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95-620: Labrador occupies most of the eastern part of the Labrador Peninsula . It is bordered to the west and south by the province of Quebec . Labrador also shares a small land border with the territory of Nunavut on Killiniq Island . The indigenous peoples of Labrador include the Northern Inuit of Nunatsiavut , the Southern Métis of NunatuKavut , and the Innu of Nitassinan . Labrador

190-506: A humid continental (Dfb) microclimate. Summers are typically cool to mild across Labrador and very rainy, and usually last from late June to the end of August. Autumn is generally short, lasting only a couple of weeks and is typically cool and cloudy. Winters are long, cold, and extremely snowy, due to the Icelandic Low . Springtime most years does not arrive until late April, with the last snow fall usually falling during early June. Labrador

285-546: A land claim for portions of Labradorian land in 1977. In 1988, the Labrador Inuit Association, the government of the province of Newfoundland, and the government of Canada began negotiations based on the land claim. An agreement-in-principle was achieved in 2001, and on May 26, 2004, the agreement was ratified by over 75% of eligible voters subject to the land claim. On January 22, 2005, the Inuit of Nunatsiavut signed

380-557: A 1999 resolution of the Assembly of First Nations claimed Labrador as a homeland for the Innu and demanded recognition in any further constitutional negotiations regarding the region. Labrador's Innu became status Indians under the Indian Act in 2002. Natuashish became a federal Indian reserve in 2003. Sheshatshiu became a federal reserve in 2006. The Labrador Inuit Association had filed

475-688: A comprehensive land claims settlement, the Northeastern Quebec Agreement ; they did so in 1978. As a consequence, the Naskapi 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. The New York Power Authority 's proposed contract in 2009 with the province of Quebec to buy power from its extensive hydroelectric dam facilities has generated controversy, because it

570-522: A disadvantage in numbers and weaponry, and eventually began to avoid the area rather than risk further defeat. During this conflict, the French colonists took many Innu women as wives. French women did not immigrate to New France in the early period. French explorer Samuel de Champlain eventually became involved in the Innu's conflict with the Iroquois, who were ranging north from their traditional territory around

665-904: 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. The houses of the Montagnais were cone shaped. The Naskapi made long, domed houses covered in caribou hides. These days the hearth is a metal stove in the centre of the house. Animals traditionally eaten included moose , caribou, porcupine , rabbits, marten , woodchuck , squirrel; Canada goose , snow goose , brants , ducks, teal , loons , spruce grouse , woodcock , snipe , passenger pigeons , ptarmigan ; whitefish , lake trout , salmon, Arctic char , seal ( naskapi ) pike , walleye , suckerfish ( Catostomidae ), sturgeon , catfish , lamprey , and smelt . Fish were eaten roasted or smoke-dried. Moose meat and several types of fish were also smoked. Oat bannock , introduced by

760-521: A maritime border with Greenland. Northern Labrador's climate is classified as polar , while Southern Labrador's climate is classified as subarctic . Labrador can be divided into four geographical regions: the North Coast, Central Labrador, Western Labrador, and the South Coast. Each of those regions is described below. From Cape Chidley to Hamilton Inlet , the long, thin, northern tip of Labrador holds

855-765: A million lakes of varying size. The largest body of water on the Labrador Peninsula is the Smallwood Reservoir , but the largest natural lake is Lake Mistassini . Other lakes of note include the Manicouagan Reservoir , the Caniapiscau Reservoir , and the La Grande 2 and La Grande 3 reservoirs. Due to a history of hydroelectric development, the majority of the larger freshwater lakes on the peninsula are reservoirs. In addition to an abundance of lakes,

950-490: A native guide pointed out the three enemy chiefs to the French. According to legend, Champlain fired his arquebus and killed two of the Mohawk chiefs with one shot; one of his men shot and killed the third. The Mohawk reportedly fled the scene. Although the French also traded extensively with the Mohawk and other Iroquois, and converted some to Catholicism, they also continued to have armed conflicts with them. The southern bands of

1045-787: A press conference in Albany, New York were translated, but whether from French or Innu-aimun is not clear. Innu have only been in Sheshatshiu since fur trading posts were established by the Hudson's Bay Company in North West River in the mid-1700s and only in Davis Inlet / Natuashish since 1771, when the Moravian Church set up the first mission at Nuneingoak on the Labrador coast. Danny Williams ,

