Wemindji

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Wemindji ᐐᒥᓂᒌ (Cree)
Cree community
Etymology: Red ochre mountain
Wemindji
Coordinates: 53°00′10″N 78°48′37″W / 53.00278°N 78.81028°W / 53.00278; -78.81028
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Northern Quebec
TE	Eeyou Istchee
Government
• Type	Cree reserved land
• Chief	Christina Gilpin
Area [1]
• Land	387.37 km2 (149.56 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	1,562
• Density	4/km2 (10/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal Code	J0M 1R0
Area code	819
Website	www.waswanipi.com

Wemindji (Cree: ᐐᒥᓂᒌ/Wîminicî) is a small Cree community on the east coast of James Bay at the mouth of the Maquatua River in Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Cree Nation of Wemindji. The community is located within the federal riding of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, currently represented in the House of Commons by Sylvie Bérubé of the Bloc Québécois. The community has a population of approximately 1,500 people. Around 1,600 are affiliated to the Cree Nation of Wemindji and around 200 do not reside on the territory of Wemindji.

The chief and council consists of the chief, deputy chief and five councillors. The chief and council are all elected by the beneficiaries of the Cree Nation of Wemindji. The current chief is Christina Gilpin, alongside Arden Visitor as deputy chief. The current councillors are Elmer Georgekish, Bradley A.J Georgekish, Paul John Murdoch, Stanley Shashweskum, and Ernest Tomatuk.^[2] The chief and council are elected every four years, the current chief and council was elected in September 2017.

Wemindji is accessible by air at Wemindji Airport and, since 1995, by car over a gravel road linking it to the James Bay Road. The nearest large city is Montreal which is about 1,400 kilometres south of Wemindji.

Although Wemindji is a fairly small community of about 3,266 hectares, it has variety of services and schools (an elementary and high school), clinic, wellness department, motels, bed and breakfast, mini mall (shopping centre), police station, two daycares, after school program (C.O.O.L.), tradition centres, sports facilities, fire station and more.