The name Chemìa refers both to a particular lake in the Nordenskiold Valley, as well as to the immediate area which includes several other lakes and a meadow.

Chemìa has long been used as a spring muskrat-hunting area. Chief Paul Birckel notes that the people used to dam up the river to increase the volume of water in some of the lakes. This would create a larger breeding habitat for the muskrats, which then multiplied in greater numbers.