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1140-744: A project with Memorial University of Newfoundland to better understand their past through the Community-University Research Association (CURA). Following research by CURA, the "Labrador Metis" were understood to be a continuation of the Inuit of southern Labrador. In 2010, the Labrador Metis Association changed its name to reflect their newly discovered heritage, and became the NunatuKavut Community Council . The Southern Inuit of NunatuKavut , who are also seeking self-government, have their land claim before

1235-456: A sweeping geographical region of thin soil and abundant mineral resources. Its western border with Quebec is the drainage divide of the Labrador Peninsula. Lands that drain into the Atlantic Ocean are part of Labrador, while lands that drain into Hudson Bay are part of Quebec. Labrador's extreme northern tip, at 60°22′N, shares a short border with Nunavut on Killiniq Island. Labrador also has

1330-508: Is a very cloudy place, with sunshine levels staying relatively low during spring and summer due to the amount of rain and clouds, before sharply dropping off during September as winter draws nearer. Labrador is home to a number of flora and fauna species. Most of the Upper Canadian and Lower Hudsonian mammalian species are found in Labrador. Notably the Polar bear ( Ursus maritimus ) reaches

1425-562: Is also the location of four 16th-century Spanish galleons. The lighthouse at Point Amour is the second-largest lighthouse in Canada. MV Kamutik , a passenger ferry between the mainland and St. Barbe on the island of Newfoundland , is based in Blanc Sablon, Quebec , near the Labrador border. L'Anse-au-Loup is the largest town on the Labrador Straits. L'Anse-au-Clair is a small town on

1520-581: Is named after João Fernandes Lavrador , a Portuguese explorer who sailed along the coasts of the Labrador Peninsula in 1498–99. Labrador's name in the Inuttitut / Inuktitut language (spoken in Nunatsiavut ) is Nunatsuak ( ᓄᓇᑦᓱᐊᒃ ), meaning "the big land" (a common English nickname for Labrador). Labrador has a roughly triangular shape that encompasses the easternmost section of the Canadian Shield ,

1615-608: Is of an inferior alignment, and from there to 570 kilometres (350 mi), the provincial border, is an accident-prone section notorious for its poor surface and sharp curves. Quebec in April 2009 announced major upgrades to Route 389 to be carried out. Route 389 and the Trans-Labrador Highway were added to Canada's National Highway System in September 2005. Labrador constitutes a federal electoral district electing one member to

1710-566: Is peppered with tiny Inuit fishing communities, of which Cartwright is the largest. From Cape Charles to the Quebec/Labrador coastal border, the Straits is known for its Labrador sea grass (as is NunatuKavut) and the multitude of icebergs that pass by the coast via the Labrador Current . Red Bay is known as one of the best examples of a preserved 16th-century Basque whaling station. It

1805-596: Is surrounded by sea on all sides, except for the southwest where it widens into the general continental mainland. The northwestern part of the Labrador Peninsula is shaped as a lesser peninsula, the Ungava Peninsula , surrounded by Hudson Bay, the Hudson Strait , and Ungava Bay . The northernmost point of the Ungava Peninsula, Cape Wolstenholme , also serves as the northernmost point of the Labrador Peninsula and of

1900-470: Is that construction of required electric transmission lines would hinder the Innu's hunting-gathering-fishing lifestyle : Chief Georges-Ernest Grégoire of the Innu community in Eastern Quebec urged the governor not to proceed with a plan to buy hydroelectric power from Canada, saying the dam complex that would be built would affect the traditional way of life for his people. Chief Grégoire's comments at

1995-402: Is used for the Innu, members of the large Cree-language family. The plural form of "Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh" has been abandoned. The people are frequently classified by the geography of their primary locations: The word Naskapi was first recorded by French colonists in the 17th century. They applied it to distant Innu groups who were beyond the reach of Catholic missionary influence. It

