
The Atikamekw are an
Indigenous people in Canada. Their historic territory, ('Our Land'), is in the upper
Saint-Maurice River valley of
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, ...
(about north of
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
). One of the main communities is
Manawan, about northeast of Montreal.
Their current population is around 8,000. They have a tradition of agriculture as well as fishing, hunting, and gathering. They maintain close ties with the
Innu people, who were their historical allies against the
Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
.
The
Atikamekw language, likely a variety of
Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
in the
Algonquian family, is closely related to that of the Innu. It is still in everyday use, being among the Indigenous languages least threatened with extinction.
Their traditional ways of life are endangered, however, as their homeland has largely been taken over by logging companies. Their name, which literally means '
lake whitefish', is sometimes also spelt , , , or . The French colonists referred to them as , meaning 'Ball-Heads' or 'Round-Heads'.
Some Atihkamekw families make their living making traditional
birchbark baskets and canoes.
Population
History

Early French historical documents begin to mention the Atikamekw at beginning of the 17th century, when they lived in the boreal forest of the upper
Mauricie
Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making tourism in Mauricie popular. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km2 (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...
. In these early documents, the French colonists recorded the Atikamekw as ''"Atikamegouékhi"'', an effort to transliterate their name for themselves. The Atikamekw were described as a group of 500 to 600 people, who made up "one of the nations more considerable of the north".
For food, they fished, hunted, and trapped. They supplemented their diet with agricultural products made and processed by women, such as corn and maple syrup. The latter was boiled to reduce as a syrup after sap was tapped from maple trees. Both men and women made tools from wood and animal parts, such as bone and tendon. The women made clothing from tanned animal hides. Tribal members traded with other native peoples in nearby areas, but trading networks connected along long distances. In summer, the Atikamekw would gather at places like
Wemotaci. In the fall, they would pack for the winter season and disperse into smaller encampments through the boreal forest.
After the French entered the trading network, they introduced new, European manufactured goods, such as metal tools. The Atikamekw traded furs for such goods, becoming increasingly dependent on European goods in the
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
. They were described as a peaceful people, sharing the region with the
Innu (Montagnais) in the east, the
Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
in the north, and
Algonquin to the south. The Mohawk of the Iroquois Confederacy, whose five nations were based south of the Great Lakes, competed with them for the lucrative beaver trade and over hunting grounds. Through their Innu allies, the Atikamekw caught new infectious diseases that were endemic among the Europeans. Around 1670-1680, a
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
epidemic devastated the Atikamekw tribe.
The French pulled the Atikamekw into a
trade war between the Montagnais (Innu) and the Mohawk, in which the Atikamekw and Innu did not fare well. Many of the Atikamekw who had survived the smallpox were killed by the more powerful Mohawk.
However, at the start of the 18th century, a group called ''"Tête-de-Boule"'' by the French reappeared in the region. While there exists no certainty as to the origin of this group, they may have been a regrouping of the few Atikamekw survivors and who were possibly associated with other indigenous nomadic tribes. But they are considered to be unrelated to the former Atikamekw even though they lived in the same area and took on the same name.
Today, the Atikamekw, like their historical allies the Innu, have suffered from
mercury poisoning due to contamination of their water supply by the operations of the central electric power companies before much environmental regulation.
Culture
The Atikamekw have their own traditional culture, language and rituals, though they had strong influences from the neighboring peoples. From this grouping, three prominent communities developed. Each spoke the same language but with unique dialects. Members of the tribe as a whole generally speak the
Atikamekw language, but the majority do not write it.
Traditionally, the Atikamekw lived in dome-shaped homes, which they created with branches and covered with bark called ''"piskokan"''. They covered the floor with spruce boughs, and used furs for beds and blankets. The Atikamekw preserved meat by smoking and drying it, a process still practiced by some families. Women collected berries and processed them into a paste that could be preserved for several weeks.
Ethnobotany
They chew the sap of
Abies balsamea as a cold remedy, and use the boughs as mats for the tent floor.
[Raymond, Marcel., 1945, Notes Ethnobotaniques Sur Les Tete-De-Boule De Manouan, Contributions de l'Institut botanique l'Universite de Montreal 55:113-134, page 118]
Crafts
The making of hunting equipment (bows, snowshoes, sled dog) as well as clothing and blankets, was in former times a task necessary for survival. The Atikamekw developed a distinctive way to decorate their clothing. They covered ceremonial robes with bells made of bones emptied of the marrow.
