The Bruce family has owned the property since 1946 as part of land purchased from Adelaide LeQuyer whose father Joseph came from Vaudreuil, Quebec in 1876 to settle along the Severn River at the mouth of the Black.

Mitchell Bruce was a passionate mathematics, science and physics teacher who worked in remote indigenous communities in Ontario and the Yukon Territory. His last teaching position was at the Tantalus Community School in Carmacks, Yukon. Carmacks is a small community of around 500 people located in south-central Yukon along the banks of the Yukon River. The people of Carmacks are predominantly Northern Tutchone and belong to the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation.

Along with teaching the regular high school curriculum, Mitchell introduced additional subjects such as computer science and programming. His classes were small, and he worked with students to build, program and operate robotic devices to enter territorial and national Skills Canada competitions. Mitchell was a special teacher who built confidence in his students and taught them that they had the ability to accomplish ambitious goals and seek a better future for themselves and their community.

Mitchell enjoyed hiking, camping and boating on the Yukon River. He loved and respected the land and the indigenous people who inhabited it. Over the years, he spent time hiking and exploring Kluane National Park's mountain peaks, valley glaciers and northern wildlife. Our dearly missed son and brother passed away on a hike there, doing what he enjoyed most, on August 2, 2O21. This special reserve that is part of the territory of the Anishinaabeg is named in memory of him.