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2090-651: The Skrælings . In 1499 and 1500, the Portuguese explorers João Fernandes Lavrador and Pero de Barcelos reached what was probably now Labrador, which is believed to be the origin of its name. Maggiolo's World Map , 1511, shows a solid Eurasian continent running from Scandinavia around the North Pole, including Asia's arctic coast, to Newfoundland-Labrador and Greenland. On the extreme northeast promontory of North America, Maggiolo place-names include Terra de los Ingres (Land of

2185-696: The British Empire , the matter was referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London). Their decision set the Labrador boundary mostly along the coastal watershed, with part being defined by the 52nd parallel north . One of Newfoundland's conditions for joining Confederation in 1949 was that this boundary be entrenched in the Canadian constitution. While this border has not been formally accepted by

2280-533: The Catholic , Moravian , and Anglican churches, all encouraged the Innu to settle in more permanent, majority-style communities, in the belief that their lives would improve with this adaptation. This coercive assimilation resulted in the Innue giving up some traditional activities (hunting, trapping , fishing). Because of these social disruptions and the systemic disadvantages faced by Indigenous peoples, community life in

2375-555: The Cold War . In October 1943, a German U-boat crew installed an automated weather station on the northern tip of Labrador near Cape Chidley, code-named Weather Station Kurt ; the installation of the equipment was the only-known armed German military operation on the North American mainland during the war. The station broadcast weather observations to the German navy for only a few days, but

2470-649: The French and Indian War . By the Treaty of Paris (1763) , which ended the war, New France (including Labrador, though excluding the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon southwest of Newfoundland) was transferred to the British, who administered the northern portion of it as the Province of Quebec until splitting it in two in 1791, with Labrador located in Lower Canada . However, in 1809,

2565-475: The French colonial period (French for " mountain people ", English pronunciation: / ˌ m ɔː n t ə n ˈ j ɛ / ), are the Indigenous Canadians who inhabit the territory in the northeastern portion of the present-day province of Labrador and some portions of Quebec . They refer to their traditional homeland as Nitassinan ("Our Land", ᓂᑕᔅᓯᓇᓐ) or Innu-assi ("Innu Land"). The ancestors of

2660-548: The Grenfell Mission (see Wilfred Grenfell ). Throughout the 20th century, coastal freighters and ferries operated initially by the Newfoundland Railway and later Canadian National Railway / CN Marine / Marine Atlantic became a critical lifeline for communities on the coast, which for the majority of that century did not have any road connection with the rest of North America. Labrador was part of New France until

2755-573: The House of Commons of Canada . Due to its size, distinct nature, and large Aboriginal population, Labrador has one seat despite having the smallest population of any electoral district in Canada. Formerly, Labrador was part of a riding that included part of the Island of Newfoundland. Labrador is divided into four provincial electoral districts in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly . In 1809, Labrador

2850-549: The Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, Strait of Belle Isle and the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the southeast. The peninsula includes the region of Labrador , which is part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador , and the regions of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean , Côte-Nord , and Nord-du-Québec , which are in the province of Quebec . It has an area of 1,400,000 km (541,000 sq mi). The peninsula

2945-674: The Innu language . Other peoples on the peninsula include the East Cree of Eeyou Istchee (ᐄᔨᔨᐤ/ᐄᔨᔫ/ᐄᓅ ᐊᔅᒌ) , the Naskapi whose territories are called St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, also meaning "our land") as well as the Inuit of Nunavik , Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut . The area became known as Markland in Greenlandic Norse and its inhabitants were known as the Skræling . It is widely accepted that

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3040-574: The Iroquois Confederacy (known as Haudenosaunee . During the Beaver Wars (1609–1701), the Iroquois repeatedly invaded the Innu territories from their homelands south of the Great Lakes . They took women and young males as captive slaves, and plundered their hunting grounds in search of more furs. Since these raids were made by the Iroquois with unprecedented brutality, the Innu themselves adopted

3135-580: The Pinetree Line , Mid-Canada Line and DEW Line systems. Today, the remaining stations are automated as part of the North Warning System ; however, the military settlements during the early part of the Cold War surrounding these stations have largely continued as local Innu and Inuit populations have clustered near their port and airfield facilities. During the first half of the 20th century, some of

