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102-550: Innu people are frequently divided into two groups, the Neenoilno (called Montagnais by French people) 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 themselves recognize several distinctions (e.g. Mushuau Innuat, Maskuanu Innut, Uashau Innuat) based on different regional affiliations and various dialects of

204-454: A 21 °C (70 °F) average high during August 2014. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Kuujjuaq had a population of 2,668 living in 973 of its 1,253 total private dwellings, a change of -3.1% from its 2016 population of 2,754 . With a land area of 289.97 km (111.96 sq mi), it had a population density of 9.2/km (23.8/sq mi) in 2021. With ocean access and two runways at

306-619: A 5,000-foot (1,500 m) paved landing strip, is connected to points south by means of year-round, five-day-per-week service. Mushuau Innu First Nation is located in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador . In 1967 the Mushuau Innu were settled in Utshimassits ( Davis Inlet ) on Iluikoyak Island located off the coast of Labrador Peninsula , which inhibited the ability of the Mushuau Innu to continue their traditional caribou hunt on

408-594: A Dispute Resolution Mechanism for disputes arising from the interpretation, administration, and implementation of the NEQA, the JBNQA, and the ARINEQA, and created a working group to address employment for Naskapi. The Naskapi are now developing their homeland, notably through economic development and community reinforcement. Economic Development Projects: Sectors of Activity currently being developed: Due to their geographic isolation,

510-468: A cloudy climate, as a result of the Icelandic Low influence. Kuujjuaq has been affected by global warming in recent decades, similar to other Arctic locations . For example, December 2010 had an average high of −3 °C (27 °F), while a −4 °C (25 °F) average high was measured for March 2018. Summer has also been affected, with a 20 °C (68 °F) average high for June 2012, and

612-641: A cold subarctic climate ( Köppen Dfc ), not far above the polar climate , but avoids that classification due to the temperate summers with daily mean temperatures of above 10 °C (50 °F). Winters are cold but by no means extreme for its latitude by Eastern Canadian standards. The cause of the extreme swings is the effect of the Hudson Bay to its west freezing in November. This eliminates maritime moderation from westerlies that are prevalent in moderating summer temperatures. With Hudson Bay effectively becoming

714-735: 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

816-415: A cost of $ 5,000 each. In 1969, Indian and Northern Affairs acquired from the reluctant Municipality of Schefferville, a marshy, 39-acre (160,000 m) site north of the town centre and adjacent to Pearce Lake . By 1972, 43 row-housing units had been built there for the Naskapi, and a further 63 for Montagnais, and most of the Naskapi and Montagnais moved to this new site, known today as Matimekosh . For

918-522: 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

1020-497: A landmass during the winter, Kuujjuaq ends up being subject to severely cold winds. With the Labrador Current to its south-east also being cold, winter moderation from the east is also eliminated. Although less snowfall is received compared to the more coastal Nain further south, the influence of the current contributes to a sizeable snow tally for a climate that cold. In June, Hudson Bay thaws, resulting in mild maritime air from

1122-904: 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

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1224-490: 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

1326-787: 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 ,

1428-632: A steamer, and outposts at the mouths of the Whale and George Rivers helped carry out the salmon catch each August, which was salted on site for use, sale, and export. The fort was usually supplied by the steamer Eric , while a smaller refrigerated steamer picked up the salmon haul. Amid the Second World War , the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) surveyed the area from amphibious aircraft out of Gander on July 12, 1941 and established

1530-753: Is a former Hudson's Bay Company outpost at the mouth of the Koksoak River on Ungava Bay that has become the largest northern village ( Inuit community) in the Nunavik region of Quebec , Canada. It is the administrative capital of the Kativik Regional Government . Its population was 2,668 as of the 2021 census . Kuujjuaq was founded as Fort Good Hope in 1830 but in 1831 changed its name to Fort Chimo , an anglicization of an Inuit word ᓭᒨᖅ saimuuq , meaning "Let's shake hands" and also likely to avoid confusion with Fort Good Hope operated by

1632-400: Is a source of considerable bitterness even today that, in the minds of many Naskapi, not all of the promises or reassurances that were made were lived up to. Two examples are most commonly cited: the insistence of Indian and Northern Affairs' representatives that the Naskapi live in row houses that, in the event, proved not to be adequately soundproofed and that had a variety of other faults; and

