Pinehouse, Saskatchewan, known in Woods Cree as minahiko-wâskahikanihk, meaning 'at pine house', is a northern village nestled in the boreal forest of Saskatchewan. It is situated on the western shore of Pinehouse Lake within the Canadian Shield. This predominantly Cree community is a unique destination with a rich history and vibrant culture.
Pinehouse is accessible by road, with the Key Lake mine located 223 km north, Prince Albert 346 km south, La Ronge 214 km east, and Beauval, the closest community, 107 km west. Highway 914 passes through Pinehouse, making it the only established community along this road, apart from uranium mines.
The history of Pinehouse dates back to 1786 when there was a North West Company post and a rival post near the mouth of the Tippo River called Lac des Serpents (Lake of Serpents or Snake Lake). The Hudson's Bay Company also had a post at the north end of Pinehouse Lake, known as the Souris River Post.
In the 1920s and 1930s, most residents of this settlement, which numbered about 100 people, eventually moved to Pinehouse. The Souris River Post near Sandfly Lake operated from 1875 to 1939.
Missionaries first visited the Dene population of Pinehouse Lake in 1899. However, a smallpox epidemic in 1900-1901 killed around half of the area's population, leading some survivors to move up the Churchill River towards Patuanak and downriver to Stanley Mission.
A townsite was established in the 1940s, and a Roman Catholic church (St. Dominic) was built in 1944, followed by a store and a school in 1948. In 1954, the community was renamed Pinehouse Lake from its original name, Snake Lake (kinêpiko-sâkahikan in Cree).
Between 1967 and 1980, eighty houses were built, and Pinehouse was connected to the power grid in 1984, replacing a diesel generator set up around 1970. The first road to the community was built from Highway 2 in 1977.
As of the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Pinehouse had a population of 1,013 living in 266 of its 302 total private dwellings. This represented a change of -5.7% from its 2016 population of 1,074. With a land area of 6.77 km2 (2.61 sq mi), it had a population density of 149.6/km2 (387.5/sq mi) in 2021.
Pinehouse is home to a store, a gas station, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment, the northern village's office, and a health clinic. The community is served by Pinehouse Lake Airport.
The Pinehouse Photography Club, a non-profit organization that supports and encourages youth mental health prevention through therapeutic photography, is also based here. The community also boasts an ice skating arena with an artificial ice plant.