3230-539: The Torngat Mountains , named after an Inuit spirit believed to inhabit them. The mountains stretch along the coast from Port Manvers to Cape Chidley , the northernmost point of Labrador. The Torngat Mountain range is also home to Mount Caubvick , the highest point in the province. This area is predominantly Inuit, with the exception of a small Innu community, Natuashish . The North Coast is the most isolated region of Labrador, with snowmobiles , boats, and planes being

3325-715: The Torngat Mountains National Park in the northern area of the land claim. The agreement was ratified by the Labrador Inuit, the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador , and the Parliament of Canada , where it received Royal Assent on June 23, 2005, whereafter elections would be held for the Nunatsiavut Assembly and self-government would begin. In the late 1970s, the Labrador Metis Association

3420-619: The Trans-Labrador Highway was built in stages to connect various inland communities with the North American highway network at Mont Wright, Quebec (which in turn is connected by a highway running north from Baie-Comeau , Quebec). A southern extension of this highway has opened in stages during the early 2000s and is resulting in significant changes to the coastal ferry system in the Strait of Belle Isle and southeastern Labrador. These "highways" are so called only because of their importance to

3515-430: The buckskin shirts with ones made of cloth. Most still wore boots and pants made from caribou hide. Women wore long dresses of buckskin. 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

3610-516: The 1949 terms of union would be amended to remove ferry service from Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques across the Cabot Strait . Although a highway link has, as of December 2009, been completed across Labrador, this route is somewhat longer than a proposed Quebec North Shore highway that presently does not exist. Part of the "highway", Route 389 , starting approximately 212 kilometres (132 mi) from Baie-Comeau to 482 kilometres (300 mi),

3705-405: The Big Land", the area's population comprises people from all groups and regions of Labrador. Central Labrador is also home to Happy Valley-Goose Bay . Once a refuelling point for plane convoys to Europe during World War II , CFB Goose Bay is now operated as a NATO tactical flight training site. It was an alternate landing zone for the United States' Space Shuttle . Other major communities in

3800-472: The British Imperial government detached Labrador from Lower Canada for transfer to the separate, self-governing Newfoundland Colony . As part of Newfoundland since 1809, Labrador was still being disputed by Quebec until the British Privy Council resolved their border in 1927 . In 1949, Newfoundland entered into confederation , becoming part of Canada (see above articles for full information). Labrador played strategic roles during both World War II and

3895-399: The English), and Terra de Lavorador de rey de portugall (Land of Lavrador of the King of Portugal). Further south are the phrases Terra de corte real e de rey de portugall (Land of the Royal Court and of the King of Portugal) and Terra de pescaria (Land for Fishing). In the 1532 Wolfenbüttel map, believed to be the work of Diogo Ribeiro , along the coast of Greenland, the following legend

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3990-564: The French colonial era as Montagnais ), is spoken throughout Nitassinan, with certain dialect differences. It is part of the Cree –Montagnais– Naskapi dialect continuum , and is unrelated to the Inuit languages of other nearby peoples. The "Innu / Ilnu" consist of two regional tribal groups, with the Innus of Nutashkuan being the southernmost group and the Naskapi being the northernmost group. Both groups differ in dialect and partly also in their way of life and culture. These differences include: Both groups are still called "Montagnais" in

4085-435: The French in the 16th century, became a staple and Indigenous bannock is still eaten today. Meat was eaten frozen, raw or roasted, and caribou was sometimes boiled in a stew. Pemmican was made with moose or caribou. Plants traditionally eaten included raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, wild grapes , hazelnuts , crab apples, red martagon bulbs, Indian potato , and maple-tree sap for sweetening. Cornmeal

4180-400: The Government of Canada. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador refuses to recognise or negotiate with the Inuit of NunatuKavut until their claim has been accepted by the Government of Canada. The Labrador region, with its 26,655 population, is lower than any of the Northern Canada territories, Yukon , Northwest Territories and Nunavut . Newfoundland Island contains the majority of

4275-416: The Great Lakes in present-day New York and Pennsylvania. 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, likely Mohawk , who were the easternmost tribe of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. A battle began the next day. As two hundred Iroquois advanced on Champlain's position,