1734-523: Is situated on 16 square miles (41 km) of Category IA-N land. There is ample room for expansion, whether for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes. The vast majority of the residents of Kawawachikamach are Naskapi. Naskapi is their principal language. It is spoken by all of them and written by many. English is their second language, although many younger persons also speak some French. The Naskapi still preserve many aspects of their traditional way of life and culture. Like many northern communities,

1836-470: 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

1938-402: 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

2040-748: The Indian Act , most of the powers that had until then been exercised by the Minister of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development ("DIAND") under the Indian Act were transferred to the NNK and to the James Bay Cree bands, to be exercised by their elected councils. The NNK and the James Bay Cree bands were also given powers not found in the Indian Act , powers normally exercised by non-Native municipalities throughout Canada. The NEQA had been negotiated under

2142-544: The Abitibi Indian Agency visited them in Fort Chimo and arranged for the issuing of welfare to them. In the early 1950s, the Naskapi made a partially successful effort to re-establish themselves at Fort McKenzie , where they had already lived between 1916 and 1948, and to return to an economy based substantially on hunting, fishing and commercial trapping. They could no longer be entirely self-sufficient, however, and

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2244-533: 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

2346-511: The Cree village of Whapmagoostui , on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay . The earliest written reference to Naskapi appears around 1643, when the Jesuit André Richard referred to the "Ounackkapiouek", but little is known about the group to which Richard was referring, other than that they were one of many "small nations" situated somewhere north of Tadoussac . The word "Naskapi" appeared for

2448-632: The Dominion of Newfoundland ) the total Innu population in Labrador (consisting of both Montagnais and Naskapi) was 100 in Davis Inlet, 33 in Nain and 137 in North West River / Sheshatshiu (270 in total, it has since increased to over 2,000). The previous census in 1935 only counted Innu in David Inlet. Some surnames listed in the census including Rich, Michimagaua, Mishimapu and Pokue. Most Innu in Labrador did not have surnames until after confederation in 1949. None of

2550-568: The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in the Northwest Territories . As this was a common greeting locals used with the HBC fur traders , they adopted it as the name of their trading post . A fictional account of this naming is given in the 1857 novel Ungava by R. M. Ballantyne , where it is taken from a girl character's beloved dog. On 5 February 1980, the name was changed to Kuujjuaq, the Inuit name for

2652-491: The Hudson's Bay Company established a permanent station on the east shore of the Koksoak River in 1830, at a site about 5 km (3.1 mi) downstream from the present settlement. Governor Simpson 's plan was to attract trade from the Inuit of the surrounding territory as well as from the islands and ice sheets north of the bay. Its first factor was Nicol Finlayson , who sent Erland Erlandson to establish an outpost on

2754-409: The Hudson's Bay Company . The major moves were: Numerous cases have been documented in which the Hudson's Bay Company relocated the Naskapi from post to post purely for its own commercial purposes, and without any concern as to whether the areas where the posts were situated offered the Naskapi the possibility of harvesting the fish and game that they required for food as well as the fur-bearers that

2856-784: 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 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

2958-574: 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

3060-619: The Kuujjuaq Airport , Kuujjuaq is the transportation hub of the entire Nunavik region. The Avataq cargo ship delivers cargo once a year, and a new beach port has been built north of the town. There are no roads to outside the region, but there have been proposals floated by regional and provincial officials to build a road link from the south, linking to the Trans-Taïga Road and also providing access to Schefferville . Kativik School Board (Kativik Ilisarniliriniq) operates two schools in

3162-510: The Wausquash ; this had to be abandoned in late 1833 or early 1834. By 1833, Fort Chimo comprised seven buildings in a defensive square, principally trading in caribou hides and white fox and marten pelts. Erlandson ultimately discovered bountiful trapping far to the south in the highlands around Lake Petitsikapau ; he briefly succeeded Finlayson as acting factor but was replaced when a brig delivered John McLean to his new post in 1837. Over

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3264-430: 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

3366-455: The tree line . During fall, Kuujjuaq's diurnal temperature variation is at its lowest, as the maritime moderation is at its strongest. Simultaneously, the Hudson Bay freezing process begins as cold builds up over the vast landmasses surrounding the bay. This renders Kuujjuaq to commonly get ice days during October, before winter begins in November and proceeds to the end of April. Kuujjuaq has

3468-662: The Canadian Supplementary Radio Activities (SUPRAD) system in 1948. Direction-finding facilities were finished and commenced operations in 1949. In 1950, it became part of the Atlantic high-frequency radio direction finding (HFDF) network after the Royal Canadian Navy and the United States Navy agreed to coordinate and standardize their detection operations. The high cost of maintaining and supplying

