Algonquin

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Drawing of an Algonquin couple from the 18th century

The name Algonquin or Algonquin describes a tribe of North American indigenous people consisting of numerous local groups , who are counted to the easternmost branch of the Anishinabe people and today to the First Nations of Canada - the Indian peoples of Canada. The Algonquin language family , which is one of the most widespread language families in North America, is named after them .

The Algonquin originally lived as a hunter people in the valley of the Ottawa River , which today forms the border between the two Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec . The individual tribes differ greatly, but in addition to the linguistic commonality they have a largely common history, development and religion.

When the Algonquians first had close contact with the European settlers from France in 1603 , they numbered an estimated 6,000 people. Today around 8,000 Algonquians live in Canada in ten different tribes, nine of them in Québec and one in Ontario. The Algonquians maintain their cultural identity and pass on their language to their children.

language

Main article: Algonquian languages

A distinction must be made between the tribes of the Algonquin and the Algonquin language family. The language family includes tribes across the North American continent. The Algonquin language is divided into four main dialects, some of which differ significantly. The current distribution area of ​​the language includes southwestern Quebec, northwestern Ottawa and the adjacent areas of Maniwaki and Golden Lake in Ontario. Algonquin is handed down and taught, for example, in kindergartens and schools, there are publications and literature in Algonquin. About ten percent of the population speaks only the Indian language, but most of the tribesmen (as is common in Canada) speak several languages.

Surname

The origin of the Algonquin is unclear. The name means "those who eat trees" - they used moss and tree bark in their daily diet. It seems that they only knew names for their individual sub-tribes, but not for the whole of their people. They call themselves - as well as the related Ojibwa , Ottawa and Potawatomi - Anishnabe or Anishnabek . To distinguish themselves as a people, they also use the term Algonquin . Some studies suspect the origin in the Maliseet word for allies , others in the Micmac word algoomeaking, which in German means something like : "Place where fish are shot from the bow of the canoe with spears". The most plausible explanation is the Maliseet word allegonka for "they are good dancers", which Samuel de Champlain may have misunderstood as a common name when he observed a victory dance of the united Algonquin, Maliseet and Innu in 1603 . The Algonquin tribes on the Ottawa River were disparagingly called the Adirondack by a neighboring Iroquois , the Mohawk , which means "they eat trees," a name that they also used for a number of Algonquin tribes south of the Saint. Lorenz current used.

The first of the Algonquian tribes the French came across in the early 17th century was the Kichesipirini tribe, whom the French called La Nation de l'Isle because their village was on an island in the Ottawa River. At first the name Algonquin was only used for a different tribe, the Weskarini . However, by 1615 , the name had caught on for all Algonquin tribes along the Ottawa River . The Algonquians themselves distinguished the permanently settling tribes in the upper valley of the Ottawa River - which they called Nopiming daje Inini (native) - from the tribes that migrated to the Saint Lawrence River in the summer.

history

The Algonquians assume that they immigrated to the settlement area that is known today. It is unknown whether they are descended from the Iroquois or the Wyandot (Hurons). When Jacques Cartier first sailed the Saint Lawrence River in 1534, according to his information, Iroquois-speaking people lived in the region between Quebec and Montreal. Decades later, when Samuel de Champlain arrived in the region and established the first permanent French settlement in Tadoussac, these tribes had disappeared and only Algonquians remained in the region. It is unclear whether the Algonquians expelled or assimilated the Iroquois during a war.

The Algonquians maintained good trade relations with the newcomers from Europe and exchanged mainly skins for firearms with the French colonialists. After an initial monopoly and a successful joint expulsion campaign against the Iroquois living in the St. Lawrence Valley in the first few years, the French also allied themselves with the Wyandot. The Iroquois allied with the Dutch and tried repeatedly to regain control of the lost territories in the Saint Lawrence Valley. The conflict escalated and led to the so-called "Beaver Wars" , which began with the attack of the Mohawk on a trading post of the Algonquin-Montagnais near Sillery in 1629 and only came to an end in 1701 with the Great Peace of Montreal .