4370-484: The Innu accepted. Two distinct versions of the oral history describe the outcome. In the first, the French used gifts of farmed food and manufactured goods to encourage the Innu to become dependent on them. Then, the French changed it to a mercantile relationship: trading these items to the Innu in exchange for furs. When the nomadic Innu went inland for the winter, the French increased the size and population of their settlement considerably, eventually completely displacing

4465-405: The Innu. The second, and more widespread, version of the oral history describes a more immediate conflict. In this version, the Innu taught the French how to survive in their traditional lands. Once the French had learned enough to survive on their own, they began to resent the Innu. The French began to attack the Innu, who retaliated in an attempt to reclaim their ancestral territory. The Innu had

4560-586: The Labrador Inuit Lands Claims Agreement with the federal and provincial governments covering 72,520 km (28,000 sq mi) of land, including the entire northern salient of Labrador north of Nain as well as a portion of the Atlantic coast south of there. The agreement also includes 44,030 km (17,000 sq mi) of sea rights. Although the Inuit will not own the whole area, they were granted special rights related to traditional land use, and they will own 15,800 km (6,100 sq mi) designated Labrador Inuit Lands. The agreement also establishes

4655-455: The Labrador side of the border. Most of Labrador (from Cartwright north and west) uses Atlantic Time (UTC−4 in winter, UTC−3 in summer). The south eastern tip nearest Newfoundland uses Newfoundland Time (UTC−3:30 in winter, UTC−2:30 in summer) to stay co-ordinated with the more populous part of the province. Most of Labrador has a subarctic climate ( Dfc ), but northern Labrador has a tundra climate (ET) and Happy Valley - Goose Bay has

4750-456: The Montagnais-Naksapi were encountered by Europeans early in the seventeenth century while the northern ones, except for some on James Bay, were not well known until the nineteenth century. The following are bands of the Montagnais-Naksapi in the 17th century: By 1850, the Chisedec, Oumamiwek, and Papinachois had disappeared or been renamed, and many new bands in the north of Nitassinan were discovered: The Innu of Labrador and those living on

4845-454: 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

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4940-466: The Naskapi, 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 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 . The Naskapi have continued to use

5035-417: The Province of Newfoundland. Muskrat Falls is 45 km (30 miles) west of Happy Valley-Goose Bay on the Grand River (Newfoundland name: Churchill River). A transmission line began construction in October 2014 and was completed in 2016 that delivers power down to the southern tip of Labrador and underwater across the Strait of Belle Isle to the Province of Newfoundland in 2018. From the 1970s to early 2000s,

5130-752: The Quebec government, the Henri Dorion Commission ( Commission d'étude sur l'intégrité du territoire du Québec ) concluded in the early 1970s that Quebec no longer has a legal claim to Labrador. In 2001, Parti Québécois cabinet ministers Jacques Brassard and Joseph Facal reasserted that Quebec has never recognized the 1927 border: Les ministres rappellent qu'aucun gouvernement québécois n'a reconnu formellement le tracé de la frontière entre le Québec et Terre-Neuve dans la péninsule du Labrador selon l'avis rendu par le comité judiciaire du Conseil privé de Londres en 1927. Pour le Québec, cette frontière n'a donc jamais été définitivement arrêtée. [The ministers reiterate that no Quebec government has ever formally recognised

5225-438: The Second World War and the Cold War, the base was also home to American, British, and later German, Dutch, and Italian detachments. Today, Serco, the company contracted to operate CFB Goose Bay is one of the largest employers for the community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay . Additionally, both the Royal Canadian Air Force and United States Air Force built and operated a number of radar stations along coastal Labrador as part of

5320-420: The Smallwood Reservoir after Joey Smallwood , the first premier of Newfoundland. The flooding of the reservoir destroyed large areas of habitat for the threatened Woodland Caribou. A hydroelectric generating station was built in Labrador as well as a transmission line to the neighbouring province of Quebec. Construction of a large hydroelectric dam project at Muskrat Falls began in 2012 by Nalcor Energy and

5415-424: The area are North West River and the large Innu reserve known as Sheshatshiu . The highlands above the Churchill Falls were once an ancient hunting ground for the Innu First Nations and settled trappers of Labrador. After the construction of the hydroelectric dam at Churchill Falls in 1970, the Smallwood Reservoir has flooded much of the old hunting land—submerging several grave sites and trapping cabins in

