bay was a place of rest for longer layovers. I would imagine it was selected because of the abundance of natural resources.

It could be safely ascertained that the Mckenzie family was the first to settle in GMB. The immediate vicinity of Grandmother’s Narrows was dotted with log cabins. The late Phillip Mckenzie ‘Mostos’ and wife Sally lived in one of them. Phillip did some trading with the trappers on behalf of the Hudson Bay Company. This couple was blessed with many children. The children in turn moved out, built cabins and raised families of their own but stayed in GMB.

In the mid-eighteen hundreds, the Woodland Cree of the Churchill River were exposed to and converted to Christianity. Consequently the GMB people would travel to Stanley Mission on special occasions to attend services at the Anglican Church. The special occasions would be Christmas, Easter, confirmations, baptisms, funerals and weddings. Many other trappers from further north would put their trapping on hold and make a trek to Stanley Mission for the sole purpose of attending church at Christmas. The people would get to Stanley Mission regardless of distance or weather. The people’s strong faith was such that they would slog through miles of slush if they had to. There was no thought of making flimsy excuses. During this era the people were suited to travel in harsh conditions because of their nomadic lifestyle.

The annual treaty day was also celebrated at Stanley Mission. This was a major occasion as each person got his or her five-dollar annuity as per treaty. On this day, the Hudson Bay Company would see to it that they had fruit and other perishables not normally carried. I eagerly anticipated the first ice cream that I would eventually get my hands on. It was a time of feasting, visiting, and dancing. During this get together a wedding might also take place that had previously been arranged by the parents.

The HBC used to send out traders to the various traplines to trade with the trappers. This practice was eventually discontinued and the trappers would make a trip to Stanley Mission to sell their fur and pick up basic supplies. Many of the northern trappers traveled through Smith Bay to get to Stanley Mission.

The 1950’s saw the advent of tourism in this area. People from the south moved in and built outfitting lodges. These lodges catered to sportsmen from Canada and the U.S. There was a large influx of fishermen and hunters during the summer months. Several families would set up summer camp near the fishing lodges. From here the men were employed as guides and some women cleaned fish and the lodge accommodations for wages. In a small way the wage economy had arrived and began to change our way of life. A general store was opened across the lake at Missinipe. This development cut down the frequency of trips made to Stanley Mission.

In 1967, the GMB area was surveyed and became an Indian Reserve with membership to the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. In the early 70’s the band began building housing for the community members. The first band built houses to go up were built mainly from logs, although some lumber was also used. Later on, with the acquisition of a barge, wood frame houses were the name of the game. The barge made it possible to pick up lumber and cement at Missinipe that had been trucked in from La Ronge.

The wage economy, through guiding, exploration, and a few jobs in the community, put money in some people’s pockets. Consequently the snowmobile, boat, and boat motor began making an appearance in the community.

In 1974 a one-room school was built at Grandmother’s Narrows to accommodate kindergarten to grade three students. This made it possible for some students to stay with their parents rather than go to Prince Albert. The Northern Lights School Division also had a small school at Missinipe at this time and some students going into division two and three went to this school. Students were transported either by ski-doo or boat. Even so, there was no thought of closing the school down at forty below and there was a good chance of arriving at school with frozen bannock sandwiches.

The building of the school further changed the lifestyle of the people.
During the trapping season the school meant that a parent would have to stay in the community so the children could attend school. Some parents took trap line kits supplied by the Lac La Ronge band. The kits were discontinued when the grant was discontinued. The individual teachers attempt to fill this gap now. The main mode of transportation for the majority of the people was still by dog team, canoe, or an occasional airplane for the successful trapper. This was soon to change in favor of mechanized equipment. I believe my learned friend Wilson John of Rattlers Creek was the last person I saw using a dog team in a serious way.

Also during the mid-70’s, medical services hired Maggie T. Charles to act as a lay dispenser. She was provided with a two-way radio which was the community link to the outside world. Maggie also carried basic, over-the-counter medications such as band-aids, ointment, vitamins, aspirin, etc..
She handled medical emergencies and coordinated patient travel to southern centers. Occasionally medical services would send a nurse to visit our community. Sally Roberts later replaced Maggie. Sally acted as lay dispenser for several years. The title ‘lay dispenser’ was later changed to Community Health Representative (CHR).

