Nutashkuan ( INAC) or Natashquan ( CGNDB) (sometimes Natashquan 1) is a

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

reserve in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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, ...

, belonging to the

Première Nation des Innus de Nutashkuan A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the fi ...

band. The reserve is located on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the mouth of the

Natashquan River The Natashquan is a river in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. It flows south into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Geography The river has its source just south of the boundary between the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence r ...

, east of Sept-Îles and has been accessible by Route 138 since 1996. The reserve should not be confused with the adjacent but distinct

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Natashquan Natashquan is a municipality located on the north shore of Jacques Cartier Strait, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada. Natashquan stretches along the coast, on both sides of the Little Natashq ...

just to the north and east. The community is serviced by a nursing station, community radio station, municipal water and sewer system, fire station, and an aboriginal police force. The site was mapped in 1684 by Louis Jolliet who called it ''Noutascoüan''. It was subsequently spelled as ''Nontascouanne'' (1734), ''Natasquan'' (1831), ''Nataskwan'' (1844), ''Natashkwan'' (1846), ''Natosquan'' (1857), ''Nataskouan'' (1858), and taking its current form, Natashquan, circa 1895. This name, spelled Nutahkuant or Nutashkuan in the contemporary

Innu language Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais– Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the c ...

, is usually translated as "where the black bear is taken" or "where one hunts for bear."

History

Historically, the nomadic

Innu The Innu/Ilnu ('man, person'), formerly called Montagnais (French for ' mountain people'; ), are the Indigenous Canadians who inhabit northeastern Labrador in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador and some portions of Quebec. They refer to ...

lived on their hunting grounds of the interior during the winter and would move to the coast in the summer for salmon fishing and seal hunting. From as early as 1710, a trading post was established on the left (south) bank of the Natashquan River and later on the opposite bank to conduct fur trade with the indigenous. They gathered at the post during their annual migration and began to settle there permanently. The post was acquired by 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 ...

in the middle of the 19th century, but abandoned circa 1914 due to lack of profitability. In 1909, the first land survey was conducted for the creation of a reserve. In 1952, the first of land were bought by the Government of Canada and transferred for the use by the Innu on 31 March 1953. The reserve was incrementally enlarged in 1954, 1970, and 1993.Natural Resources Canada – Legal Surveys Division, Historical Review �
Natashquan land title history
/ref>

Demographics

As of May 2022, the band counted 1,212 members, of which 1,095 persons lived on the reserve. In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

, there were 228 private dwellings that are occupied by usual residents, out of a total of 234. The mother tongue of the residents is (2021): * English as first language: 0% * French as first language: 0.5% *

Innu-aimun Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the com ...

as first language: 97.8% * French and other language: 1.1%

Climate

Nutashkuan has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

( Dfc), typical of communities along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Summers are mild and rainy, with mild days and cool nights. Winters are cold with extremely heavy annual snowfall, averaging . Nutashkuan receives around 1,900 hours of sunshine per year.

Economy

Nutashkuan's economy is mostly based on arts and handicrafts, trapping, tourism, and some construction, transport, and commercial fishing. In all there are some 20 businesses on the reserve. The Band council owns a boat and holds a crab-fishing licence. Local economic development is promoted by and the responsibility of the ''Corporation de développement économique de Natashquan''.

Education

There is only one school on the reserve, ''École Uauitshitun'', that provides pre-Kindergarten to Secondary grade 3.

References

External links

Rapport de la Commission royale sur les Peuples autochtones
Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada, Novembre 1996, pp. 1005 (French)
Conseil tribal Mamuitun – Nutashkuan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natashquan, Quebec (Reserve) Innu communities in Quebec Communities in Côte-Nord Hudson's Bay Company trading posts