The Atikamekw have been recognized for their skill in crafting
birch bark items such as
baskets and
canoe
A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles.
In British English, the term ' ...
s, decorating the pieces with beautiful designs. These skills have been transmitted from generation to generation. The Atikamekw are known as the "people of the bark" for their craft. The people of
Obedjiwan make birch bark handicrafts less frequently than do other communities, since their environment in the boreal forest is dominated by conifer trees.
The seasons and the division of the year
The Atikamekw recognize six seasons in the year, each of which has a principal activity. The seasons begin with ''Sîkon'', in late winter. The Atikamekw use this time to make bark baskets, which they can use to hold the maple-sap gathered in this time of year. After ''Sîkon'' is ''Mirôskamin'', what European-Canadians would call Spring. In this season, the Atikamekw generally fished and hunted for
partridge
A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They ar ...
. These activities continue through ''Nîpin'' (Summer).
During ''Takwâkin'' (autumn), the Atikamekw would go hunting for
moose
The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
. A successful hunt required the careful removal of the skin of the moose, making offerings, and processing the meat for preservation through smoking and drying, for moose "jerky". Women worked to make the hides usable: remove the hairs from the moose hide; soak, deflesh and tan the hide; and cut it into thin, flexible strips to weave netting for snowshoes. During the onset of winter, or ''Pîtcipipôn'', the men would trap for
beaver
Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
. During the winter, or ''Pipôn'', the men would make nets to fish under the ice, while others produce
snowshoe
Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...
s.
In conjunction with the seasons, the Atikamekw divide the year into 12 months. The month names are based on the primary activity or observation of nature in that period. The months are:
* ''Kenôsitc Pisimw'' – January: Longest
interMoon
* ''Akokatcic Pisimw'' – February:
Groundhog Emerges Moon
* ''Nikikw Pisimw'' – March:
Otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
Moon
* ''Kâ Wâsikatotc Pisimw'' – April: Reflects on the Ice Moon
* ''Wâpikon Pisimw'' – May:
Flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
Moon
* ''Otehimin Pisimw'' – June:
Strawberry
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...
Moon
* ''Mikomin Pisimw'' – July:
Raspberry
The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...
Moon
* ''Otâtokon Pisimw'' – August:
irdFledges Moon
* ''Kâkône Pisimw'' – September:
Porcupine
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...
Mates Moon
* ''Namekosi Pisimw'' – October:
Trout pawnsMoon
* ''Atikamekw Pisimw'' – November:
Whitefish pawnsMoon
* ''Pîtcipipôn Pisimw'' – December: Winter Arrives Moon
Film
Filmmaker
Chloé Leriche has made two films about the Atikamekw peoples, ''
Before the Streets (Avant les rues)'' in 2016
and ''
Atikamekw Suns (Soleils Atikamekw)'' in 2023.
["À la recherche de talents autochtones pour un film"]
Ici Radio-Canada Première
Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) is a Canadian French-language radio network, the news and information service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known as Société Radio-Canada in French), the public broadcaster of ...
, November 19, 2020.
Notable people
*
Constant Awashish, Grand Chief of the Atikamekw Nation
*
Eruoma Awashish, artist
*
Lise-Yolande Awashish, actress
*
Kwena Bellemare-Boivin, actress and musician
*
Rykko Bellemare, actor and musician
*
Cesar Newashish, canoe maker
*
Jacques Newashish, actor, artist and filmmaker
*
Laura Niquay, singer-songwriter
*
Eva Ottawa, former Grand Chief of the Atikamekw Nation
*
Oshim Ottawa, actor and musician
*
André Quitich, former Grand Chief of the Atikamekw Nation
References
External links
Council of the Atikamekw NationHistorica’s Heritage Minute video docudrama about “Maple Syrup.”(Adobe Flash Player.)
Declaration of sovereigntyDeclaration of sovereignty(in French
Dubé, Dollard, Légendes indiennes du St-Maurice, Les Pages trifluviennes, Série C —No. 3, 1933{{authority control
Algonquian peoples
Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic
First Nations in Quebec
Algonquian ethnonyms