Kawawachikamach () is a
Naskapi/Iyiyiw First Nations reserve and community at the south end of Lake Matemace (where it joins Lake Peter), approximately northeast of
Schefferville,
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada. It belongs to the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach. The village was built by the Naskapi/Iyiyiw from 1980 to 1983. The language spoken is
Iyiyiw-Imuun, a dialect closely related to
Innu and Iynu (
East Cree). The name means "the winding river".
Access to the village is by way of
Schefferville Airport or railway from
Sept-Îles to Schefferville, then by way of a road from the centre of Schefferville. With the demise of Schefferville as a residential centre for the iron ore mining operations, Kawawachikamach and
Matimékush are now the main communities in the region.
Telephone and postal services are provided from the Schefferville exchange by Telebec and from the Schefferville Post Office, while electricity is provided by the Schefferville Power Company. The Naskapi/Iyiyiw provide their own policing services. Sichuun provides Internet, VoIP, cellular and IPTV services to the Kawawachikamach/Schefferville region. Other services include a community radio station, a healthcare centre, a recreation centre and a gymnasium.
Legal status
Its formal legal status is a Naskapi Reserved Land (''terre réservée naskapie'', category 1-AN, under federal jurisdiction). There is also a separate, non-contiguous Naskapi Village Municipality (''municipalité de village naskapie'', category 1-BN, under provincial jurisdiction) of the same name, some distance to the north. The entire population lives on the Reserved Land; despite its title, the
Naskapi Village Municipality of Kawawachikamach has no resident population and is for the exclusive use of Naskapi for hunting or other activities. The Naskapi Reserved Land is south of the
55th parallel and is geographically located within the
Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality of the
Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord (Region 09) (, ; ) is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Quebec, on the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, Canada.
The region runs along the St. Lawrence River and then the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ...
region of Quebec, although not juridically a part of it; the Naskapi Village Municipality is north of 55 and is within the
Kativik Territory.
The ''
Commission de toponymie du Québec
The Commission de toponymie du Québec (, ''Toponymy Commission of Québec'') is the Government of Québec's public body responsible for cataloging, preserving, making official and publicizing Québec's place names and their origins according to th ...
'', perhaps a bit confusingly, refers to the Naskapi Reserved Land as a "Naskapi village" (''village naskapi'') and the Naskapi Village Municipality as a "Naskapi village municipality" (''municipalité de village naskapi''), making a careful distinction between the two.
However, from a practical point of view it seems intuitive that the "village" is where the population lives.
History
The Naskapi of Kawawachikamach were originally from northern Quebec, but were subjected to relocations several times before moving from
Fort Chimo to
Schefferville in 1956. Government officials may have induced or ordered this move but did nothing in preparation for their arrival in Schefferville. The Naskapi settled near the airport in shacks built with scavenged materials, but they were relocated again by the Schefferville municipal authorities to a
site on John Lake, where they lived in poverty without water, sewage, electricity, schools, and medical facility. In 1968, the
Matimekosh Reserve was formed, and the Naskapi moved there in 1972, together with the
Innu.
In the 1970s, the Naskapi began negotiations for a settlement of their aboriginal claims. In 1978, they ceded any rights or interests to the Matimekosh Reserve as a prerequisite to the Northeastern Québec Agreement that provided for the formation of their own reserve. As part of this agreement's implementation, of land was transferred from the Government of Quebec to the Government of Canada for the exclusive benefit of the Naskapi band in 1981. By 1983, the first residents settled in the village that was specifically adapted to the environment.
Demographics
As of May 2022, the band counted 797 members, of whom 691 persons are living in the community.
Population trend:
[Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, ]2011
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, 2016, 2021 census
* Population in 2021: 641 (2016 to 2021 population change: 6.7%)
* Population in 2016: 601 (2011 to 2016 population change: 2.6%)
* Population in 2011: 586 (2006 to 2011 population change: 3.0%)
* Population in 2006: 569
* Population in 2001: 540
* Population in 1996: 487
* Population in 1991: 405
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 194 (total dwellings: 203)
Mother tongue:
* English as first language: 2.6%
* French as first language: 1.8%
* English and French as first language: 0%
* Other as first language: 95.6%
Economy
The local economy is based mostly on arts and handicraft, trapping, tourism, outfitters, construction and transport. The Naskapi are developing several major projects of social, educational, cultural and economic scope, such as road and runway maintenance, hydro-electric facilities, caribou hunting and fishing operations.
References
External links
Official website of the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach(English / Naskapi)
Community profile, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
{{authority control
Indian reserves in Quebec
Naskapi
Communities in Côte-Nord
Communities in Nord-du-Québec
Populated places established in 1981
1981 establishments in Quebec