Innu communities of Québec and Labrador
The
Innu are the
indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as
Nitassinan, which comprises most of what other Canadians refer to as eastern
Quebec and
Labrador,
Canada. Their population in 2003 includes about 18,000 people, of which 15,000 live in Quebec. 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,
deer and small game. Some coastal clans also practised agriculture, fished, and managed maple sugarbush. Their language,
Innu-aimun or
Montagnais, is spoken throughout Nitassinan, with certain dialect differences. Innu-aimun is related to the language spoken by the
Cree of the
James Bay region of Quebec and
Ontario.
Montagnais, Naskapi or Innu
The Innu people are frequently categorized into two groups, the
Montagnais, who live along the north shore of the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence, in Quebec; and the less numerous
Naskapi, who live farther north. The Innu recognize several distinctions (e.g. Mushuau Innuat, Maskuanu Innut, 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 in the 17th century and was subsequently applied to Innu groups beyond the reach of missionary influence. It particularly appllied to those living in the lands which bordered
Ungava Bay and the northern Labrador coast, near the
Inuit communities of northern Quebec and northern Labrador. It is here that the term came to be used for the
Naskapi First Nation.
The
Naskapi are traditionally
nomadic peoples, in contrast with the territorial
Montagnais.
Mushuau Innuat (plural), while related to the
Naskapi, split off from the tribe in the 1900s and were subject to a government relocation program at
Davis Inlet. The Naskapi language and culture is quite different from the Montagnais, in which the dialect changes from y to n as in "Iiyuu" versus "Innu". Some of the families of the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach have close relatives in the
Cree village of
Whapmagoostui, on the eastern shore of
Hudson Bay.
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, 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 with their altercation with the
Iroquois. On July 29, 1609, at
Ticonderoga or
Crown Point, New York (historians are not sure which of these two places), Champlain and his party encountered a group of Iroquois. A battle began the next day. 200 Iroquois advanced on Champlain's position as a native guide pointed out the three Iroquois chiefs. Champlain fired his
arquebus 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 one hundred years.
The Innu of Labrador and those living on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint-Lawrence 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 settlement of the Innu was encouraged by the
Canadian government, the provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the
Catholic,
Moravian, and
Anglican churches, thus changing their traditional lifestyle. However, with the decline of the Innu people's traditional activities (hunting, trapping, fishing), life in these permanent settlements often became associated with high levels of
alcoholism,
substance abuse by children,
domestic violence and
suicide.
Davis Inlet, Labrador
In 1999
Survival International published a study of the Innu communities of Labrador and the impact of the Canadian government's policy of relocating them 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 and drew parallels with the treatment of
Tibetans by the
People's Republic of China. During the period from 1990 to 1997, according to the study, the Innu community of
Davis Inlet 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 crisis. The community was moved, at their request, to a nearby mainland location now known as Natuashish. At the same time, the Canadian government created the Natuashish and Sheshatshiu band councils under the Indian Act.
Kawawachikamach, Québec
The Naskapi Nation of
Kawawachikamach, of Quebec, is the only Quebec First Nations community that has signed a comprehensive land claims settlement, the
Northeastern Quebec Agreement, in 1978. Since that date, the
Naskapi of Kawawachikamach are no longer subject to the Indian Act, as are all Innu communities of Quebec.
New York Power Authority controversy
The
New York Power Authority's proposed contract with
Canada and its
Quebec province, to provide energy from its extensive
hydroelectric dam facilities, have generated not only power but controversy.
[Katrina Kieltyka, "Sierra Club figting plan to buy Canadian power: Say hydroelectic dams would harm indigenous people," Legislative Gazette, March 16, 2009, p. 21, available at (.pdf file). Retrieved March 20, 2009.] According to the
Sierra Club:
The Innu community, the Sierra Club, and the
National Lawyers Guild are fighting to prevent this proposed contract, which would have to be approved by
Governor Paterson under his regulatory authority.
The problem is that the
electric transmission lines would hinder the Innu's
hunting-gathering-fishing lifestyle:
Chief Gregoire's comments at a press conference in
Albany, New York were translated, but whether from either
French or Innu-aimun is not clear.
Natuashish and Sheshatshiu, Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier
Danny Williams struck a deal on September 26, 2008 with Labrador's Innu, that would allow construction for a
hydroelectric megaproject to proceed on the proposed
Lower Churchill site and compensation for another project on the
Upper Churchill, where large tracts of traditional Innu hunting lands were flooded.
Culture
“Buckle up your children” sign in Innu-aimun language, in the Pointe-Parent reservation in Natasquan, Québec.
The best-known members of the Innu nation are the
folk rock duo
Kashtin of Quebec.
A well-known example of a traditional Innu craft is the Innu Tea Doll. These beautifully crafted children's toys originally served a dual purpose for nomadic Innu tribes. When traveling vast distances over challenging terrain, they left nothing behind. They believed that Crow would take it away. Everyone needed to help with the transportation of essential goods - including young children. Innu women developed intricate dolls made from caribou hides and scraps of cloth. These dolls were filled with tea and given to young girls to carry on long journeys. The young girls could play with the dolls while simultaneously transporting important goods on behalf of the tribe. Men would carry bags and women would carry young kids. The men normally wore caribou pants and boots with a buckskin long shirt. But with the introduction of cloth, people began replacing the buckskin shirt with modern shirts and jackets. Most still wore boots and pants made from caribou hide. Women wore long dresses of buckskin and moccasins but have replaced them these days with pants and jackets. Women wore their hair long or in two coils. Men wore theirs long.
Necklaces made of bone and bead were common among both sexes. Smoke pipes for women were shorter than the mens'. If a man killed a bear, it was a sign of joy and initiation into adulthood. The man would wear the necklace out of the bear's claws.
The house of the Montagnais was cone shaped, while the Naskapi made long, domed houses covered in caribou hides. These days the hearth is a metal stove in the centre of the house. In the old days people walked or used snow shoes. These days they still walk and use snow shoes, but when hunting and moving camp, they use snowmobiles.
The Innu along with the Cree often fought with the southern Inuit. They used spears, bow and arrow, clubs and war hatchets. Nowadays Innu do not fight, but use rifles when hunting as well as traps. For fishing they use harpoons and nets.
Food
Animals eaten: moose,
caribou, hare,
marten,
woodchuck, squirrel,
Canada geese,
snow geese,
brants, ducks,
teals,
loons,
spruce grouse,
woodcocks,
snipes,
passenger pigeons,
ptarmigan,
whitefish,
lake trout, salmon,seal(naskapi)
pike,
walleye,
sucker (
Catostomidae),
sturgeon,
catfish,
lamprey, and
smelt. Fish were eaten roasted or smoke-dried. Moose meat and several types of fish were also smoked.
Bannock, introduced by the Europeans, became a staple. Meat was eaten frozen raw or roasted, and caribou was sometimes boiled in a stew.
Pemmican was made with moose or caribou.
Plants: raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries,
wild grapes,
hazelnuts, wild apples, red
martagon bulbs,
Indian potato, and maple-tree sap for sweetening. Cornmeal was traded for with Iroquois, Algonquin, and Abenaki, which they added to bannock. Pine-needle tea keeps colds and the harsh weather away.
Buckskin
Buckskin was the most important material for the Innu. It was used for clothing, boots, moccasins, house covers and storage. Women prepared the hides and many of the products made from it. They first 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 brain and pine needle tea to soften it. The hide was made 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 there overnight. The finished hide was called buckskin.
Innu communities
Labrador
Quebec
- Essipit (Essipu in standardized orthograph)