In the course of the conflicts with the Iroquois and due to a lack of military support from the Allied French, the Algonquin were largely expelled from Ottawa, but not destroyed as a people. With the French missionary work and the establishment of trading posts, the influence on the north of the Ottawa Valley was retained. During the French and Indian War between 1754 and 1763, the Algonquians remained connected to the French against the British who were newly invading the country. In the Peace of Paris in 1763 , their settlement area was contractually guaranteed. In the American War of Independence , some Algonquians fought on the British side and took part in the siege of Fort Stanwix . With the defeat by the insurgent colonists, British influence over the thirteen colonies in the newly formed United States of America was lost. As a result, many settlers loyal to the king moved from the south to the area of ​​the Algonquin and partially displaced them. Due to the British settlement policy and the emerging timber industry, the Algonquians lost further areas in the following years, until their formerly extensive living space had shrunk to the small tribal areas that still exist today.

Tribes

Historical tribes

The following Algonquin tribes have survived from around 1630:

  • Iroquet (also Hiroquet , Hirocay , Iroquay , Yroquetto , referred to as Atonontrataronon or Ononchataronon by the Wyandot , lived along the South Nation River )
  • Kichesipirini ( Kitcisìpirini - people on the great river, i.e. on the Ottawa River - largest and most powerful Algonquin group, also known under the following names: Algoumequins de l'Isle , Allumette , Big River People , Gens d l'Isle , Honkeronon ( Huron ), Island Algonkin , Island Indians , Island Nation , Kichesippiriniwek , Nation de l'Isle , Nation of the Isle , and Savages de l'Isle , their traditional tribal area and main village was on Morrison Island (also Morrison's Island ) in the Ottawa River (which they call Kitcisìpi or Kichesippi - called 'Great River'), as well as on the Isle des Allumettes (also 'Isle aux Allumettes'), lived in the Ottawa River Valley in Ontario and Québec )
  • Kinounchepirini ( Kinònjepìriniwak - 'people of the pike-waters', also known as Keinouche , Kinonche , Pickerel , Pike and Quenongebin , formerly considered an Algonquin group, they were associated with the Odawa after 1650 , originally lived along the lower reaches of the Ottawa Rivers below the Isle des Allumettes)
  • Matouweskarini ( Matàwackariniwak - 'people, along with cattail -covered shore alive', also known as Madawaska , Madwaska , Matouchkarine , Matouashita , Mataouchkarini , Matouescarini , based at the Madawaska River in the upper Ottawa River Valley)
  • Nibachis (settled on Muskrat Lake and along the Muskrat River near present-day Cobden , Ontario)
  • Otaguottaouemin ( Kotakoutouemi , Outaoukotwemiwek , settled along the upper reaches of the Ottawa River above the Isle des Allumettes)
  • Saghiganirini ( Sagaiguninini - 'people who live along the lake', also known as Saginitaouigama , Sagachiganiriniwek )
  • Weskarini ( Wàwàckeciriniwak - 'people of the red deer', also known as Ouaouechkairini , Ouassouarini , Ouescharini , by the Wyandot they were called Ouionontateronon , the English and French called them 'Little Nation' - Little Nation or La Petite Nation , often also Real Algonquin , settled north of the Ottawa River on the Rivière du Lièvre and Rivière Rouge in Québec)

The Algonkium was named after the Algonquians . The Abitibiwinni Indians are also included in this language family.

Current tribal groups

Today the following recognized tribes in the Canadian province of Quebec belong to the Algonquin:

Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council or Conseil Tribal de la Nation Algonquine Anishinabeg

  • Communauté Anicinape de Kitcisakik (also Kitcisakik First Nation ), reservation settlement: Grand-Lac- Victoria Indian Settlement 90 km southeast of Val-d'Or, Quebec, population: 465
  • Conseil de la Première Nation Abitibiwinni (Pikogan) (also Abitibiwinni First Nation or Première Nation de Abitibiwinni ), Reserves: Pikogan, Quebec, Abitibi # 70, Ontario, Population: 814
  • Eagle Village First Nation - Kipawa , Kipawa, Quebec, reservation: Eagle Village First Nation - Kipawa, Quebec, approx. 80 km west of North Bay, Ontario and adjacent to Temiscaming, Quebec approx. 10 km west, approx. 21 ha, population : 932, languages: English, Algonquin and French
  • Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg , reservation: Kitigan Zibi, Quebec, along the River Gatineau, approx. 18,437.9 ha, population: 2,939, languages: Algonquin, English
  • Long Point First Nation (Winneway) , the tribe members call themselves Winnewayinini , reservation: Winneway Indian Settlement, on the east bank of Lac Simard and on the south bank of the Winneway River, 80 km south of Rouyn-Noranda and 114 km east of Ville-Marie in Temicamingue , Quebec, approx. 37.84 ha, population: 674, languages: Algonquin, English, French
  • Nation Anishinabe du Lac Simon , (also Conseil de la Nation Anishnabe de Lac Simon ), reserve: Lac-Simon on the west bank of Lake Simon, 32 km southeast of Val-d'Or, Quebec, approx. 326 ha, population: 1,877, Languages: Algonquin, French
  • Wahgoshig First Nation , reservation: Abitibi # 70 on the south bank of Lake Abitibi, Ontario, approx. 7,770.1 ha, mostly Algonquin and Anishinabe , but also some Cree , population: 295, languages: Algonquin, English

