Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately 350 km (220 mi) northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,838 people (up 10.8% since 2016),[2] an elevation of 383 m (1,257 ft),[3] and its boundaries cover an area of 536 km2 (207 sq mi), of which 157 km2 (61 sq mi) is lake and wetlands. Known locally as the "Hub of the North", it is serviced by the Sioux Lookout Airport, Highway 72, and the Sioux Lookout railway station. According to a 2011 study commissioned by the municipality, health care and social services ranked as the largest sources of employment, followed by the retail trade, public administration, transportation and warehousing, manufacturing, accommodation and food services, and education.
Although downtown Sioux Lookout is located 71 km (44 mi) from the Trans-Canada Highway, the municipality covers the ends or beginnings of provincial highways 664, 642, 516, and 72. Sioux Lookout is also a key airport hub for numerous northern and Indigenous communities in Northwestern Ontario and remains a service stop for The Canadian, a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail, and a busy railway junction for the northwestern Ontario segment of Canadian National Railway's transcontinental Class 1 railroad.
Fishing camps in the area allow access to an extensive lake system fed by the English River. The town is surrounded by several beaches, including Umphreville Park, a historical site that predates the town itself. During the summer months, Sioux Lookout's population rises as tourists, mostly American, arrive to take advantage of the multitude of lakes and rivers in the area. Experienced guides, employed by the camps, can locate the best locations and also provide an educated tour of the unique land known affectionately as "sunset country".
Sioux Lookout's name comes from a First Nations story and a local mountain, Sioux Mountain, which served as a lookout point for the Ojibwe people. Being able to scan the surrounding area for some distance enabled the Ojibwe men to potentially detect any approaching Sioux warriors, with sufficient time to guide the women and children to safety before intercepting the enemies. From Sioux Mountain, a careful eye could catch the sun reflecting off of birch bark canoes crossing the nearby rapids. Illustrating this old story on the front page of the local newspaper, The Sioux Lookout Bulletin, is an iconic image of a First Nations man, holding a hand above his eyes as he scans the water and surrounding terrain.
Present-day Sioux Lookout was incorporated in 1912, and was a terminal and junction on the National Transcontinental Railway. For many years, Sioux Lookout was simply a railway town. At one point, gold was discovered in Red Lake; the town subsequently became one of the leading Canadian aviation centres during the 1920s and 1930s. During the Cold War, from 1952 to 1967, CFS Sioux Lookout, 6.0 km (3.7 mi) west, was a radar base forming part of the Pinetree Line to monitor any activity from the Soviet Union.[10]
Today, the Canadian National Railway (CNR) is a significant employer, although it is no longer the largest employer in the area, nor is the forest products industry; Sioux Lookout has become a hub of various services catering to northern First Nations communities, such as healthcare, human and social services and education, among others. Additionally, both the provincial and federal government are major employers within Sioux Lookout. As a result, the town barely felt the effects of the recession in the early 1980s. However, more significant demographic and employment changes took place around the time of the global financial crisis and recession of 2008-09; notably, the permanent closure of the lumber mill in Hudson, along with the construction of a newer, larger healthcare complex (the Meno Ya Win Health Centre), saw several shifts in the local workforce. New and different positions were subsequently made available through the Health Centre, which also brought new workers to the area.
Urban Sioux Lookout looks-out on Pelican Lake, and the municipality has initiated a lakefront improvement program to beautify this area. There are now more parks, paths, and other recreational options and amenities along the lake and surrounding lands. Numerous other lakes, rivers and water-focused activities are easily accessible, by car or boat, from Sioux Lookout. Tourism makes a significant contribution to the local economy, however, there is far more capacity for development, and the area's potential is only starting to be recognized fully.
Geography and climate
The boundaries of Sioux Lookout were significantly expanded on 1 January 1998 to include a number of unorganized geographic townships surrounding the town itself.
The coldest temperature ever recorded was −46.1 °C (−51.0 °F) on 18 February 1966.[11] The highest temperature ever recorded in Sioux Lookout was 39.4 °C (102.9 °F) on 29 June 1931 and 11 July 1936.[12][13]
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Sioux Lookout had a population of 5,839 living in 2,340 of its 2,647 total private dwellings, a change of 10.8% from its 2016 population of 5,272. With a land area of 378.02 km2 (145.95 sq mi), it had a population density of 15.4/km2 (40.0/sq mi) in 2021.[2]
As an ethnically diverse community, Sioux Lookout has a large Indigenous population (2,090 people, 1,885 First Nations and 190 Métis) along with a smaller number of individuals from all over the world.[2]
In 2021, the average household size was 2.5 persons. The median household income in 2020 for Sioux Lookout was $102,000, with an after tax income of $89,000.[2] The average age in Sioux Lookout is 39.0 years old with 38.3 for men and 39.7 for women.[2]
Government
Sioux Lookout Municipal Building
Sioux Lookout elects one mayor, six "councillors-at-large". Mayor Doug Lawrance leads a council of Joe Cassidy, Cory Lago, Joyce Timpson, Joan Cosco, Luc Beaulne, Reece Van Breda.
The Sioux Lookout Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) detachment, according to the Sioux Lookout municipal government website, is composed of forty-four constables, seven First Nation constables, five special constables, six sergeants, one staff sergeant, one inspector, eight civilian employees and sixty-two part-time guards and matrons.
Economy
The main industries of Sioux Lookout are:
Services (68%)
Forestry (14%)
Transportation (12%)
Tourism (4%)
The population explodes during the spring and summer months when seasonal residents arrive. Most of Sioux Lookout's tourism comes from people wanting to experience outdoor activities. Fishing is the main tourist attraction during the summer months due to the access to numerous lakes, such as Lac Seul and Minnitaki Lake.