5510-546: The bay, which they called Butus and is now named Red Bay after the red terracotta roof tiles they brought with them. A whaling ship, the San Juan , sank there in 1565 and was raised in 1978. The Moravian Brethren of Herrnhut , Saxony , first came to the Labrador Coast in 1760 to minister to the migratory Inuit tribes there. They founded Nain, Okak, Hebron, Hopedale and Makkovik. Quite poor, both European and First Nations settlements along coastal Labrador came to benefit from cargo and relief vessels that were operated as part of

5605-441: 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. 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

5700-447: The drawing of the border between Quebec and Newfoundland in the Labrador peninsula according to the opinion rendered by the London Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1927. For Quebec, this border has thus never been definitively defined.] A Royal Commission in 2002 determined that there is some public pressure from Labradorians to break from Newfoundland and become a separate province or territory. After decades of negotiation with

5795-505: 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. The Innu Nation's efforts to raise awareness about the environmental impacts of a mining project in Voisey's Bay were documented in Marjorie Beaucage 's 1997 film Ntapueu ... i am telling

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5890-416: The hides and many of the products made from it. They scraped the hides to remove all fur, then 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

5985-521: The inner bark of Abies balsamea (balsam fir) and eat it to benefit the diet. Traditional Innu craft is demonstrated in the Innu tea doll . These children's toys originally served a dual purpose for nomadic Innu tribes. When travelling 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

6080-404: The land of the labourer. European settlement was largely concentrated in coastal communities, particularly those south of St. Lewis and Cape Charles, and are among Canada's oldest European settlements. In 1542, Basque mariners came ashore at a natural harbour on the northeast coast of the Strait of Belle Isle. They gave this "new land" its Latin name Terranova . A whaling station was set up around

6175-399: The largest iron ore deposits in the world were discovered in the western part of Labrador and adjacent areas of Quebec. Deposits at Mont Wright , Schefferville , Labrador City, and Wabush drove industrial development and human settlement in the area during the second half of the 20th century. The present community of Labrador West is entirely a result of the iron ore mining activities in

6270-439: The modern First Nations were known to have lived on these lands as hunter-gatherers for many thousands of years. To support their seasonal hunting migrations, they created portable tents made of animal skins. Their subsistence activities were historically centred on hunting and trapping caribou , moose , deer , and small game. Their language, which changed over time from Old Montagnais to Innu-aimun (popularly known since

6365-404: The motives of the French explorers. The French asked permission to settle on the Innu's coastal land, which the Innu called Uepishtikueiau . This eventually developed as Quebec City . According to oral tradition, the Innu at first declined their request. The French demonstrated their ability to farm wheat on the land and promised they would share their bounty with the Innu in the future, which

6460-408: The north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the Canadian Shield region have never officially ceded their territory to Canada by way of treaty or other agreement. But, as European-Canadians began widespread forest and mining operations 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,

6555-429: The official language of Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada . The Naskapi ("people beyond the horizon", ᓇᔅᑲᐱ), who live further north, also identify as Innu or Iyiyiw . Today, about 28,960 people of Innu origin live in various Indian settlements and reserves in Quebec and Labrador. To avoid confusion with the Inuit , who belong to the Eskimoan peoples, today only the singular form "Innu / Ilnu"

6650-408: The only modern modes of transportation. The largest community in this region is Nain . Nunatsiavut is an Inuit self-government region in Labrador created on June 23, 2005. The settlement area comprises the majority of Labrador's North Coast, while the land-use area also includes land farther to the interior and in Central Labrador. Nain is the administrative centre. Central Labrador extends from

6745-425: The only national park of Canada on the Labrador Peninsula. The park is located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, whereas the adjacent Kuururjuaq National Park is located in the province of Quebec. Due to it being covered almost entirely by the Canadian Shield — a vast, rocky plateau with a history of glaciation — the peninsula has a large number of lakes. The province of Quebec alone has more than half

6840-652: The peninsula also has many rivers. The longest, the La Grande River, is 900 kilometres (560 mi) long and flows westwards across nearly half the peninsula. Other rivers of note include the Eastmain River , Rupert River , and Churchill River . Prior to European colonization, the peninsula was inhabited chiefly by Cree people, notably the Innu Nation in the southeast area of the peninsula, who referred to their country as Nitassinan (ᓂᑕᔅᓯᓇᓐ), meaning "our land" in