Union of Ontario Indians (UOI)

  • Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation (formerly: Golden Lake First Nation , call themselves Omàmiwinini - 'down-river people' - 'the people who live downstream', they also called themselves Anishnabek - 'first people'), reservation: Pikwakanagan southeast of Golden Lake, Ontario, population: 2,309

Algonquin Nation Tribal Council

Independent First Nation

  • Algonquins of Barrière Lake ( Mitchikanibikok Inik - "the people of the stone fence or stone fish weir" - "the people of the stone wall or the stone fish weir "), the name refers to a previously important meeting point on Lake Barriere on the upper reaches of the Ottawa River ( Kichisìpi - "Great River"), the dialect of the First Nation is the easternmost and most divergent dialect of Anicinàbemowin or Anishinàbemiwin , the language of the Algonquin. Culturally, they are closer to the peoples living north in the subarctic forests than to the other Algonquin tribes. The administrative seat of Lac Rapide is located in the Rapid Lake reserve of the same name , which is approx. 121 km northeast of Maniwaki, Quebec (approx. 29.70 hectares, population: 710).

Only partially Algonquin:

The unrecognized tribes include:

Culture and way of life

Most of the Algonquians lived as full or semi- nomads in the boreal coniferous forests of Canada, which were only suitable for agriculture to a limited extent. They wandered through the forests as unspecialized hunters and gatherers and lived on berries, fruits, roots, seeds, maple syrup as well as meat and fish. The Anishinabe- Algonquin also harvested the wild rice in the region between Lake Winnipeg and the Great Lakes. They built canoes out of birch bark and used the region's watercourses to move around in summer, while in winter they used skidless sleds ( toboggan ) and snowshoes . The clothing was made from the skins and leather of the animals that were killed, the tent-like dwellings (conical or tunnel-shaped) - the so-called wigwams - were often covered with birch bark.

The structure of the society was patriarchal, and the right to hunt in a certain region was passed on from father to son. The Algonquian religion was largely animistic , they believed that all natural things were animated. This idea was based on the belief in Manitu , an all-encompassing pantheistic divine force, and subordinate spirits who controlled the elements, as well as evil and good spirits who were responsible for sickness and bad luck, or health and happiness. The dream interpretation plays an important role in tribal religion. In their religion the idea of ​​an afterlife for both animals and humans is anchored. The medicine men played a central role in the preservation of religion , mediators to the “spirit world” who healed diseases and were able to communicate with the spirits.

The Algonquin Provincial Park and the excavation area around the historic village of Kabeshinàn give an idea of ​​the earlier way of life and its surroundings .

See also

literature

  • Evan T. Pritchard: No Word for Time. The Way of the Algonquin People . Updated edition. Council Oak Books, San Francisco CA 2001, ISBN 1-57178-103-X (English).
  • Natalie M. Rosinsky: The Algonquin . Compass Point Books, Minneapolis MN 2005, ISBN 0-7565-0642-5 (English, First reports ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Ethnologue Report for Language Code: alg - Algonquin. In: Ethnologue: Languages ​​of the World. Raymond G. Gordon, Jr., 2005, accessed August 19, 2008 .
  2. ↑ Anishinabe Nation
  3. ↑ COMMUNAUTÉ ANICINAPE DE KITCISAKIK
  4. ^ Homepage of the Eagle Village First Nation
  5. ↑ Homepage of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg
  6. ^ Homepage of the Long Point First Nation ( Memento from November 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ^ Homepage of the Wahgoshig First Nation
  8. ↑ Homepage of the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI)
  9. ^ Algonquin Nation
  10. ↑ a b All population figures from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs ( Memento from October 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ Lee Sultzman: Algonkin History. December 4, 1999, accessed August 19, 2008 (English, Culture section ).
  12. ↑ Kabeshinan Archaeological Site. In: Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Community. Retrieved August 19, 2008 .