3570-475: The Company sought. In several instances, individual managers, apparently dissatisfied with the Naskapi' seeming lack of commitment to trapping withheld from them the ammunition that they needed to hunt for food, thereby directly causing a considerable number of deaths from starvation. By the late 1940s, the pressures of the fur trade, high rates of mortality and debilitation from diseases communicated by Europeans, and

3672-669: The Crystal 1 weather station on the western shore of the Koksoak on October 10, 1941. It was supplied by the United States Coast Guard . An airfield was established in the summer of 1942, although it was never used for the Crimson East 's intended purpose of facilitating trans-Atlantic ferry flights. The US turned over the base to the Canadian government in 1944 and 1945, which established Naval Radio Station Chimo (call sign CFI) as part of

3774-529: The Eskimo word 'Kohsoak'. The Fort Chimo band numbered only about 25 tents at the time of our visit in 1948. The men spend their time lying around the post, and the women and children pick berries on the barrens within a three-mile radius. As the vicinity of Fort Chimo is not duck nesting habitat, they do no damage to waterfowl. Between 1831 and 1956, the Naskapi were subjected to several major relocations, all of which reflected not their needs nor interests, but those of

3876-707: 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

3978-435: 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

4080-588: 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,

4182-590: The Hudson's Bay Company. It should not come as a surprise, therefore, that these matters are still spoken of frequently today and that they maintain very considerable importance and significance for many Naskapi. A pivotal event in the history of the Naskapi occurred in early 1975, when, after separate visits to Schefferville by Billy Diamond , Grand Chief, Grand Council of the Crees (of Quebec) ("GCCQ"), and Charlie Watt , President, Northern Quebec Inuit Association ("NQIA"),

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4284-484: 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

4386-445: The Innu language. The word "Naskapi" (meaning "people beyond the horizon") first made an appearance in the 17th century and was subsequently applied to Innu groups beyond the reach of missionary influence, most notably those living in the lands which bordered Ungava Bay and the northern Labrador coast, near the Inuit communities of northern Quebec and northern Labrador. The Naskapi are traditionally nomadic peoples, in contrast with

4488-529: The Innu lived in modern houses but instead camped in tents near North West River, Nain and Davis Inlet (all Inuit settlements) during the summer. After a 1948 visit to Fort Chimo to measure local duck populations, a Canadian biologist reported that the Naskapi at that location: ...are very few in number and spend the summer at the posts on the Atlantic coast, at Fort McKenzie on the Caniapiscau River , or at Fort Chimo where that river changes its name to

4590-405: 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

4692-444: The JBNQA was signed on 11 November 1975, without the Naskapi. Shortly before the signing of the JBNQA, realizing that the demands on the Inuit were too great to allow them to represent the interests of the Naskapi in addition to their own interests, the Naskapi negotiators retained their own non-Native advisors and started to function as an independent negotiating body. The signatories of the JBNQA were fully aware that it provided for

4794-525: The Koksoak River. It has also been known informally as Koksoak and Washgagen. The first Europeans to have contact with local Inuit were missionaries from the Moravian Church . On August 25, 1811, after a perilous trip along the coasts of Labrador and Ungava Bay , Benjamin Gottlieb Kohlmeister and George Kmoch arrived at an Inuit camp on the east shore of the Koksoak. Their aim was to scout

4896-568: 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

4998-642: 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

5100-556: The Naskapi decided to become involved in the negotiations leading to the signature of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement ("JBNQA"). The Naskapi entered into a contract with the NQIA, under which the latter was to provide logistical support, legal advice, and representation to a small team of Naskapi negotiators based in Montreal . That arrangement was not very successful (how?), however, and

5202-439: The Naskapi had a strong preference for detached, single-family residences. In the event, Council was persuaded to accept row housing, but it did so only on the condition that the houses were adequately sound-proofed, which turned out not to be the case. Perhaps because it was the first such process in which they had been involved, the Naskapi placed considerable faith in the consultation undertaken by Indian and Northern Affairs. It

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5304-535: The Naskapi rely on subsistence hunting, fishing, and trapping for a large part of their food supply and for many raw materials. Harvesting is at the heart of Naskapi spirituality. Kawawachikamach is linked to Schefferville by a gravel-surfaced all-season road. Rail transportation is available on a weekly basis between Schefferville, Wabush and Labrador City, and Sept-Îles. The train is equipped to transport passengers and freight, including large vehicles, gasoline and fuel oil, and refrigerated goods. Schefferville, which has