6935-625: The peninsula is named after Portuguese explorer João Fernandes Lavrador . He was granted a patent by King Manuel I of Portugal in 1499 that gave him the right to explore that part of the Atlantic Ocean as set out in the Treaty of Tordesillas . Together with Pero de Barcelos , he first sighted Labrador in 1498, and charted the coasts of southwestern Greenland and of adjacent the northeastern North America around 1498 and gave notice of them in Portugal and Europe. His landowner status allowed him to use

7030-509: The permanent settlements often became associated with high levels of substance abuse , domestic violence , and suicide among the Innu. In 1999, Survival International published a study of the Innu communities of Labrador. It assessed the adverse effects of the Canadian government's relocating the people far from their ancestral lands and preventing them from practising their ancient way of life. The Innu people of Labrador formally organized

7125-406: The population of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador . The municipalities of Labrador are mainly under 1,000 in population. Census Division 10 (excludes Nunatsiavut-Nain) Census Division 11 (Nunatsiavut-Nain) Labrador Peninsula The Labrador Peninsula or Quebec-Labrador Peninsula , is a large peninsula in eastern Canada . It is bounded by Hudson Bay to the west,

7220-763: The process. Western Labrador is also home to the Iron Ore Company of Canada , which operates a large iron ore mine in Labrador City . Together with the small community of Wabush , the two towns are known as "Labrador West". From Hamilton Inlet to Cape St. Charles / St. Lewis , NunatuKavut is the territory of the NunatuKavummiut or Central-Southern Labrador Inuit (formerly known as the Labrador Métis ). It includes portions of Central and Western Labrador, but more NunatuKavummiut reside in its South Coast portion: it

7315-409: The province of Quebec. The peninsula is a plateau threaded by river valleys. There are several mountain ranges. The Torngat Mountains , located in the northern part of the peninsula, contain the highest point of the peninsula, Mount Caubvick , which at 1,652 metres (5,420 ft) is also the highest point of mainland Canada east of Alberta . The mountains also host Torngat Mountains National Park ,

7410-448: The provincial and federal governments, the Nunatsiavut region of northern and northeastern Labrador was created in 2005 as an autonomous region with its own elected Assembly and executive drawn from members of the region's Assembly. Some of the Innu nation would have the entirety of Labrador become a homeland for them, much as Nunavut and Nunatsiavut is for the Inuit , as a good portion of Nitassinan falls within Labrador's borders;

7505-521: 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 public health 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 . Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, Quebec, signed

7600-593: The region. The Iron Ore Company of Canada operates the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway to transport ore concentrate 578 km (359 mi) south to the port of Sept-Îles, Quebec , for shipment to steel mills in North America and elsewhere. During the 1960s, the Churchill River (Labrador name: Grand River) was diverted at Churchill Falls , resulting in the flooding of an enormous area – today named

7695-499: The region; they would be better described as roads, and were not completely paved until July 2022. A study on a fixed link to Newfoundland, in 2004, recommended that a tunnel under the Strait of Belle Isle , being a single railway that would carry cars, buses and trucks, was technologically the best option for such a link. However, the study also concluded that a fixed link was not economically viable. Conceivably, if built with federal aid,

7790-469: The shores of Lake Melville into the interior. It contains the Churchill River , the largest river in Labrador and one of the largest in Canada. The hydroelectric dam at Churchill Falls is the second-largest underground power station in the world. Most of the supply is bought by Hydro-Québec under a long-term contract. The Lower Churchill Project will develop the remaining potential of the river and supply it to provincial consumers. Known as "the heart of

7885-487: The southeast of Labrador on its seasonal movements. Early settlement in Labrador was tied to the sea as demonstrated by the Innu (formerly called Montagnais) and Inuit, although these peoples also made significant forays throughout the interior. It is believed that the Norsemen were the first Europeans to sight Labrador around 1000 AD. The area was known as Markland in Greenlandic Norse and its inhabitants were known as

