Innu
Encyclopedia
Nitassinan
Nitassinan is the ancestral homeland of the Innu, an Aboriginal people of Eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada. The territory covers the eastern portion of the Labrador peninsula....
(“Our Land”), which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and some western portions of Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
. Their population in 2003 includes about 18,000 people, of which 15,000 live in Quebec and under 3000 in Labrador.
Their ancestors were known to have lived on these lands as hunter-gatherers for several thousand years, living in tents made of animal skins. Their subsistence activities were historically centred on hunting and trapping caribou, moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
and small game. Some coastal clans also practised agriculture, fished, and managed maple sugarbush.
Their language, Innu-aimun
Innu-aimun
Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 11,000 people, called the Innu, in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada...
or Ilnu (populary known as Montagnais), is spoken throughout Nitassinan, with certain dialect differences. Innu-aimun is related to East Cree
East Cree language
East Cree, also known as Eastern James Bay Cree, and East Main Cree, refers to a group of Cree dialects spoken in Quebec, Canada on the east coast of lower Hudson Bay and James Bay, and inland southeastward from James Bay...
(Īyiyū Ayimūn - Northern/Coastal dialect and Īnū Ayimūn - Southern/Inland dialect) spoken by the James Bay Cree
Grand Council of the Crees
The Grand Council of the Crees , or the GCC, is the political body that represents the approximately 16,357 Crees or “Iyyu” / “Iynu” of the Eeyou Istchee territory in the James Bay and Nunavik regions of Northern Quebec, Canada...
of the James Bay
James Bay
James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
region of Quebec and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and the Atikamekw
Atikamekw language
The Atikamekw language , a dialect of Cree, is the language of the Atikamekw people of southwestern Quebec. It is spoken by nearly all the Atikamekw, and therefore it is among the indigenous languages least threatened with extinction according to some studies...
(Nēhinawēwin and Nehirâmowin) of the Atikamekw
Atikamekw
The Atikamekw are the indigenous inhabitants of the area they refer to as Nitaskinan , in the upper Saint-Maurice River valley of Quebec , Canada. Their population currently stands at around 4500. One of the main communities is Manawan, about northeast of Montreal. They have a tradition of...
(‘Nehiraw’, ‘Nehirowisiw’). Innu-aimun is divided into four dialects - Southern Montagnais (Mashteuiatsh and Betsiamites), Eastern Montagnais (Mingan, Natashquan, La Romaine, Pakuashipi), Central Montagnais (Sept-Iles and Maliotenam, Matimekosh) and Labrador -Montagnais (Sheshatshit). The speakers of the different dialects can communicate well with each other. The Naskapi language
Naskapi language
Naskapi is an Algonquian language spoken by the Naskapi in Quebec and Labrador, Canada. It is written in Eastern Cree syllabics....
and culture are quite different from those of the Montagnais, in which the dialect changes from y to n as in "Iiyuu" versus "Innu".
The Innu were allied with neighboring Atikamekw
Atikamekw
The Atikamekw are the indigenous inhabitants of the area they refer to as Nitaskinan , in the upper Saint-Maurice River valley of Quebec , Canada. Their population currently stands at around 4500. One of the main communities is Manawan, about northeast of Montreal. They have a tradition of...
, Maliseet
Maliseet people
The Wolastoqiyik, or Maliseet , are an Algonquian-speaking Native American/First Nations/Aboriginal people of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the Indigenous people of the Saint John River valley and its tributaries, crossing the borders of New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada, and Maine in the...
(also known as Malecite) and Algonquin against their traditional enemies, the Mi'kmaq (formerly known as Micmac) and Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
(also known as the Haudenosaunee). During the Beaver Wars
Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars, also sometimes called the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars, commonly refers to a series of conflicts fought in the mid-17th century in eastern North America...
(1640 - 1701) the Iroquois repeatedly invaded their territories, and enslaved women and warriors, as well plundering their hunting grounds in search of more furs. Since these raids were made by the Iroquois with unprecedented brutality, the Innu themselves now took over the torment and torture and the cruelty of their Indian enemies. The Naskapi on the other hand were usually in conflicts with the advancing southward Inuit in the east.
Montagnais, Naskapi or Innu
The Innu people are frequently categorized into two groups, the Montagnais (FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: “mountain people”, speak: Moon-tahn-YAY) or Innu proper (Nehilaw and Ilniw - “people”), who live along the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...
