There are at least three kinds of history of Lake Winnipeg, and indeed of the whole watershed. Most recently there are the experiences people have had with the lake since the time European settlers arrived in the early 1800s. Then there is the longer history of experiences by First Nations people around the lake and throughout the watershed. Finally there is the still longer period of geological and biological changes that have shaped the lake into the one we know today.
In this section, we shall try to include mainly the first two types of history. Most of the material describing the biological and geological changes in the lake over thousands of years will be found as reports in the more scientific section of the site.
We begin this section with The Settlement of New Iceland in Manitoba, a short history of Icelandic settlement published jointly in 2006 by Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism and the New Iceland Heritage Museum. This booklet was published in commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the extension of the boundary of Manitoba to include New Iceland.
Click here to view or download a PDF file of this study.