Captain William Christopher of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who was the first European to sail up the inlet from Hudson’s Bay in 1761, named the large lake after Sir William Baker who governed the entire HBC from 1760 to 1770, and the Captain’s brother, Richard Baker. Qamani’tuaq, as it is known by Inuit, means “where the river widens”.
The community has a strong heritage. It is populated by elders and descendents of nine major cultural groups who once inhabited both the coastal and inland regions, spanning from Gjoa Haven to Repulse Bay down to Arviat, and to the inland regions of the Back River, Kazan River, and Beverly Lake regions, to name a few. Due to the decline of the caribou herd migration, many people suffered great hardships and starvation and were, therefore, moved off the land by the government and into the community. Due to this relocation, the creation of an arts and crafts program was developed in the 1960s.
|1916||Hudson's Bay Company established original post on Okpiktuyuk (Big Hips) Island near mouth of Kazan River|
|1922||Knud Rasmussen's 5th Thule Exhibition circumpolar north tour traveled through Baker Lake|
|1925||HBC post moved near mouth of Thelon River|
|1926||Révillon Frères post established|
|1927||Roman Catholic mission and Anglican parish established|
|1930||RCMP establish base in the community from an outpost|
|1939||HBC post moved to third and present town site, after buying out Révillon Frères|
|1946||Airstrip created at Baker Lake, along with radio communications facilities and meteorological station|
|1950||New HBC store opened|
|1956||Nursing station built|
|1957||Federal school established|
|1970||First settlement Council elected|
|1976||Last extension of HBC store|
source: Inuit Heritage Centre Baker Lake NWT, 1870-1970