Atikamekw
The Atikamekw (also: Atihkamekw , Attikamekw , Attikamek or Atikamek ; plural: Atikamekokw - "( people of ) herring vendors ") are an Indian tribal group in the two administrative regions of Mauricie and Lanaudière in the southwest of the Canadian province of Québec (Opictikweak) with the city of La Tuque (Capetciwotakanik) as the center.
The Atikamekw First Nation has around 7,800 tribal members (as of January 2017) who belong to three reservations: Manawan (86 km north of Saint-Michel-des-Saints), Wemotaci (105 km north-west of La Tuque, where the National Council is located located) and Opitciwan (193 km west of Roberval ). Their traditions continue to be fishing, hunting and gathering.
Their traditional tribal area along the Rivière Saint-Maurice (Tapiskwan Sipi) ("river that winds like a thread needle" or "Ahle River") and its tributaries Rivière Manouane , Rivière Vermillon (Acopekahi Sipi) , Rivière Matawin (Matawan Sipi) ( "Rapidly falling river"), Rivière Trenche and Rivière Croche , extends over 80,000 km² and includes Mauricie and Lanaudière as well as parts of the neighboring administrative regions of Laurentides and Center-du-Québec ; among themselves the Atikamekw refer to their territory as Kitaskino , but to strangers as Nitaskinan , both meaning “Our Country”.
The French colonists and later the British took over the Atikamekw's own designation in their respective language as Têtes-de-Boules ("spherical heads" or "round heads", which the French also used to describe the type of fish) or as whitefish people .
The Atikamekw refer to themselves as Nehiraw or Nehirowisiw ("skillful person in harmony with the environment", "a person who is able to live autonomously and self-determined ", usually shortened to "man or person") and as a group Nehirowisiwok or Nehiraw-iriniw ("skillful, autonomous people").
language
Their language, the Atikamekw or the Nehiromowin , belongs to the Algonk language family and belongs to the dialect continuum of the Cree languages (Cree – Montagnais – Naskapi) ; it is divided into two dialects: Manawan-Wemotaci and Opitciwan . Atikamekw or Nehiromowin / Nehirâmowin only uses the Latin alphabet in contrast to other Cree languages, which use the Cree syllabary to write their language. A special feature of the Atikamekw is the r-sound, which occurs within the Algonquin languages only in the Atikamekw. In addition, their language has a striking number of loan words from Anishinaabemowin / Ojibwemowin , the language of the Anishinabeg .
The mother tongue of 97% of the Atikamekw is their indigenous language to this day.
Recently there is also an Atikamekw Wikipedia.
history
When the French came to the region, the Atikamekw became increasingly dependent on French goods and merchandise in the fur trade . They were generally regarded as a peaceful people, sharing the region with the Innu (Montagnais and Naskapi) in the east, the James Bay Cree in the north and the Algonquin in the southeast and west. However, they had conflicts with the Mohawk , which was exacerbated by the rivalry for resources and furs, as well as with the Inuit in the north, who fought them together with the Innu.
The Atikamekw, along with their traditional allies, the Innu and Maliseet , were drawn into trade wars against the Iroquois League and Mi'kmaq by the French . Again and again during the Beaver Wars (1640–1701) the Iroquois invaded their territories and abducted women and warriors into slavery, as well as plundered their hunting grounds in search of more furs. In addition, a devastating smallpox epidemic (1670–1680) broke out among the Atikamekw , which was brought in by their allies, the Innu. Since these clashes were conducted by the Iroquois with previously unknown brutality, the Iroquois killed many of the weakened survivors, so that only a few Atikamekw survived the epidemics and wars.
In the middle of the 17th century, the Atikamekw were estimated to be around 500 to 550 people, but by 1850 there were only about 150 tribal members who wandered about over an area of over 7,000 km² (from 80,000 km²). The survivors were organized into two major regional bands , the Kikendatch Band and Weymontachie (Wemotaci) Band . Later (between 1865 and 1875) a third band was added - the Manouane (Manawan) Band - which was originally a splinter group of the Weymontachie . Today's three First Nations are direct descendants of these bands that emerged back then. In the 19th century, the individual bands of the Atikamekw formed a loose and flexible alliance with neighboring indigenous bands under the leadership of a large council of chiefs (Kice Okimaw) . This alliance also included the Ilnuatsh du Pekuakami ("Innu on the shallow lake, ie. Lac Saint-Jean ") in the east, the Waswanipi and Mistissini Cree of the (eastern) James Bay Cree in the north and northeast and the Algonquin in the west; the bands met several times to resolve territorial disputes and to support each other. Since the 1880s, this alliance formed a common front in the fight against the ever-increasing penetration of the Europeans ( Kawapasit - "white people") on indigenous land; in 1881 the chiefs of the then four Atikamekw bands used the Kice Okimaw to ask the federal government to create reservations for their sole benefit (and thus protect part of the country from access by whites). Separate reserves were set up for the four bands ( Kikendatch Band , Weymontachie (Wemotaci) Band , Manouane (Manawan) Band and Kokokac Band ).
Culture
The Atikamekw are traditionally hunters, trappers ( Onihikewin ), fishermen ( Wepahapewin ) and gatherers and still pursue these activities today. They are also considered a bark people, as they not only make baskets and other vessels from the bark of the paper birch , but also make canoes from this birch bark to this day. The Atikamekw were also able to preserve their knowledge of the traditional production of other goods, such as moccasins, snowshoes and maple sugar.