, in Quebec; and the less numerous Naskapi
Naskapi
The Naskapi are the indigenous Innu inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, which comprises most of what other Canadians refer to as eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada....
(Innu and Iyiyiw), who live farther north. The Innu recognize several distinctions (e.g. Mushuau Innuat, Maskuanu, Uashau Innuat) based on different regional affiliations and various dialects of the Innu language.
The word Naskapi (meaning "people beyond the horizon") first was recorded by French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
colonists in the 17th century and was subsequently applied to Innu groups beyond the reach of missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
influence. It particularly applied to those living in the lands which bordered Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay is a large bay in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik from Baffin Island. The bay is shaped like a rounded square with a side length of about and has an area of approximately...
and the northern Labrador coast, near the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
communities of northern Quebec and northern Labrador. It is here that the term came to be used for the Naskapi First Nation.
The Naskapi
Naskapi
The Naskapi are the indigenous Innu inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, which comprises most of what other Canadians refer to as eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada....
are traditionally nomadic peoples, in contrast with the more sedentary Montagnais, who establish settled territories. Mushuau Innuat (plural), while related to the Naskapi
Naskapi
The Naskapi are the indigenous Innu inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, which comprises most of what other Canadians refer to as eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada....
, split off from the tribe in the 1900s. They were subject to a government relocation program at Davis Inlet. Some of the families of the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach have close relatives in the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
village of Whapmagoostui
Whapmagoostui, Quebec
Whapmagoostui |beluga]]") is the northernmost Cree village in Quebec, located at the mouth of the Great Whale River on the coast of Hudson Bay in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. About 500 people, mostly Inuit, live in the neighbouring northern village of Kuujjuarapik. The community is only accessible by...
, on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...
.
Since 1990, the Montagnais people have generally chosen to be officially referred to as the Innu, which means human being in Innu-aimun, while the Naskapi have continued to use the word Naskapi.
The Innu should not be confused with the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
, a distinct people who live in the Canadian Arctic. Although their languages vary in origin, the word derives from the same root, meaning "people".
History
Samuel de Champlain befriended members of this group who insisted that he help them in their conflict with the IroquoisIroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, who were ranging north from their traditional territory in present-day New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state. On July 29, 1609, at Ticonderoga
Ticonderoga, New York
Ticonderoga is a town in Essex County, New York, USA. The population was 5,167 at the 2000 census. The name comes from the Mohawk tekontaró:ken, meaning "it is at the junction of two waterways"....
or Crown Point, New York
Crown Point, New York
Crown Point is a town in Essex County, New York, USA. The population was 2,119 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is a direct translation of the original French name, "Point au Chevalure."...
, (historians are not sure which of these two places), Champlain and his party encountered a group of Iroquois. A battle began the next day. Two hundred Iroquois advanced on Champlain's position as a native guide pointed out the three Iroquois chiefs to the French. Champlain fired his arquebus
Arquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
and killed two of them with one shot. One of his men killed the third. The Iroquois turned and fled. This was to set the tone for French-Iroquois relations for the next 100 years.
The Innu of Labrador and those living on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint-Lawrence in the Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
region have never officially surrendered their territory to Canada by way of treaty or other agreement. As the forest and mining operations began at the turn of the 20th century, the Innu became increasingly settled in coastal communities and in the interior of Quebec. The Canadian and provincial governments, the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Moravian, and Anglican churches, all encouraged the Innu to settle in more permanent communities, in the belief that their lives would improve with this adaptation. But, with the social disruption and decline of the Innu people's traditional activities (hunting, trapping, fishing), community life in the permanent settlements often became associated with high levels of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
by children, domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
and suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Davis Inlet, Labrador
In 1999 Survival InternationalSurvival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples, seeking to help them to determine their own future. Their campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' fight to keep their ancestral lands,...
published a study of the Innu communities of Labrador. It assessed the impact of the Canadian government's relocating the people far from their ancestral lands and preventing their practising their ancient way of life. Survival International considered these policies to be in violation of international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
and drew parallels with the treatment of Tibetans
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
by the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. According to the study, from 1990–1997, the Innu community of Davis Inlet
Davis Inlet, Newfoundland and Labrador
Davis Inlet was a Naskapi community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, formerly inhabited by the Mushuau Innu First Nation.-Settlement:...
had a suicide rate more than twelve times the Canadian average, and well over three times the rate often observed in isolated northern villages.
