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   Montagnais

Montagnais Naskopi village

   Nitassinan, the Montagnais homeland, is a vast area which includes most of Quebec east of the St. Maurice River extending along the north side of the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic Ocean in Labrador. To the north, their territory reached as far as the divide between the St. Lawrence and James Bay drainages. There were three divisions: the Montagnais along the St. Lawrence between the St. Maurice River and Sept-Iles; the Naskapi east of them in Labrador; and the Attikamek on the upper St. Maurice River north of Montreal.

Innu (Montagnais) woman (ca. 1930))

   Originally Population before contact was about 10,000, and reaching its low-point of 2,000 in 1884. Currently, there are almost 13,000 Montagnais in Quebec with another 800 living in Labrador. The 1,100 Naskapi are also split - 600 in Quebec and 500 in Labrador, while the Attikamek have 4,600, all in Quebec. When all groups of the Montagnais are added together, the total is close to 20,000 making the Montagnais the largest group of Native Americans in Quebec after the Mohawk. At present, they are organized into four separate tribal governments. The Naskapi and Montagnais in Labrador are represented by the Innu Nation, while the Quebec Montagnais belong to either the Mamuitun or the Mammit Innuat First Nation. The Attikamek formerly were part of the Montagnais but recently have chosen to maintain a separate status.

Montagnais pipe, 1863

   Montagnais, meaning "mountaineers," was the name given them by the French. Spelled variously as: Montagnar, Moatagne, Montagnie, and Montainier, it originated from the rugged St. Lawrence shoreline near the mouth of the Saguenay River where the French first met them. They were also commonly called the Kebik, which is probably the source of Quebec. Montagnais and Naskapi today refer to themselves as the Innu, or "people." To avoid confusion, the Innu are NOT the same as the Inuit (Eskimo) who most Montagnais regarded as enemies. Other names used for themselves were Neenoilno (perfect people) and Tshetsiuetineuerno (people of the north-northeast). Naskapi (Nascapee) comes from a Montagnais word meaning "rude or uncivilized" and obviously was not intended as a compliment to their eastern relatives. The Attikamek (Atikamekw, Atihkamekw, Atikamek, Attikiriniouetch, Attimewk) are more commonly known as Tete de Boule and in some classifications are grouped with the eastern Cree rather than the Montagnais. Other names for Montagnais were: Chauhagueronon (Huron), Kebik, Lower Algonquin (French), Porcupine Indians, Shoudamunk (Beothuk-good Indians), Sheshatapoosh, Skraelling (Norse), Ussagenewi (Penobscot-people of the outlet), and Ussaghenick (Maliseet).

Montagnais canoe

   Poor soil and a short growing season in Quebec made agriculture too risky for the Montagnais. All groups were hunters and gatherers, although their lifestyles differed somewhat due to available resources. The Montagnais occupied the forest areas along the north shore of the St. Lawrence and were a woodland people, shifting routinely between summer villages near the river and winter hunting camps in the interior. There was little tribal organization beyond bands of extended families. After the French fur trade concentrated them near the St. Lawrence in the early 1600s, the southern Montagnais bands were forced to organize themselves within fixed hunting territories. They wore buckskin clothing like their southern neighbors and occasional enemies, the Micmac and Abenaki. Housing was also similar: birch bark covered wigwams. Diet relied heavily on the hunting of moose and seal but with a heavy reliance on fishing for salmon and eel. Montagnais considered porcupine a delicacy. So much so, they were sometimes referred to as the "Porcupine Indians."

Montagnais snowshoes

   Before contact, the Montagnais maintained a fairly extensive trade network with each other. Although language and culture were almost identical to the Montagnais, the Naskapi were located farther north on the Labrador Plateau, a cold region of grassland and tundra. They lived in small, nomadic bands which followed the caribou migrations. Diet was mainly caribou meat supplemented by fish and other small game, and they relied more heavily on hunting than gathering since there was simply less to gather. Since birchbark was scarce, the Naskapi wigwams were usually covered with caribou hides. Their clothing came from the same source which accounts for a slightly different style of dress from the Montagnais. The colder climate required them to wear heavier, fitted clothing like the Eskimo (Inuit) who were their only traditional enemies. The Montagnais, Naskapi, and Attikamek all used the birchbark canoe for summer transport on the many lakes and rivers in the region, but winter travel and hunting required the use of snowshoes. Although there was European contact with the southern groups during the 1500s, many of the northern bands were isolated until the 1800s.

Half breed Cree Girl

   Bound to the French through religion and intermarriage, the Montagnais provided warriors for the French during their four wars with the British between 1689 and 1763, but they no longer played a major part in the fighting. The Naskapi in Labrador are believed to have absorbed the last remnants of the Beothuk during the 1820s, but little else changed for the Montagnais after the British gained control of Canada in 1763 until the 1840s. About this time, lumber interests moved into the Saguenay River Valley and the upper north shore St. Lawrence bringing with them increased settlement. This cost the Montagnais some of their original homeland while exposing them to constant epidemics. Beaver hats gave way to silk during the 1830s ending one their major sources of income. In later years, the use of firearms in hunting for profit depleted much of available wildlife making traditional lifestyles difficult.

The Ilnu (Montagnais) use this circular frame drum to accompany hunting songs. The frame on this drum is made of birch. The two membranes are made of caribou hide and are held in place with strips of the same material

   In general, the Montagnais are not well-known outside of Quebec and Labrador. Many of their important contributions to the early history of Canada have been obscured by their frequent confusion with the Algonkin or Cree in some accounts. This misidentification has continued to the present-day, and many people still recognize the major difference between the Innu (Montagnais) and the Innuit (Eskimo). Their current problems are giant hydro-electric projects in northern Quebec and low-level military training flights over their homeland. Despite all of this, the Montagnais continue, as they have for thousands of years, to occupy Nitassinan, their ancient homeland.

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