Rapid Lake (, ) is a
First Nation reserve on the western shore of
Cabonga Reservoir in the
Outaouais
Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts, the municipality of Cantley, Quebec, Cantley and the Papineau Regional County Municipal ...
region of Quebec, Canada. It belongs to the
Algonquins of Barriere Lake of the
Algonquin Nation.
[Aboriginal Community profile]
Barrière Lake First Nation
, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
The reserve is an enclave within the
Lac-Pythonga unorganized territory and in the middle of the
La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve. It is accessible by a short road from
Quebec Route 117
Route 117, the Trans Canada Highway Northern Route, is a provincial highway within the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, running between Montreal and the Quebec/Ontario border where it continues as Ontario Highway ...
, approximately north of
Grand-Remous. In recent years, the community has been troubled by poor living conditions, financial difficulties, governance disputes, school closure, and protests.
[
]
History
The Algonquin have long lived in the Outaouais, following a traditional nomadic life. Evidence has been found of Algonquin presence at Lake Barrière on the Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (, ) 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 Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...
from the 18th century. Not until 1851 did the Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
establish a trading post first at the former Lake Cabonga (named Kakabonga at that time). When this post burned down in 1873, it was replaced by a new post on Lake Barrière in 1874, that was identified as Mitakanabikong or Mitchikanabikong, and as Barrière from 1876 on.[Natural Resources Canada - Legal Surveys Division, Historical Review ]
Rapid Lake
In 1995, because of a leadership dispute, some families left the reserve and settled on Jean-Peré Lake, not far to the south, also in La Vérendrye Park. Another result was that the traditional oral rules for leadership selection were codified in writing for the first time in 1996. However, leadership disputes arose again in 2006 when two separate band councils were selected by separate Elder Councils, embroiling the community in legal proceedings and governance disputes until today.[
On October 6, 2008, seventy-five members of the Barrière Lake Algonquins set up a roadblock on Highway 117, demanding that the federal and provincial governments honour a resource-sharing agreement signed twenty years earlier. This protest was repeated a month later on November 19. Both protests disrupted traffic for hours by dragging logs onto the road, and ending with police confrontation.]
Education
There is one school on the reserve, Rapid Lake School, with classes for pre-kindergarten to Secondary grade 3. Since 1995, the school is under the jurisdiction of the Band Council, that can tailor the school's curriculum to local cultural realities in accordance with provincial standards. In addition to recognized provincial programs, the school also teaches the Algonquin language
Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: or ) is either a distinct Algonquian languages, Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe language dialects, Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alon ...
.[
]
References
External links
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - Algonquins of Barriere Lake
{{authority control
Communities in Outaouais
Indian reserves in Quebec
Algonquin