Atikamekw of Manawan ( French: ''Les Atikamekw de Manawan'') are an

Atikamekw The Atikamekw are the Indigenous inhabitants of the subnational country or territory they call ('Our Land'), in the upper Saint-Maurice River valley of Quebec (about north of Montreal), Canada. Their current population is around 8,000. One o ...

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. They live primarily in the Atikamekw community of Manawan, an

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

located in

Lanaudière Lanaudière (, ) is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population ( 2016 Census) of 494,796 inhabitants, an increase of 4.9% over the 2011 census. Geogr ...

. In 2016, the band has a registered population of 2,892 members. It is governed by the Manawan Atikamekw Council (French: ''Conseil Atikamekw de Manawan'') and is affiliated with the Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw, the Atikamekw tribal council.

Demographics

The members of the Manawan First Nation are

. In October 2016, the

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

had a total registered population of 2,892 members, 409 of them were living off

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

. According to

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

's 2011 census, the median age of the population is 19 years old.

Geography

Atikamekw of Manawan live primarily on the

of the same name, Manawan, located in

at 113 km northeast of

Mont-Laurier Mont-Laurier () is a town and incorporated municipality in northwest Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Lièvre River (''Rivière du Lièvre''), a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the "Capital of the Haute-Laurentides", the motto ...

. The service center located nearest is

Saint-Michel-des-Saints Saint-Michel-des-Saints is a municipality in the Matawinie Regional County Municipality of Quebec, Canada. Agriculture, forestry, recreation, and tourism have been the main activities found within this region. History In 1863, Thomas-Léandre B ...

and the closest important city is

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Culture

Culture, traditions and way of life of people of Manawan are governed by the six seasons that determine the activities and the travels on the territory. During each season there is a main activity and the camp site is different. The relationship with nature changes according to the season.

Languages

Atikamekw of Manawan speak

Atikamekw language Atikamekw (endonym: ''Atikamekw Nehiromowin'', literally "Atikamekw native language") is a variety of the Algonquian language Cree and the language of the Atikamekw people of southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is spoken by nearly all the Atikamekw ...

, a language of the

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic languages, Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language f ...

family. Atikamekw language is known by all the community and is the main language for day-to-day communication. It is the teaching language from pre-school to the third year of primary school. After that, teaching is done in French, which is the second language spoken by all the community.

Governance

Manawan First Nation is governed by a

band council In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...

called ''Conseil Atikamekw de Manawan'' ( French for "Atikamekw Council of Manawan") elected according to a custom electoral system based on Section 11 of the

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

. For 2014-2018 tenure, this council is composed of the chief Jean-Roch Ottawa and six councilors.

References

External links

Official website
{{in lang, fr
First Nation Detail
by

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Algonquian peoples Atikamekw First Nations governments in Quebec