The Atikamekw divided Nitaskinan , their traditional tribal land, into several territories, each belonging to a large family , which were called Natoho Aski . The boundaries of the individual family territories were flexible and were based on the needs of the individual members of the extended families, the Natoho Aski were not viewed as the private property of the family, but the latter viewed itself as the protector and guardian of the land, its resources and animals. The individual Natoho Aski were seasonally wandered through by the extended families by means of so-called circuits (tours / paths) - called meskano by the Atikamekw - mostly in search of prey (game and fish) and vegetable food or to join neighboring extended families to important religious ones or social festivals ( Nehirowisi mantokasonahiwon ) to gather. A fishing meskano near today's Wemotaci was z. B. used by several extended families - and so Wemotaci developed into an important meeting place for regional Atikamekw. However , the hunting parcels allocated by the provincial government in 1951 do not exactly reflect the use of the land by the Atikamekw.
The culture, traditions and life of the Atikamekw are determined by the six seasons: early spring, spring, summer, autumn, pre-winter and winter. According to these seasons, the activities and walks on the territory are based. Like other Indian peoples, the Atikamekw respect the environment and the natural and living energy that emanates from it: fire (thunder), wind, air and water. These energies are used, for example, in hunting.
Today's First Nations of the Atikamekw
Atikamekw Sipi - Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw
- Les Atikamekw de Manawan (own name: Manawani Iriniw or Manawan Atikamekw Iriniw , former Manouane (Manawan) band ; administrative seat and settlement is Manawan ("place where seagull eggs are collected") in the reserve Communauté Atikamekw de Manawan ( called Manouane until 1991 ) on south-western bank of the lake Métabeskéga, approx. 115 km northeast of Mont-Laurier, 86 km north of Saint-Michel-des-Saints and 120 km west of La Tuque , the name is derived from the Rivière Manouane , which has its source here, approx. 8 km², the historical name of their main settlement was Metapeckeka , population (as of 01/2017): 2,908, of which 2,463 in the reserve)
- Atikamekw d'Opitciwan (own name: Opitcino Iriniw , former Kikendatch Band ; administrative seat and settlement is Obedjiwan ("Strait flow") in the Obedjiwan 28 reserve of the same name , approx. 9 km², is 193 km west of Roberval , in 1918 the Atikamekw had to settle Leave Kikentatc due to floods and move to Opitciwan, a community that was officially established in 1944 and is connected by a network of forest roads, population (as of 01/2017): 2,958, of which 2,381 in the reserve)
- Conseil des Atikamekw de Wemotaci (own name: Wemotaci Iriniw , former Weymontachie (Wemotaci) band as well as the Kokokac (Kôukôukache) band ; administrative seat and main settlement is Wemotaci ("the mountain we look out from") and is in the reserve. Wemotac Communauté de Wemotac ( Weymontachie 23 until 1997 ), about 105 km northwest of La Tuque, on the north bank of the Rivière Saint-Maurice at the mouth of the Rivière Manouane, it is an enclave within the city of La Tuque. The former second reserve, Coucoucache 24A , derived from it von kôkôkachi ("owl"), also located on the north bank of the Rivière Saint-Maurice and the Blanc reservoir, approx. 53 km northwest of La Tuque, is uninhabited - and was therefore dissolved in January 2010 and incorporated into the urban area, approx km², population (as of 01/2017): 1,924, of which 1,446 in the reserve)
See also
Web links
References and comments
- ^ Atikamekw Sipi. Retrieved July 30, 2017 (French).
- ↑ Omniglot - Atikamekw
- ↑ The English term "whitefish" stands for whitefish or whitefish ( Coregonus ) and has nothing to do with the white fish that belong to the carp fish .
- ^ Glossary of Atikamekw terms
- ↑ Bonnie Dinnison / Coocoo Marthe / Lucien Ottawa / Cécile Mattawa / Robert Sarrasin: Guide orthographique de la langue atikamekw . Atikamekw Sipi, La Tuque 1997, 2nd edition, p. 3
- ↑ language. In: www.voyageamerindiens.com. Retrieved December 29, 2015 .
- ^ Profiles des Premières nations. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on December 29, 2015 (French). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Profiles des Premières nations. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 6, 2016 ; accessed on December 29, 2015 (French). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Profiles des Premières nations. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; accessed on December 29, 2015 (French). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The Innu should not be confused with the Inuit or Inupiaq-Inuktitut
- ^ Colin H. Scott: Aboriginal Autonomy and Development in Northern Quebec and Labrador, ISBN 978-0-7748-4108-5 , p. 100
- ↑ TRADITIONAL LAND AND RESOURCE USE - Territories, Identity, and Modernity among the Atikamekw (Haut St-Maurice, 5A.2.10 Québec) (Poirier 2001)
- ↑ Crafts. In: www.voyageamerindiens.com. Retrieved December 29, 2015 .
- ↑ Seasons. In: www.voyageamerindiens.com. Retrieved December 29, 2015 .
- ↑ territory. In: www.voyageamerindiens.com. Retrieved December 29, 2015 .
- ^ Homepage of the Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw (French) - Tribal Council or Tribal Council of Atikamekw
- ↑ La Nation Atikamekw de Manawan (French)
- ↑ Homepage of the Conseil de Atikamekw de Manawan (French)
- ^ Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - First Nation Profiles - First Nation Detail - Les Atikamekw de Manawan
- ↑ Homepage of the Conseil des Atikamekw d'Opitciwan (French)
- ↑ Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - First Nation Profiles - First Nation Detail - Atikamekw d'Opitciwan
- ↑ Homepage of the Conseil des Atikamekw de Wemotaci (French) ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - First Nation Profiles - First Nation Detail - Conseil des Atikamekw de Wemotaci