5406-589: The Naskapi the possibility of relocating from the Matimekosh Reserve to a new site. Between 1978 and 1980, technical and socio-economic studies of the potential sites for the permanent Naskapi community were carried out. On 31 January 1980, the Naskapi voted overwhelmingly to relocate to the present site of Kawawachikamach , built largely by Naskapi between 1980 and 1983. The planning and building gave Naskapi training and experience in administration and in construction and maintenance trades. Between 1981 and 1984,

5508-565: The Naskapi were induced, if not ordered, to move by officials of Indian and Northern Affairs , while the other believes that the Naskapi themselves decided to move in the hope of finding employment, housing, medical assistance, and educational facilities for their children. Although officials of Indian and Northern Affairs were certainly aware of the intention of the Naskapi to move from Fort Chimo to Schefferville and may even have instigated that move, they appear to have done little or nothing to prepare for their arrival there, not even by warning

5610-464: The Naskapi were initially less affected by missionaries than other groups. One primary spiritual influence was "Moose-Fly" ( Məsəna´kʷ ), a spirit often accompanied by actual moose-flies, who would sting people during salmon-fishing season in the summer. Humans had to obey the Moose-Fly spirit's commands, including a taboo around making fun of fish for having extra-large eyes. Salmon was a vital resource for

5712-718: The Naskapi, so the Moose-Fly's commands carried great weight. Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach (the "Nation"), originally known as the “Naskapis de Schefferville Indian Band” and later as the “Naskapi Band of Quebec” , is a First Nation in with a population of approximately 850 registered First Nations people, who are also beneficiaries of the Northeastern Quebec Agreement ("NEQA"). The majority reside in Kawawachikamach, Quebec , located approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) northeast of Schefferville. The village covers an area of approximately 40 acres (16 ha) and

5814-621: 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

5916-511: The Naskapi. The years 1831 onwards were characterized by the first regular contacts between the Naskapi and western society, when the Hudson's Bay Company established its first trading post at Old Fort Chimo . The relationship between the Naskapi and the Hudson's Bay Company was not an easy one. It was difficult for the Naskapi to integrate commercial trapping, especially of marten in Winter, into their seasonal round of subsistence activities, for

6018-620: The Periodical Accounts of the Moravian Missionaries described a group of Indians living west of Okak as " Nascopies ". The Naskapi came under the influence of Protestant missionaries, and remain Protestant to this day. In addition to their native tongue, they speak English, in contrast to their Montagnais cousins who are for the most part Roman Catholic, speaking the native language and French. The Montagnais are far more numerous than

6120-399: The area for future missions and, if possible, to convert the "Esquimaux" to Christianity . According to their journal, they found the Inuit of the Koksoak River very interested in having a Moravian mission in the area, but after reaching a little farther than "Pilgerruh" (" Pilgrim 's Rest") on "Unity's Bay" they turned back for home. Attracted by the missionaries' praise of the location,

6222-446: The assumption that Schefferville would continue to be an active centre of mining, outfitting, and exploration for the foreseeable future. Inquiries by the Government of Quebec to the Iron Ore Company of Canada ("IOCC") in the late 1970s had confirmed that assumption. Nevertheless, IOCC announced in 1982 its intention to close the mines at Schefferville immediately. The closing of the mines at Schefferville had profound implications for

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6324-469: The base, a Catholic mission was established in 1948 and was followed by an infirmary, a school, and a weather station. The HBC outpost at Fort Chimo was closed for months of repairs in 1957 after a major fire, and the post was moved closer to the airfield in 1960. The remaining families who had still lived around the old site finally joined the larger community, establishing present-day Kuujjuaq (although it did not receive that name until 1980). The HBC store

6426-412: The base, however, led to it being shuttered in late summer 1952 and its equipment and personnel moved to Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit ) on Baffin Island . The site was eventually adapted as the Kuujjuaq Airport , which now includes a Nav Canada air-traffic control facility that relays information on flights in northern Canada to Montreal . With more Inuit settling in the area during this time to assist

6528-411: The cold water moderating westerlies. In spite of this, Kuujjuaq being situated with a direct landmass link to its south for thousands of kilometres can contribute to warm southerlies reaching the settlement, bringing temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F). Unlike Inukjuak directly on the Hudson Bay shore, Kuujjuaq thus has a greater continental warmth impact on its summers, and consequently lies below

