Obedjiwan (officially designated as Obedjiwan 28) is a

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

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 ...

and village on the north shore of

Gouin Reservoir The Gouin Reservoir () is a man-made lake, in La Tuque, in Mauricie, in the central portion of the Canadian province of Quebec, fully within the boundaries of the City of La Tuque. It is not one contiguous body of water, but the collective na ...

in the

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km² (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

region of Quebec, Canada. It belongs to the

Atikamekw of Opitciwan Atikamekw of Opitciwan (French: ''Atikamekw d'Opitciwan'') are an Atikamekw First Nation in Quebec, Canada. In 2016, it has a registered population of 2,937 members. They live primarily on an Indian reserve, Obedjiwan 28, located in Mauricie.. R ...

band of the

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 ...

Nation.

Geography

Route 0212 vers Obedjiwan près du moulin Chibougamau

Obedjiwan reserve is situated on the north shore of

, at (direct line) south of

Chibougamau Chibougamau () is the largest town in Nord-du-Québec, central Quebec, Canada. Located on Lake Gilman it has a population of 7,504 people (2016 Canadian Census). Chibougamau is surrounded by, but not part of, the local municipality of Eeyou Istc ...

, north of

Wemotaci Wemotaci (designated as Weymontachie 23 until 1997) is a First Nations reserve on the north shore of the Saint-Maurice River at the mouth of the Manouane River in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. Together with the Obedjiwan and the Coucou ...

and northwest of

La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...

. The reserve is located between Lake Kamitcikamac (west) and Wopisiw Bay (East). In front (south side), there is the tip Martel Kiwam jutting into the lake Mamette. The reserve is an enclave within the City of La Tuque. It is the most isolated Atikamekw reserve in Quebec. It is accessible by a long gravel forest road of , which reaches towards the east

Quebec Route 167 Route 167 is an isolated provincial highway in Quebec, Canada. It begins at the shore of Lac Saint-Jean in Saint-Félicien. It proceeds north-west to Chibougamau away. There are no services along this long stretch. At Chibougamau, the highway tur ...

linking Saint-Félicien to

. Hence the distance by road to reach

is . From Obedjiwan, Forest road 1045 reaches westward Forest Road 1009, built in the north-south axis to circumvent the

to the west; this road goes up to Chapais. The road distance between Obedjiwan and

is 319 km (198 miles), with a forest road bypassing the

on the east side. Toward West, the distance Obedjiwan-Senneterre is . In this context of distance, the aircraft is a mode of transportation widely used.

Etymology

The word ''Obedjiwan'', written in the standardized

spelling as ''Opitciwan'', comes from the roots ''oba'' or ''obe'' meaning "strait", and ''djwan'' meaning "running". So, it can be translated as "current of the strait/narrows/pass". The name, first attributed to the lake, has undergone many spelling variations. In 1825, when the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

set up a post, they called it ''Waupatchinauganiskau'', which is understood to be the original form of the toponym. In 1871, explorer John P. Bignell visited the place and made mention of the name ''Obidjouan''. In 1904, the Fifth Report of the Geographic Board of Canada called it ''Obiduan'' and this remained the accepted form until 1964. Other variations included ''Obijuan'' and ''Wabijiwoine''.

History

The area of the upper

Saint-Maurice River The Saint-Maurice River (french: Rivière Saint-Maurice; Atikamekw: ''Tapiskwan sipi'') flows north to south in central Quebec from Gouin Reservoir to empty into the Saint Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. F ...

had long been the homeland of the

indigenous people.

Lake Obedjiwan A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

(a lake at the headwaters of the Saint-Maurice River that was inundated during the construction of

) was located along important canoe routes to

Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (Canadian French: ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area ...

via Lake Necouba (Lac Nicabau) and to

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

. In the 17th century, and perhaps since prehistoric times, the shores of this lake were a gathering and trading place for the Atikamekw, as well as other indigenous people of surrounding areas, where they engaged in social, economic, and cultural interaction. The Atikamekw procured wheat, flour, and perhaps firearms from the

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

s, in exchange for moose or beaver skins. Map of the Planned Indian Reserve of Obijuan (Obedjiwan)