By 2000, the Innu island community of Davis Inlet asked the Canadian government to assist with a local addiction
Substance use disorder
Substance use disorders include substance abuse and substance dependence. In DSM-IV, the conditions are formally diagnosed as one or the other, but it has been proposed that DSM-5 combine the two into a single condition called "Substance-use disorder"....
crisis. At their request, the community was relocated to a nearby mainland site, now known as Natuashish. At the same time, the Canadian government created the Natuashish and Sheshatshiu band councils under the Indian Act.
Kawawachikamach, Quebec
The Naskapi Nation of KawawachikamachKawawachikamach, Quebec
Kawawachikamach is an Naskapi/Iyiyiw First Nations reserve and community at the south end of Lake Matemace , approximately northeast of Schefferville, Quebec, Canada. It belongs to the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach. The village was built by the Naskapi/Iyiyiw from 1980 to 1983...
, of Quebec, is the only Quebec First Nations community that has signed a comprehensive land claims settlement, the Northeastern Quebec Agreement
James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement
The James Bay And Northern Quebec Agreement was an Aboriginal land claim settlement, approved in 1975 by the Cree and Inuit of northern Quebec, and later slightly modified in 1978 by the Northeastern Quebec Agreement, through which Quebec's Naskapi First Nations joined the treaty...
; they did so in 1978. As a consequence, the Naskapi
Naskapi
The Naskapi are the indigenous Innu inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, which comprises most of what other Canadians refer to as eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada....
of Kawawachikamach are no longer subject to certain provisions of the Indian Act. All the Innu communities of Quebec are still subject to the Act.
New York Power Authority controversy
The New York Power AuthorityNew York Power Authority
The New York Power Authority , officially the Power Authority of the State of New York , is a New York State public benefit corporation and the largest state-owned power organization in the United States. NYPA provides some of the lowest-cost electricity in New York State, operating 17 generating...
's proposed contract with the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to buy power from its extensive hydroelectric dam facilities has generated controversy. According to the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
:
The Innu community, the Sierra Club, and the National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild is an advocacy group in the United States "dedicated to the need for basic and progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system . ....
are fighting to prevent this proposed contract, which would have to be approved by New York's Governor Paterson
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
under his regulatory authority. The problem is that construction of required electric transmission lines would hinder the Innu's hunting-gathering-fishing lifestyle:
Chief Gregoire's comments at a press conference in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
were translated, but whether from French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
or Innu-aimun is not clear.
Natuashish and Sheshatshiu, Newfoundland and Labrador
Although Innu have been only in Sheshatshiu since fur trading posts were established by the Hudson's Bay Company in Northwest River in the mid-1700s and only in Davis Inlet/Natuashish since the Moravians set up along the Inuit Coast in 1771, Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
Premier Danny Williams
Danny Williams (politician)
Daniel E. "Danny" Williams, QC, MHA is a Canadian politician, businessman and lawyer who served as the ninth Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador between November 6, 2003, and December 3, 2010. Williams was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador...
struck a deal on September 26, 2008, with Labrador's Innu to permit construction of a hydroelectric megaproject
Megaproject
A megaproject is an extremely large-scale investment project. Megaprojects are typically defined as costing more than US$1 billion and attracting a lot of public attention because of substantial impacts on communities, environment, and budgets. Megaprojects can also be defined as "initiatives that...
to proceed on the proposed Lower Churchill site. They also negotiated compensation for another project on the Upper Churchill, where large tracts of Actual traditional Innu hunting lands were flooded.
Culture
Traditional crafts
Traditional Innu craft is demonstrated in the Innu tea doll. These children's toys originally served a dual purpose for nomadic Innu tribes. When traveling vast distances over challenging terrain, the people left nothing behind. They believed that "Crow" would take it away. Everyone, including young children, helped to transport essential goods. Innu women made intricate dolls from caribou hides and scraps of cloth. They filled the dolls with tea and gave them to young girls to carry on long journeys. The girls could play with the dolls while also carrying important goods. Every able-bodied person carried something. Men generally carried the heavier bags and women would carry young children.Traditional clothing, style and accessories
Men wore caribou pants and boots with a buckskin long shirt, all made by women. With the introduction of trade cloth from the French and English, people began replacing the buckskin shirts with ones made of cloth. Most still wore boots and pants made from caribou hide. Women wore long dresses of buckskin and moccasins. Contemporary Innu women have often replaced these with manufactured pants and jackets. Women traditionally wore their hair long or in two coils. Men wore theirs long.Both genders wore necklaces made of bone and bead. Smoke pipes were used by both genders, marked for women as shorter. If a man killed a bear, it was a sign of joy and initiation into adulthood and the man would wear a necklace made from the bear's claws.