6630-441: 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

6732-431: The effects of the virtual disappearance of the George River Caribou Herd had reduced the Naskapi to a state where their very survival was threatened. The Naskapi had received relief from the Federal Government as early as the end of the 19th century, but their first regular contacts with the Federal Government began only in 1949, when Colonel H.M. Jones , Superintendent of Welfare Services in Ottawa, and M. Larivière of

6834-423: The extinguishment of the Naskapi' Aboriginal rights in the Territory without granting them any compensatory rights or benefits. They also knew that the Naskapi, unlike certain others of Quebec's First Nations at that time, were willing to negotiate a settlement of their Aboriginal claims. Thus, although the Naskapi had never filed a formal statement of claim or similar document, except for a draft history prepared by

6936-530: The fact that the brochure prepared by Indian and Northern Affairs showed a fully landscaped site with trees and bushes, whereas no landscaping was done, and no trees or bushes were ever planted. Incidents like those may seem very minor to persons with long experience of large and impersonal institutions such as government departments, but they happened to the Naskapi when they were in a very formative stage of their relations with Indian and Northern Affairs and when they had still not forgotten their callous treatment by

7038-505: 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

7140-511: The first time in 1733, at which time the group so described was said to number approximately forty families and to have an important camp at Ashuanipi Lake . At approximately the same time, in 1740, Joseph Isbister , the manager of the Hudson's Bay Company 's post at Eastmain, reported being told that there were Indians, whom he called "Annes-carps" to the northeast of Richmond Gulf . In later years those Indians came to be called variously " Nascopie " and " Nascappe ". Not many years later, in 1790,

7242-471: The first time in their lengthy history of relocations, the Naskapi were consulted in the planning of their new home. Indian and Northern Affairs sent officials to explain the new community to the Naskapi, a brochure was published, models built, and progress reports issued. Particular interest among the Naskapi centred on the type of housing that they would receive. Possibly for financial reasons, Indian and Northern Affairs wanted them to live in row houses, whereas

7344-416: 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

7446-427: The high cost of resupplying them, combined with the continuing high incidence of tuberculosis and other factors, obliged them to return to Fort Chimo after only two years. For reasons that are not entirely clear, virtually all of the Naskapi moved from Fort Chimo to the recently founded iron-ore mining community of Schefferville in 1956. Two principal schools of thought about this move exist. One of them holds that

7548-484: The implementation of the NEQA, particularly for those provisions dealing with health and social services and with training and job-creation. Consequently, in the late 1980s, the NNK and the Government of Canada undertook a joint evaluation of Canada's discharging of its responsibilities under the NEQA. The evaluation was motivated more by the change in the circumstances of Schefferville and of the Naskapi than by any belief on

7650-521: 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

7752-530: The late Alan Cooke, the parties to the JBNQA accepted the legitimacy of their claims, and they entered into an agreement-in-principle with the Naskapi in the Spring of 1977 to negotiate an agreement that would have the same principal features as the JBNQA. The result of the negotiations was the Northeastern Quebec Agreement ("NEQA"), which was executed on 31 January 1978. Section 20 of the NEQA offered

7854-462: The local landscape, while their rhythm strongly influences the traditional summer activities. Although the tree line is very close, the boreal forest is present around Kuujjuaq. Patches of black spruce and larch stand in marshy valleys. Kuujjuaq also witnesses annual migrations of the George River caribou herd. These animals pass through the region throughout August and September. Kuujjuaq has

7956-697: The mainland. Therefore, they were relocated in the winter of 2002/2003 to their new main settlement Natuashish (pronounced: 'Nat-wah-sheesh'), about 295 km north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and 80 km southeast of Nain . Natuashish located on the mainland is only 15 km west of Utshimassits ; ethnically they are Naskapi, speaking the Eastern Dialect (Mushuau Innu or Davis Inlet variety) of Iyuw Imuun and writing in Eastern Cree syllabics , but split up and sent to Eastern Labrador , very few (if any) are able to write in syllabics any more. The majority of

8058-404: 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

8160-525: The next four years, he succeeded in establishing an efficient riverine connection with Fort Smith on Lake Melville , but the trade at Chimo itself was so sparse that the trails they found were simply used to supply Fort Naskaupi in the rich interior. In the winter of 1840–1841, fish and game were so scarce that the agents were forced to scatter into open camps around the countryside to survive as best they could. Fort Chimo and its District of Ungava were shuttered on September 1, 1843, an HBC ship carting away

8262-465: 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,

8364-479: 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"