If we received favorable weather over the winter, it meant we could push an ice road through to GMB. For the purposes of an ice road, favorable weather translated to a cold winter. Colder temperatures meant thicker ice.

Besides the one room school, the band began administering other services such as social assistance, make work projects (docks, brush clearing), and occasionally an adult training program.

Around this time, the neighboring community of Stanley Mission was made accessible by an all weather road. This made it easier to have a clergyman visit our community to conduct a communion, baptism, or wedding service. Big Al and the late Betsy Mckenzie tied the knot in the one room school. Then came the wedding of Thompson and Nancy Charles, followed a couple of years later by the triple wedding of Ernest and Susan Cook, Hector and Roberta Charles, and Mark and Jean McKenzie.

Around this time electricity arrived in GMB. The power lines cut across from Otter Rapids, going over water at Johnson’s Bay and other smaller bodies of water including Grandmother’s Narrows.

In 1980 a larger school was built. It started out with two classrooms and a teacherage. A later extension gave the school an additional classroom. This school was first fitted with a mobile telephone, a technological marvel at the time. What are they going to come up with next I mused at the time?

The eighties and nineties saw continued growth for the community.
• Our first community satellite dish was installed at the school.
• Telephone service arrived.
• Gerald Mckenzie operated a confectionery, which included video games and movie rental service.
• A former residence was renovated into a band sub-office housing the offices of the councillor and several band staff.
• A former residence was renovated into a church at GMB Narrows.
• Cecil McLeod ran a sawmill operation at the spot where the community hall now stands.
• A church and cemetery were built on the other side of the narrows.

GMB TODAY
From the 1990’s to the present, GMB has experienced major and rapid development of infrastructure.
• In 1996 a gravel surfaced all weather road was built in to the community.
• The road made three phase power possible.
• Increased electricity made a water treatment plant, sewer, and a sewage lagoon possible.
• This made a larger school possible and one was built. The community continues to grow.

COMMUNITY FACILITIES
Community Hall – This is the first building you will see as you enter the community. It is the venue for various community functions. Examples of functions are meetings, dances, community meals, and Halloween masquerades. It serves as a classroom, is used for carnival activities, and is headquarters for poker rallies. The hall is equipped with washrooms, small stage and kitchen/canteen area.

Band Office – Houses the offices of the GMB administration. The community, through an internal transfer agreement with the band, now directly administers education, social development, public works/housing, elders home, recreation, and administration.

Community Store – Is community owned and operated through a local board of directors, manager, and staff. The store provides basic groceries, hardware, gasoline, and tobacco products (with rebates on gas and tobacco purchases for treaty customers).

School and Associated Facilities – Opened in 1997, Nihithow Awasis School offers nursery/kindergarten to grade nine. It contains five classrooms, a library/computer room, resource room/computer room, a gymnasium, staff room, administration office, and a servery. Associated facilities include a ball diamond, outdoor rink, outdoor volleyball court, and a large playground.

Health Clinic (Kohkom’s Clinic) – Opened in 1996, the clinic offers a wide range of services including wellness clinics, baby clinics, addiction counseling, CHR services, Elder care/support services, mental health services, medical transportation services, visiting nurse, and visiting dental therapist. The band’s Indian Child and Family Services agency rents space here to house their Family Support Worker, with duties mainly in the area of child protection and family support.

Day Care/Head Start – This facility was converted from a house in 1996 and has a capacity to accommodate approximately 15-20 children. It offers day care services and a Head Start program.

Church/ Cemetery – A new church has recently been constructed within the community. This project was made possible through self administration and committed volunteers. The older church still remains across the narrows; that is where the cemetery is also located. The new church is called St. Peter’s Grandmother’s Bay Church.

Elder’s Home
The community opened an Elder’s home in the fall of 2002.