Housing
The houses of the Montagnais were cone shaped. The Naskapi made long, domed houses covered in caribou hides. These days the hearth is a metalMetal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
stove in the centre of the house.
Traditional foods
Animals traditionally eaten included moose, caribou, hare, martenMarten
The martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae.-Description:Martens are slender, agile animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large...
, woodchuck, squirrel; Canada geese, snow geese, brant
Brant
- People :Surname* Aaron Brant , American football player* Alice Dayrell Caldeira Brant , Brazilian writer* Antony Thomas Brant , English pop singer* Beth Brant, Canadian Mohawk writer* David Brant, former NCIS investigator* Everett H...
s, ducks, teal
Teal
Teal may mean:* Teal , a medium greenish-blue color* Various ducks:** Baikal Teal, Anas formosa** Black Teal, Aythya novaeseelandiae** Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors** Brown Teal, Anas aucklandica** Campbell Teal Anas nesiotis...
s, loon
Loon
The loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia...
s, spruce grouse
Spruce Grouse
The Spruce Grouse or Canada Grouse is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. It is one of the most arboreal grouse, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees...
, woodcock
Woodcock
The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...
s, snipe
Snipe
A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...
s, passenger pigeon
Passenger Pigeon
The Passenger Pigeon or Wild Pigeon was a bird, now extinct, that existed in North America and lived in enormous migratory flocks until the early 20th century...
s, ptarmigan; whitefish
Freshwater whitefish
The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...
, lake trout
Lake trout
Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...
, salmon, seal(naskapi) pike
Esox
Esox is a genus of freshwater fish, the only living genus in the family Esocidae — the esocids which were endemic to North America, Europe and Eurasia during the Paleogene through present.The type species is E. lucius, the northern pike...
, walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
,
suckerfish
Catostomidae
Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
(Catostomidae
Catostomidae
Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
), sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
, catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
, lamprey
Lamprey
Lampreys are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from an admixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers...
, and smelt. Fish were eaten roasted or smoke-dried. Moose meat and several types of fish were also smoked. Bannock
Bannock
Bannock has more than one meaning:* Bannock , a kind of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying* Bannock , a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon and western Idaho* Bannock County, Idaho* Bannock, Ohio...
made from oats, introduced by the French in the 16th century, became a staple. Meat was eaten frozen, raw or roasted, and caribou was sometimes boiled in a stew. Pemmican
Pemmican
Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food. The word comes from the Cree word pimîhkân, which itself is derived from the word pimî, "fat, grease". It was invented by the native peoples of North America...
was made with moose or caribou.
Plants traditionally eaten included raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, wild grape
Wild grape
Wild grape may refer to:* Vitis species; specially Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris , Vitis californica , Vitis girdiana , and Vitis riparia...
s, hazelnut
Hazelnut
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...
s, crab apples, red martagon
Lilium lancifolium
Lilium lancifolium is a species of lily native to northern and eastern Asia, including Japan. It is one of several species of lily to which the common name Tiger lily is applied, and is the species most widely known by this name....
bulbs, Indian potato, and maple-tree sap for sweetening. Cornmeal was traded for with Iroquois, Algonquin, and Abenaki First Nations peoples, and made into apon (cornbread), which sometimes also included oat or wheat flour when it became available. Pine-needle tea kept away infections and colds resulting from the harsh weather.
Buckskin
Traditionally, buckskin was a most important material used for clothing, boots, moccasins, house covers and storage. Women prepared the hides and many of the products made from it. They scraped the hides to remove all fur, them left them outside to freeze. The next step was to stretch the hide on a frame. They rubbed it with a mixture of animal brain and pine needle tea to soften it. The dampened hide was formed into a ball and left overnight. In the morning, it would be stretched again, then placed over a smoker to smoke and tan it. The hide was left overnight. The finished hide was called buckskin.Transportation
In traditional Innu communities, people walked or used snow shoes. Today, they still walk and use snow shoes, but when hunting and moving camp, they use snowmobiles.Labrador Communities
- Natuashish (‘Nat-wah-sheesh’, formerly Davis Inlet (Utshimassits)Davis Inlet, Newfoundland and LabradorDavis Inlet was a Naskapi community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, formerly inhabited by the Mushuau Innu First Nation.-Settlement:...