Education
Confederation College
While Confederation College is based in Thunder Bay, it operates several campuses across northwestern Ontario, which include a campus in Sioux Lookout within the site of Sioux North High School. The college offers various programs for students wishing to continue their post-secondary education. Nursing, Business, Social Service, and Mechanical Techniques are just some of the programs available at the Sioux Lookout campus.
Sioux Lookout has two major elementary schools: Sioux Mountain Public School of the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board and Sacred Heart School of the Northwest Catholic District School Board.
Hudson Public School in Hudson, Ontario was closed in 2011 by the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board and now used as Lac Seul Centre of Training Excellence. The closest elementary school near Hudson is Obishkokaang Elementary School on the north side of Lost Lake and serves students from the Lac Seul First Nation. Public school students in Hudson now must travel to Sioux Lookout.
Culture
Blueberry Festival
A sign at Centennial Park in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada with Ojibwe syllabics
Sioux Lookout's annual Blueberry Festival has been held the first week of August since 1983. 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the festival, which celebrates the town and its surrounding environment. The festival includes a number of sporting events (slo-pitch, beach volleyball, bocce, tennis, and golf tournaments) along with charitable fundraisers, blueberry themed food, historical walks, musical performances, a car and truck show, a farmers' market, and much more. The town mascot and face of the festival, Blueberry Bert, makes frequent appearances around town throughout the duration of the festival.
Outdoor activities
Hunting and fishing are popular pastimes in Sioux Lookout. The annual Walleye Weekend Tournament, organized by the Sioux Lookout Anglers and Hunters Group, is held the second weekend of June with several cash prizes available to be won. Numerous hunting and fishing camps, as well as fly-in fishing lodges, also operate in the area. These include: Anderson's Lodge, Frog Rapids Camp, Fireside Lodge, and Moosehorn Lodge among many others.
Ecotourism is growing rapidly with outfitters such as Goldwater Expeditions providing kayak, ski, and snowshoe rentals while also providing ecology based adventures, cultural education, and ecological interpretation.
Peggy Sanders, awarded the Order of Canada in October 2006, is Sioux Lookout's leading literary figure. She was praised by the Governor-General for "bridging cultures...and building relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities for decades". She continued to note that Sanders was: "a founding member of the local anti-racism committee...and has championed literacy by founding the town's first public library." Patricia Ningewance Nadeau, from the Lac Seul First Nation, is on the board of directors at the Indigenous Language Institute. She has published a textbook on the Ojibwe language: Talking Gookom's Language and five other books. She was the first editor of Wawatay News in Sioux Lookout.
Richard Schwindt, former resident of Sioux Lookout, published a collection of short stories titled Dreams and Sioux Nights in 2003. Most of the characters and settings are based upon Sioux Lookout and the surrounding area.
Phillip Neault-Pioneer is a collection of songs and stories told by Mae Carroll to her grandchildren. Her book, edited by James R. Stevens, takes place in the two railroad towns of Fort William and Sioux Lookout in pioneer times.
The Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee was a winner of the 23rd Annual Human Rights Media Awards,[22] presented by the League for Human Rights of B'nai Brith Canada, for "their web site which deals with the effects and strategies of dealing with issues of racism and resources and strategies to deal with instances of racism".[23]
Sioux Lookout is also a feature in Paulette Jiles' novel North Spirit: Travels Among the Cree and Ojibway Nations and Their Star Maps published in 1995 by Doubleday Canada.
Music
Lawrence Martin, a Juno Award-winning musician, was the mayor of Sioux Lookout during the 1990s. Martin is now mayor of Cochrane, and was once a member of the TVOntario board of directors. Also, a concert series called S.L.Y.M (Sioux Lookout Youth Music) Productions supplies the town with local and out-of- town bands for the town's ear drums. To date, S.L.Y.M has featured the local bands of Darkness Deprived, Red Radio, Double Helix, and The Four Ohms. S.L.Y.M. also regularly hosts open coffee houses to showcase local acoustic talent. The Sioux Lookout Cultural Centre for Youth and the Arts is under construction and will include a recording studio for aspiring local artists.
Ryan Parent, first round National Hockey League (NHL) draft pick and two-time IIHF World Junior Championship champion, was raised in Sioux Lookout. Parent returns to his home town during the off-season. As a member of the Canadian World Juniors team, Parent won two consecutive gold medals in 2006 and 2007. He was a first-round draft pick (18th overall) of the Nashville Predators in the 2005 NHL entry draft and was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on 17 February 2007. Ryan Parent officially joined the NHL when he was recalled from the Flyer's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate team the Philadelphia Phantoms on 13 February 2008 and took a place on the roster.
Infrastructure
Aerial view of Sioux Lookout
New residential zones have been created in response to Sioux Lookout's continued population growth (which is one of the highest rates in Northern Ontario). In the past decade, Sioux Lookout has renovated its train station and built several new buildings including a new elementary school, a new high school, grocery store, youth centre, court house, hospital, and clinic.
Health and medicine
The new Sioux Lookout Meno-Ya-Win Health Centre opened its doors to patients in late 2010. The 13,000 m2 (140,000 sq ft) hospital has brought many health care services together under one roof. The building complex provides Sioux Lookout, as well as 29 northern communities, with healthcare services. The catchment area for the health centre covers an area larger than France. The health centre—including a hospital, long term care facility, and community services—is characterized by its unique blending of mainstream and traditional Indigenous care. It has been designated as Ontario's centre of excellence for First Nations' healthcare.[25]
