Turnor Lake sits on the southern shore of the lake of the same name, and its Woods Cree name is ministiko-sâkahikanihk. The lake was once known as Island Lake, or Lac des Isles. Today the community is made up of the Northern Hamlet of Turnor Lake and Turnor Lake 193B, which belongs to the Birch Narrows First Nation.
The Birch Narrows area was home to a small group of families well before the community took its present shape. In 1895 there were five families, about 25 people, living there. In a letter written in 1911, Father Penard of La Loche noted six or seven families at "le Detroit du Bouleau" (Birch Narrows), 35 miles east of La Loche. In 1938, Father Ducharme had a chapel built in the community.
In 1966 the people of Clear Lake were relocated to Turnor Lake. Clear Lake had had about 60 residents in 1944. Its historic site lies within Churchill Lake 193A, one of three territories held by the Birch Narrows Dene Nation, which is affiliated with the Meadow Lake Tribal Council.
Written from Wikipedia’s article “Turnor Lake” (CC BY-SA 4.0), and shared under the same licence.