7980-475: The then Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador struck a deal on September 26, 2008, with Labrador's Innu to permit construction of Muskrat Falls Generating Station , a hydroelectric megaproject to proceed on the proposed Lower Churchill site. They also negotiated compensation for another project on the Upper Churchill, where large tracts of traditional Innu hunting lands were flooded. The Innu people grate

8075-553: The title lavrador , Portuguese for "farmer" or "landholder", but "labrador" in Spanish and Galician means "agricultural worker" ( Portuguese pronunciation: [lɐvɾɐˈðoɾ] ). He actually gave the name of Terra do Lavrador to Greenland, which was the first land that he sighted, but eventually, the name was spread to all areas until it was set for Labrador. Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from

8170-405: The torment, torture, and cruelty of their enemies. The Naskapi, on the other hand, usually had to confront the southward advancing Inuit in the east of the peninsula. Innu oral tradition describes the original encounters of the Innu and the French explorers led by Samuel de Champlain as fraught with distrust. Neither group understood the language of the other, and the Innu were concerned about

8265-490: The truth. In the 1999 study of Innu communities in Labrador, Survival International concluded that government policies violated contemporary international law in human rights, and drew parallels with the treatment of Tibetans by the People's Republic of China. According to the study, from 1990 to 1997, the Innu community of Davis Inlet had a suicide rate more than twelve times the Canadian average , and well over three times

8360-492: The word Naskapi . About 3,700 members Over 23,000 members The Innu were possibly the group identified in Greenlandic Norse by Norsemen as Skrælings . They referred to Nitassinan as Markland . The Innu were historically allied with neighbouring Atikamekw , Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) and Algonquin peoples against their enemies, the Algonquian-speaking Mi'kmaq and Iroquoian-speaking Five Nations of

8455-566: Was added: As he who first sighted it was a farmer from the Azores Islands, this name remains attached to that country. This is believed to be João Fernandes. For the first seven decades or so of the sixteenth century, the name Labrador was sometimes also applied to what is now known as Greenland. Labrador ("lavrador" in Portuguese) means husbandman or farmer of a tract of land (from "labor" in Latin) –

8550-416: Was created by the inhabitants of Labrador's southern coast to gain recognition as a distinct ethnocultural group, as at the time despite a pre-existing treaty protected under the constitution, the "Inuit-Metis" were considered to be merely the descendants of Inuit who had joined Western society. Little was known about the history of the "Inuit-Metis" of the time. In 2006, the Labrador Metis Association initiated

8645-738: Was dependent on construction of a new dam complex and transmission lines that would have interfered with the traditional ways of the Innu. According to the Sierra Club : [t]he "New York Power Authority is in preliminary discussions and considering the liability of a new contract with Hydro Quebec ," a Canadian supplier of hydroelectricity. 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 New York's Governor, under his regulatory authority. The problem

8740-632: Was not discovered until 1977 when a historian, working with the Canadian Coast Guard , identified its location and mounted an expedition to recover it. The station is now exhibited in the Canadian War Museum . The Canadian government built a major air force base at Goose Bay , at the head of Lake Melville during the Second World War, a site selected because of its topography, access to the sea, defensible location, and minimal fog. During

8835-522: Was particularly applied to those people living in the lands that bordered Ungava Bay and the northern Labrador coast, near the Inuit communities of northern Quebec and northern Labrador. Gradually it came to refer to the people known today as the Naskapi First Nation. The Naskapi are traditionally nomadic peoples, in contrast with the more sedentary Montagnais , who establish settled territories. The Mushuau Innuat (plural), while related to

8930-441: Was traded with other First Nations peoples , such as the Iroquois, Algonquin, and Abenaki , and made into apon ( cornbread ), which sometimes also included oat or wheat flour when it became available. Pine needle tea was meant to keep away infections and colds resulting from the harsh weather. Traditionally, buckskin leather was a most important material used for clothing, boots, moccasins, house covers and storage. Women prepared

9025-479: Was transferred from Lower Canada to the Newfoundland Colony, but the inland boundary of Labrador had never been precisely stated. Newfoundland argued it extended to the height of land, while Canada, stressing the historical use of the term "Coasts of Labrador", argued the boundary was 1 statute mile (1.6 km) inland from the high-tide mark. As Canada and Newfoundland were separate Dominions , but both within

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