In 1825, the

(HBC) and the King's Posts Company established trading posts on Lake Obedjiwan, that quickly attracted indigenous hunters not only from the area, but also from the eastern James Bay and the upper

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

regions. In 1840, the Hudson's Bay Company deserted Lake Obedjiwan and settled at Kikendatch Lake (now

Kikendatch Bay The Kikendatch Bay is a freshwater body that leads to the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of La Tuque, in Haute-Mauricie, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. This bay is mainly located in the towns ...

at the outlet of Gouin Reservoir). Yet in 1911, the HBC transferred its Kikendatch Post back to Lake Obedjiwan, causing the Atikamekw also to return to the area. The HBC wanted to move away from competing dealers who undermined its trade at Kikendatch while the Atikamekw liked to avoid Europeans who became more and more numerous in the south. At that time, there was still no real settlement although the

Oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...

s built a chapel in 1916, which was located on the left bank of the Saint-Maurice River opposite of the HBC Post, separated by the Obedjiwan Narrows. Lac Obedjiwan - Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson - Atikamekw

Lac Obedjiwan - Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson - Atikamekw

The area experienced a great change when the dam at La Loutre was constructed in 1917. The reservoir forming behind the dam flooded not only hundreds of lakes, including Lake Obediwan, but also the old settlement and its archaeological sites. A new village, 3 kilometers (2 miles) west at the current location, was not actually built until 1925 following arduous negotiations with the ''Commission des eaux courantes''. On December 31, 1941, the Quebec Government proclaimed the Lands and Forests Act that provided for the reservation of lands for the benefit of "Indians". On January 14, 1944, an area of in the geographic township of Toussaint was transferred from the

Government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

to the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

, and was officially established as the "Obiduan Indian Reserve" on March 21, 1950. It was renamed to "Obedjiwan Indian Reserve" on January 23, 1964. In 2002, the Atikamekw of Opitciwan initiated

claims Claim may refer to: * Claim (legal) * Claim of Right Act 1689 * Claims-based identity * Claim (philosophy) * Land claim * A ''main contention'', see conclusion of law * Patent claim * The assertion of a proposition; see Douglas N. Walton * A righ ...

with the

government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

in order to get compensated for the land and the goods lost in the flooding, the delay in the creation of the reserve, and the inadequate size of the reserve created. The claims are still ongoing.

Land history

* 1941-12-31: Act of 1941, reservation lands not exceeding 133,550 hectares (330,000 acres) for the benefit of Indians by the transfer of the usufruct. * 1943-10-27: Surveying land for reserve Obedjiwan, Canton Toussaint (projected), Block A. Area: 926.72 hectares (2,290 acres). * 1944-01-14: Order in Council 160, transfer of the management and administration of the Government of Quebec to Government of Canada. Canton Toussaint (projected), Block A. Area: 926.72 hectares (2,290 acres). * 1950-03-21: Order in Council no. 1458, set aside the block acquired (1944) by Government of Canada to the use of Indians. Current situation * Canton Toussaint (projected), Block A, acquired under the Act of 1941. Transfer governance and administration of Government of Quebec to Government of Canada, by Order in Council 160 (1944-01-14). Area: 926.72 hectares (2,290 acres)

Demographics

Historic populations:Statistics Canada:

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

census * Population in 2016: 2019 * Population in 2011: 2031 * Population in 2006: 1782 * Population in 2001: 1666 * Population in 1996: 1464 * Population in 1991: 1125

Language

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 ...

is still spoken by the vast majority of families, and therefore it is among the indigenous languages least threatened with extinction according to some studies. The language has some similarities with the

Cree language Cree (also known as Cree– Montagnais–Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to Labrador. If considered one language, it is th ...

spoken by the Cree communities of southern Quebec (Waswanipi and Oujé-Bougoumou). This parallel development of both languages may be the result of the frequent interaction between the nearby Cree and Atikamekw. The second language used in Obedjiwan is French. Mother tongue: * English: 0% * French: 2.5% * Atikamekw: 97.0% * Other: 0.5%

References

External links

{{authority control Atikamekw Communities in Mauricie Indian reserves in Quebec Hudson's Bay Company trading posts La Tuque, Quebec 1825 establishments in Lower Canada