Mingan, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Mingan, also known as Ekuantshit in Innu-aimun
, is an Innu
First Nations reserve in the Canadian
province of Quebec
, at the mouth of the Mingan River on Mingan Bay of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
. It belongs to the Innu
band of Ekuanitshit. Geographically it is within the Minganie Regional County Municipality
but administratively not part of it.
The reserve is accessible via Quebec Route 138
, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of the village of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan
and 36 kilometres (22.4 mi) west of downtown Havre-Saint-Pierre
. It is serviced by a health centre, community radio station, library, cultural centre, community store, municipal water and sewer system, fire station, and an aboriginal police force.
The name Mingan, already appearing as mican on a map of 1631, is generally considered to originate from the Innu word maikan, meaning "timber wolf". But there is no certainty over this interpretation. It has also been proposed that it may have came from the Basque word mingain meaning "language", or the Breton term menguen that translates as "white stone".
indigenous people, who would leave their inland hunting grounds for the coast during the summer. Mingan was a summer gathering site where they would fish for salmon, hunt for whale, have family meetings, and trade with each other. In 1661 when the Mingan Seignory was granted and Europeans began to inhabit the area, the fur trade began that continued until the start of the 20th century. The North West Company
and then the Hudson's Bay Company
(from 1807 to 1873) maintained trading posts there under the name Mingan, that was frequently visited by the Innu to trade fur and who continued to use the place only as a summer camp site.
The Innu nomadic life became disrupted at the time of World War II, when mining and forestry companies began to develop the area. After the war, mandatory education, fluctuating fur prices, and government housing programs led to the permanent settlement of the Innu.
On April 30, 1963, the Government of Québec transferred 7 square miles (18.1 km²) of land within the seignory of Mingan to the Government of Canada as a reserve for Indians of the Mingan region. But the reserve provided no access to the Mingan River upon which the Innu relied for subsistence. After many years of land claims, the river banks were added to the reserve in 1983 and in 1996, the reserve was expanded again.
Population trend:
Innu-aimun
Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 11,000 people, called the Innu, in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada...
, is an Innu
Innu
The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...
First Nations reserve in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, at the mouth of the Mingan River on Mingan Bay of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...
. It belongs to the Innu
Innu
The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...
band of Ekuanitshit. Geographically it is within the Minganie Regional County Municipality
Minganie Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Minganie is a regional county municipality of Quebec in Canada. The regional seat is Havre-Saint-Pierre. Anticosti Island is included within this region. It has a land area of ....
but administratively not part of it.
The reserve is accessible via Quebec Route 138
Quebec route 138
Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the Saint Lawrence River past Montreal to the eastern terminus in Natashquan on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The western terminus is in Elgin, at the border with New York State south-west of Montreal...
, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of the village of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan
Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Quebec
Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan is a municipality in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec in Canada.The descriptive name Longue-Pointe refers to a long spit of sand west of the village that has had various names through the centuries: first called Longue Pointe on a map of 1735, followed by the...
and 36 kilometres (22.4 mi) west of downtown Havre-Saint-Pierre
Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec
Havre-Saint-Pierre is a town situated on Pointe-aux-Esquimaux, which is on the Quebec north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada...
. It is serviced by a health centre, community radio station, library, cultural centre, community store, municipal water and sewer system, fire station, and an aboriginal police force.
The name Mingan, already appearing as mican on a map of 1631, is generally considered to originate from the Innu word maikan, meaning "timber wolf". But there is no certainty over this interpretation. It has also been proposed that it may have came from the Basque word mingain meaning "language", or the Breton term menguen that translates as "white stone".
History
Historically, the region was the homeland of the InnuInnu
The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...
indigenous people, who would leave their inland hunting grounds for the coast during the summer. Mingan was a summer gathering site where they would fish for salmon, hunt for whale, have family meetings, and trade with each other. In 1661 when the Mingan Seignory was granted and Europeans began to inhabit the area, the fur trade began that continued until the start of the 20th century. The North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
and then the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
(from 1807 to 1873) maintained trading posts there under the name Mingan, that was frequently visited by the Innu to trade fur and who continued to use the place only as a summer camp site.
The Innu nomadic life became disrupted at the time of World War II, when mining and forestry companies began to develop the area. After the war, mandatory education, fluctuating fur prices, and government housing programs led to the permanent settlement of the Innu.
On April 30, 1963, the Government of Québec transferred 7 square miles (18.1 km²) of land within the seignory of Mingan to the Government of Canada as a reserve for Indians of the Mingan region. But the reserve provided no access to the Mingan River upon which the Innu relied for subsistence. After many years of land claims, the river banks were added to the reserve in 1983 and in 1996, the reserve was expanded again.
Demographics
As of December 2009, the band counted 556 members, of which 532 persons are living in the community.Private dwellings occupied by usual residents amount to 120 out of a total of 209. Mother tongues spoken on the reserve are:- English as first language: 0 %
- French as first language: 2.4 %
- English and French as first language: 0 %
- Other as first language: 97.6 %
Population trend:
- Population in 2006: 407 (2001 to 2006 population change: 4.1 %)
- Population in 2001: 391
- Population in 1996: 431
- Population in 1991: 365