This area was inhabited for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples. At the time of European contact, the historic Swampy Cree, an Algonquian-speaking people, lived in the area. In 1689 the Hudson's Bay Company built Fort Severn at this site, originally naming it Fort James; it was one of the earliest Englishfur trading posts in the New World. After years of international competition between the English and French, with their wars playing out in North America, the French attacked the outpost and pillaged it in 1782 when they were allies of the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. In the early 20th century, when the federal government negotiated a treaty with the First Nations, it set aside land for a native reserve in the Rocksand area at the confluence of the Severn and Sachigo Rivers, with the consent of the leaders at the time. In 1973, the reserve was relocated to the mouth of the Severn River on Hudson Bay, for more direct access to shipping. The reserve achieved full status on January 11, 1980.
Government
The local band council consists of an elected chief, a deputy chief, and four band councilors.
Community services
There is no hospital in Fort Severn, with medical needs provided either at the local nursing station or via Keewaytinook Okimakanak Telemedicine link. The Community Doctor travels in every month to do weekly check-ups, follow-ups, and scheduling appointments/surgeries. Specialists such as Chiropractors, Optometrists, Dentists, and Hygienists travels in every two-three months.
Transportation
There are only local roads in town and residents travel by car, snowmobile, four wheelers or walking. The Fort Severn Airport is located a short distance from the settlement and is accessible by an access road.
Education
Wasaho Cree Nation School is the full functioning school providing primary education needs. It was built in 2016, preparing students for 21st century learning. Keewaytinook Internet High School is housed in a small building and provides distance learning for residents needing secondary education.
In popular culture
Fort James, a British settlement controlled by a governor who reports to the king and who represents Hudson Bay Company, is the principal setting of the 2016 TV series, Frontier. As Ann Foster describes for ScreenerTV, "'Frontier' is set in the coastal settlement of Fort James: A snowy, treacherous pocket of land that would, in a century’s time, become part of Canada." A town by the name of Fort Severn is featured in several episodes of the 1996 anime series After War Gundam X.
