Kiamika is a municipality in the Laurentides

Laurentides (region)

The Laurentides is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains...

 region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality

Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality, Quebec

Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality is located in central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentides region. The Regional County Municipality seat is Mont-Laurier.-Municipalities:* Chute-Saint-Philippe* Ferme-Neuve* Kiamika* La Macaza* Lac-des-Écorces...

.

Joseph Montferrand

Joseph Montferrand

Joseph "Jos" Montferrand was a French-Canadian logger, strong man and hero of the working man, who was the inspiration for the legendary Ottawa Valley figure Big Joe Mufferaw....

 (1802-1864), a logger of imposing stature and extraordinary physical strength, was from Kiamika.

Etymology

The municipality is named after the Kiamika River, which flows through its territory and is a tributary of the Du Lièvre River

Du Lièvre River

The du Lièvre River is a river in western Quebec which flows south from the Mitchinamécus reservoir and empties into the Ottawa River at Masson-Angers. The river is 330 km in length and drains an area of 10,400 km²...

. This name, mentioned by Stanislas Drapeau as Kiamica and appearing on a map of Quebec by Eugène Taché from 1870, comes from the Algonquin word

Algonquin language

Algonquin is either a distinct Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alongside French and to some extent English, by the Algonquin First Nations of Quebec and Ontario...

 kickiamika meaning "steep cut below the water", from kicki (steep cut) and amick (below the water).

However, an alternate meaning may be "deep and quiet river", from the roots kiam (deep) and ka (quiet).

History

In 1883, the Colonization Society of Montarville was founded and took possession of the area in 1884. Settlers established on the banks of the Du Lièvre River, about 11 km south of Val-Barrette, the mission of Saint-Gérard-de-Kiamika, also called Saint-Gérard-de-Montarville. A year later its post office opened. In 1890, the Kiamika Township is proclaimed.

In 1898, the Township Municipality of Kiamika is formed. In 1920, the mission received its status as a parish. In 1994, it changed its statutes and officially became the Municipality of Kiamika.

Demographics

Population:

• Population in 2006: 779
  • 2001 to 2006 population change: 8.8 %
• Population in 2001: 716
• Population in 1996: 722
• Population in 1991: 651

Private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 338 (total: 463)

Mother tongue:

• English as first language: 0 %
• French as first language: 100 %
• English and French as first language: 0 %
• Other as first language: 0 %