Montagnais
The Montagnais, part of the Innu people, primarily inhabit the Labrador Peninsula and areas of Quebec. Historically referred to as "mountain people," they have lived in forested regions south of the St. Lawrence River long before European contact. This Indigenous group traditionally engaged in hunting, trapping, and fishing, aligning their seasonal movements with the abundant game in their environment. Montagnais society was organized into bands, typically comprising three to four families, led by knowledgeable elder men, and characterized by fluid membership based on communal needs.
The arrival of European traders initiated changes in their lifestyle, as the Montagnais adapted to the fur trade and later faced significant disruptions from logging and industrial activities. Despite these influences, the Montagnais have maintained essential aspects of their culture, including traditional ceremonies and religious practices, while also incorporating elements of Christianity. Today, the Montagnais continue to navigate the challenges of modern life, such as poverty and substance abuse, while striving to preserve their language, culture, and land rights against encroaching development. Their communities reflect a shift from nomadic traditions to more sedentary lifestyles, yet they remain committed to safeguarding their heritage and identity.
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Montagnais
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Algonquian (Cree)
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Labrador Peninsula, Newfoundland, Quebec provinces
- POPULATION SIZE: 27,755 (combined Innu/Montagnais Ancestry, Statistique Canada, 2021)
The Montagnais are one of two peoples, along with the Naskapi, who make up the Innu people of Quebec and Labrador. Historically, the term Montagnais ("mountain people") referred to the Innu who lived in the forested regions to the south. The Naskapi were the bands who lived farther north in the subarctic region. The Montagnais had resided north of the St. Lawrence River on the Labrador Peninsula since before Europeans arrived in North America. Living to their southwest is a culturally and linguistically related but distinct group, the Atikamekw. The Atikamekw were decimated by smallpox and the Iroquois late in the seventeenth century and seemed to have been confused with the Tête-de-Boule until the 1970s when the Atikamekw name was revived concurrent with rising Atikamekw political awareness. Both the Montagnais and Atikamekw lived by hunting, trapping, and fishing before the Europeans’ arrival and by participating in the fur trade afterward. Both were organized in bands loosely tied by marriage and proximity and, in the seventeenth century, by the Iroquois threat. The Labrador Peninsula had abundant game, and the residents were well adapted to it, moving seasonally with what the environment provided. They transported themselves and supplies in canoes during summer and by snowshoes and toboggans in winter. The basic traveling unit was a band of three to four families (fifteen to twenty people), typically led by older men with practical knowledge or religious charisma rather than by a formal or elected chief. Band membership could easily change if a need arose. One effect of the advent of trading posts in the region was an evolution toward bands associating with trading posts and defining band-hunting territories. Marriages became opportunities for alliances between families with neighboring hunting territories.
European influences on the Montagnais and Atikamekw were limited primarily to the fur trade until the mid-nineteenth century when the area was invaded by loggers, and the early twentieth century when there was railroad and dam construction. White hunters and trappers, combined with the construction projects, reduced fur-bearing animals and forced Montagnais into wage employment, which, along with local schools, interrupted seasonal migrations. World War II drew away the loggers, opening jobs for residents of the Wemotaci reserve. The traditional conical lodges housing fifteen to twenty people were replaced with prefabricated houses. Montagnais religious practices have been influenced by Christianity but still include the Shaking Tent Ceremony, various feasts, and ceremonial drumming. Religion is very personal, with some individuals gaining considerable power and becoming shamans—men or women with especially close relations with spirits and able to influence people’s health or success in hunting. Despite the increasing presence of non-Indigenous peoples, the Montagnais and the Atikamekw retain their identity.
In the twenty-first century, the Innu people lived in communities in the Quebec area and on the Labrador Peninsula. These communities reflected the change from nomadic to sedentary lifestyles, and many remained remote and isolated. The Innu worked to preserve their history, transitions, culture, and language, which was still widely spoken. Challenges that individuals in Innu communities faced included poverty and substance abuse disorder. The Innu also worked toward the settlement of their land claims and protection from the impact of forestry, hydroelectric dams, roads, low-level military flights, and mines on their Indigenous lands.
Bibliography
Armitage, Peter. "The Innu." Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, July 2021, www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/indigenous/innu.php. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
"Indigenous Ancestry Responses by Single and Multiple Indigenous Ancestry Responses: Canada, Provinces and Territories." Statistique Canada, 26 Oct. 2022, www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810028901. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
"Innu." Survival International, www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/innu. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Rogers, Edward S., and Eleanor Leacock. "Montagnais-Naskapi." Handbook of North American Indians: Subarctic. Vol. 6, edited by J. Helm. Smithsonian Inst., 1981, pp. 169–89.
Tanner, Adrian, and Zach Parrott. "Innu (Montagnais-Naskapi)." The Canadian Encyclopedia, 18 May 2021, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/innu-montagnais-naskapi. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
"Wemotaci, Quebec Canada." Come Explore Canada, www.comeexplorecanada.com/quebec/wemotaci. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.