The canoe brigades of the Hudson's Bay Company travelled through Oskélanéo River to supply trading posts at Obiduan, Chibougamau, and Mistissini.

Furthermore, the community was also used by prospectors, local Atikamekw Amerindians, and even some recreational canoeists as an access point to the north, making the Oskelaneo canoe route so popular that it prompted the construction of manually operated locks on the Oskélanéo River between the rail station and Bureau Lake (now flooded by Gouin Reservoir).

It gained further prominence that same year when the forest fire protection service started using Oskelaneo as a base, and in 1924, when an airbase was established for aerial surveying and transport.

The community retained some use as an access point to the Gouin Reservoir, but lost this purpose too once logging roads reached the area.

[1][3][4] Until March 2003, Oskelaneo was within the Obedjiwan Unorganized Territory, and thereafter became part of the new City of La Tuque when Le Haut-Saint-Maurice Regional County Municipality was dissolved.