, home of the Mushuau Innu First NationMushuau Innu First NationThe Mushuau Innu First Nation is located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The First Nation has one reserve, it has an area of roughly 43 square kilometres, centred around the community of Natuashish since 2002, when they moved from the prior community of Davis Inlet.The...
, Reserve: Natuashish #2, ca. 43 km2, Population: 777) (Naskapi reserve) - Sheshatshiu (‘Shesh-ah-shee’, Tshishe-shatshu in standardized orthograph, home of the Sheshatshiu Innu First NationSheshatshiu Innu First NationThe Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation is located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The First Nation is centred around the community of Sheshatshiu....
, Reserve: Sheshatshiu #3,ca. 8 km2, Population: 1.368)
Although Sheshatshiu and Natuashish are home to most of the province's Innu people, some also live at Labrador City, Wabush, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, St. John's, and elsewhere.
Labrador Innu Organizations and Land Claims
The Innu people of Labrador formally organized the Naskapi Montagnais Innu Association in 1976 to protect their rights, lands, and way of life against industrialization and other outside forces. The organization changed its name to the Innu Nation in 1990 and functions today as the governing body of the Labrador Innu. The group has won recognition for its members as status Indians under Canada's Indian Act in 2002 and is currently involved in land claim and self-governance negotiations with the federal and provincial governments.In addition to the Innu Nation, residents at both Natuashish and Sheshatshiu elect Band Councils to represent community concerns. The chiefs of both councils sit on the Innu Nation's board of directors and the three groups work in cooperation with one another.
Quebec Communities
- BetsiamitesBetsiamites, QuebecBetsiamites, also known as Pessamit , is a First Nations reserve and Innu community in the Canadian province of Quebec, located about southwest from Baie-Comeau along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Betsiamites River...
(Pessamu in standardized orthograph, home of the Bande des Innus de Pessamit, known also as ‘Pessamit Innu Band’, Reserve: Betsiamites,ca. 252 km2, Population: 3.736) - Ekuantshit (Mingan)Mingan, QuebecMingan, also known as Ekuantshit in Innu-aimun, is an Innu First Nations reserve in the Canadian province of Quebec, at the mouth of the Mingan River on Mingan Bay of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It belongs to the Innu band of Ekuanitshit...
(Ekuanitshu in standardized orthograph, home of Les Innus de Ekuanitshit, Reserve: Mingan, ca. 19 km2, Population: 564) - EssipitEssipit, QuebecEssipit is an Innu Indian reserve and community in the Canadian province of Quebec, located on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the Côte-Nord region. It belongs to the Innue Essipit First Nation....
(Essipu in standardized orthograph, home of the Innue Essipit, also known as Essipit First Nation or ‘Montagnais Essipit’, Reserve: Innue Essipit (or ‘Communaute Montagnaise Essipit’), ca.88 ha, Population: 437) - La Nation Innu Matimekush-Lac John (also known as ‘Innu Nation of Matimekush-Lac John’, Reserve: Lac John, Matimekosh #3, ca.94 ha, Population: 850)
- Lac-JohnLac-John, QuebecLac-John is a First Nations reserve on John Lake in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada, about north-east from the centre of Schefferville. Together with the Matimekosh Reserve, it belongs to the Innu Nation of Matimekush-Lac John...
- MatimekoshMatimekosh, QuebecMatimekosh is a First Nations reserve on Lake Pearce in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. Together with the Lac-John Reserve, it belongs to the Innu Nation of Matimekush-Lac John...
(Matamekush in standardized orthograph)
- Lac-John
- KawawachikamachKawawachikamach, QuebecKawawachikamach is an Naskapi/Iyiyiw First Nations reserve and community at the south end of Lake Matemace , approximately northeast of Schefferville, Quebec, Canada. It belongs to the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach. The village was built by the Naskapi/Iyiyiw from 1980 to 1983...
(home of the Naskapi Nation of KawawachikamachNaskapiThe Naskapi are the indigenous Innu inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, which comprises most of what other Canadians refer to as eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada....
, Reserve: Kawawachikamach, ca. 49 km2, Population: 698)[ (Naskapi reserve) - MashteuiatshMashteuiatsh, QuebecMashteuiatsh is a First Nations reserve in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, about north from the centre of Roberval. It is located on a headland jutting out on the western shores of Lake Saint-Jean known as Pointe-Bleue, in the geographic township of Ouiatchouan, and belongs...
