Rapid Lake (, ) is a First Nation

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 v ...

on the western shore of

Cabonga Reservoir The Cabonga Reservoir () is a man-made lake in central Quebec, Canada, with a total surface area of and a net area (water only) of .Natural Resources Canada, Atlas of Canada Lakes It is located on the boundary between the unorganized territories ...

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 Algonquins of Barriere Lake are an Algonquin people, Algonquin First Nations in Canada, First Nation in Quebec, Canada. They primarily live on the Indian reserve of Rapid Lake, Quebec, Rapid Lake in Outaouais. In 2017 the Band government, band had ...

of the

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

Nation.Aboriginal Community profile
Barrière Lake First Nation
, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada The reserve is an enclave within the

Lac-Pythonga Lac-Pythonga is an unorganized territory in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It surrounds Lake Pythonga and is the largest of the five unorganized territories in the La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality. The Rapid Lak ...

unorganized territory and in the middle of the

La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve La Vérendrye wildlife reserve is one of the largest reserves in the province of Quebec, Canada, covering of contiguous land and lake area (Assinica wildlife reserve is the largest in the province, but its territory is broken up in four non-cont ...

. 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 Grand-Remous is a town and municipality in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The municipality is south of the Baskatong Reservoir, spanning both sides of the Gatineau River. The town is situated at the inter ...

. 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. On September 7, 1961, the Rapid Lake Reserve was formed when the Government of Quebec transferred control and administration of in the geographic township of Émard to the Government of Canada. It took its name from the former Rapide Lake, which was submerged below the waters of

, created in 1929. Despite these lands being reserved for use by the Algonquins, they continued to regularly visit the site at Barrière Lake about north because of their historic ties to it. Even today, many families continue to go to Barrière Lake to practice traditional activities.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