8466-577: The part of the Naskapi that Canada had wilfully neglected any of its responsibilities under the NEQA. The outcome of those negotiations was the Agreement Respecting the Implementation of the Northeastern Quebec Agreement ("ARINEQA"), which was executed in September 1990. Among other things, the ARINEQA established the model for funding capital and O&M expenditures over five-year periods, created

8568-614: The people are Catholic, which use the Montagnais Bible (which does not use syllabics) and therefore use the Latin alphabet , Reservation: Natuashish #2, ca. 44 km², Population: 936) Neenoilno The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period (French for " mountain people ", English pronunciation: / ˌ m ɔː n t ə n ˈ j ɛ / ), are

8670-509: 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

8772-521: 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

8874-513: The remaining men and supplies. The fort did not reopen until 1866, when it was thought necessary to curtail the trade going to the Moravians in the area and the steamboat Labrador made resupplying the distant outpost easier. At that time, Inuit, Innu (Montagnais), and Naskapi came to trade at the post. By the 1950s, Fort Chimo included two dormitories, two warehouses, oil and salt sheds, and carpentry, cooperage, and machinist workshops. A sloop,

8976-476: The representatives of the Iron Ore Company of Canada ("IOCC") or the municipality of Schefferville . The Naskapi left Fort Chimo on foot to make the 400-mile (640 km) journey to Schefferville overland. By the time they reached Wakuach Lake , some 70 miles (113 km) north of Schefferville, most of them were in a pitiable state, exhausted, ill, and close to starvation. A successful rescue effort

9078-616: The self-government legislation promised by Canada in Section 7 of the NEQA was negotiated. The outcome of those negotiations was the Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act ("CNQA"), which was assented to by Parliament on 14 June 1984. The overriding purpose of the CNQA was to make the NNK and the James Bay Cree Bands largely self-governing. In addition to the powers then exercised by band councils under

9180-399: The simple reason that the distribution of marten was in large measure different from the distribution of essential sources of food at that season. In consequence, the Naskapi did not prove to be the regular and diligent trappers that the traders must have hoped to find, and the traders seem to have attributed this fact to laziness or intransigence on the part of Naskapi. In the 1945 census (in

9282-426: The territorial Montagnais . Mushuau Innuat (plural), while related to the Naskapi, split off from the tribe in the 20th century 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 Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach have close relatives in

9384-475: 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

9486-405: 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

9588-490: 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

9690-551: 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

9792-738: 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

9894-787: Was left overnight. The finished hide was called buckskin. The oral traditions of the Innu are noted as similar to those of other Cree-speaking cultures. Of particular relevance is Tshakapesh , a lunar folk hero. The spirits they believed in are Caribou Master , Atshen , and Matshishkapeu . In traditional Innu communities, people walked or used snowshoes . While people still walk and use snowshoes where necessary for hunting or trapping, many Innu communities rely heavily on trucks, SUVs, and cars; in northern Innu communities, people use snowmobiles for hunting and general transportation. Kuujjuaq Kuujjuaq ( [kuːtjuɑq] ; Inuktitut : ᑰᑦᔪᐊᖅ or ᑰᔾᔪᐊᖅ , "Great River"), formerly known as Suoivauqaj (ᓲᐃᕙᐅᖃᔾ) and by other names ,

9996-557: Was mounted, but the only homes that awaited the Naskapi were the shacks that they built for themselves on the edge of Pearce Lake , near the railroad station, with scavenged and donated materials. A short time later, in 1957, under the pretext that the water at Pearce Lake was contaminated, the municipal authorities moved them to a site adjacent to John Lake, some four miles (6 km) north-north-east of Schefferville, where they lived without benefit of water sewage, or electricity, and where, despite their hopes in coming to Schefferville, there

10098-440: Was no school for their children and no medical facility. The Naskapi shared the site at John Lake with a group of Montagnais, who had moved voluntarily from Sept-Îles to Schefferville with the completion of the railroad in the early 1950s. Initially, the Naskapi lived in tiny shacks that they built for themselves, but by 1962 Indian and Northern Affairs had built 30 houses for them, and a further four were under construction at

10200-522: 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

10302-621: Was sold to Hudson's Bay Northern Stores in 1987. Since 1996, police services in the Kativik region , including Kuujjuaq, are provided by the Kativik Regional Police Force (KRPF). The headquarters of the KRPF are located in Kuujjuaq. Kuujjuaq lies 48 km (30 mi) upstream from Ungava Bay . Life in this community involves a close relationship with the river. Its tides regularly change

10404-441: 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

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