(Matshiteuiau in standardized orthograph, home of the Montagnais du Lac St.-Jean, also known as ‘Première nation des Pekuakamiulnuatsh’, autonymAutonymAutonym may refer to*Autonym, the name used by a people to refer to themselves or their language, synonymous with endonym*Autonym, the true name of an author disclosed by resolving a pseudonym...
: ‘Ilnuatsh du Pekuakami’, Reserve: Mashteuiatsh, ca. 15 km2, Population: 5.021) - Natashquan (Nutashkuan in standardized orthograph, home of the Montagnais de Natashquan, Reserve: Natashquan #1, ca. 20 ha, Population: 997)
- PakuashipiPakuashipi, QuebecPakuashipi is an Innu community in the Canadian province of Quebec, located on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the Côte-Nord region. It is on the western shore of the mouth of the Saint-Augustin River, opposite the settlement of Saint-Augustin...
(Pakut-shipu in standardized orthograph, home of the Montagnais de Pakua Shipi, Reserve community: St. Augustin Indian Settlement, Population: 334) - Uashat-Maliotenam (Uashau mak Mani-utenam in standardized orthograph, home of the Innu Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam, Reserve: Maliotenam #27A, ca. 16 km east of Sept-Îles, Uashat #27 in the City of Sept-ÎlesSept-Îles, QuebecFor the islands in north of Brittany, see JentilezSept-Îles is a city in the Côte-Nord region of eastern Quebec, Canada. It is the northernmost town in Quebec with any significant population...
, ca. 6 km2, Population: 3.874) - Unamenshipit (La Romaine)La Romaine, QuebecLa Romaine, also known as Unamenshipit in Innu-aimun, is an Innu First Nations reserve in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada, at the mouth of the Olomane River on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It belongs to the Innu band of Unamen Shipu...
(Unaman-shipu in standardized orthograph, home of the Montagnais de Unamen Shipu, Reserve: Romaine #2, ca. 40 ha, Population: 1.089)
Notable people
The best-known members of the Innu nation are the folk rockFolk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
duo Kashtin
Kashtin
Kashtin were a Canadian folk rock duo in the 1980s and 1990s, one of the most commercially successful and famous musical groups in First Nations history....
, a popular Canadian folk rock duo in the 1980s and 1990s, and one of the most commercially successful and well-known First Nations musical groups. The band was formed in 1984 by Claude McKenzie
Claude McKenzie
Claude McKenzie is a Canadian singer-songwriter. An Innu from Maliotenam, he was half of the popular folk music duo Kashtin, the most commercially successful musical group in First Nations history....
and Florent Vollant
Florent Vollant
Florent Vollant is a Canadian singer-songwriter. An Innu from Maliotenam, Quebec, he was half of the popular folk music duo Kashtin, one of the most important musical groups in First Nations history....
, two Innu from the Maliotenam reserve in northern Quebec.
The first Innu ever elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
was Bernard Cleary
Bernard Cleary
Bernard Cleary is a Canadian politician.Cleary was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the Canadian federal election, 2004. He was the Bloc Québécois member of parliament for the riding of Louis-Saint-Laurent. He was the Bloc's critic to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern...
, a Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
MP first elected in the 2004 election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
.
Two Innu politicians, Peter Penashue
Peter Penashue
Peter Penashue, PC, MP is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada currently serving as the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada...
of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
and Jonathan Genest-Jourdain
Jonathan Genest-Jourdain
Jonathan Genest-Jourdain is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Manicouagan, first elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election. He succeeded Gérard Asselin of the Bloc Québécois...
of the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
, were elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 election, following which Penashue, as a member of the governing party caucus, became the first Innu person ever appointed to the Cabinet of Canada
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
.
External links
- Official website of the Innu Nation of Labrador.
- Official website of the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, Quebec
- Article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition on the difference between Naskapi and Montagnais
- Website of the Tshikapisk Foundation (a non profit Innu organization focussing on social and cultural renewal)
- Virtual Museum of Canada - Tipatshimuna: Innu stories from the land
- Distinctions between "Naskapi", "Montagnais" and "Innu"
- Montagnais Indians (Quebec) - Article in the Catholic Encyclopedia
- CBC Digital Archives - Davis Inlet: Innu community in crisis
- Montagnais History