Odanak, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Odanak is an Indian reserve
in the Centre-du-Québec
region, Quebec
, Canada
. The mostly Abenaki population as of the Canada 2006 Census
was 469. The territory is located near the mouth of the Saint-François River
at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. It is partly within the limits of Pierreville
and across the river from Saint-François-du-Lac
. Odanak is an Abenaki word meaning "in the village".
explorer Jacques Cartier
in the mid-16th century, when he visited Hochelaga
and Stadacona
. By 1600, however, the villages and people were gone. Since the 1950s, historians and anthropologists have used archeological and linguistic evidence to develop a consensus that the people formed a distinct group, which they have called St. Lawrence Iroquoians
. They spoke Laurentian and were separate from the powerful Iroquois
confederacy of nations that developed in present-day New York.
Their disappearance by 1600 is believed to be due to attacks and decimation from the Mohawk Nation
, which stood to gain the most by getting control of the hunting grounds along the St. Lawrence River and dominating the fur trade route above Tadoussac, which was under Montagnais control. By the time of Samuel de Champlain
's arrival, the St. Lawrence River valley was essentially uninhabited and used by the Mohawk only for hunting grounds and as a path for war parties.
As French missionaries worked in present-day Quebec and central-western New York with native peoples in the late 17th and early 18th century, they established mission villages for converted natives near the colonial towns of Quebec City
and Montreal
. The Abenaki who converted to Catholicism
were allied with the French. There is evidence that St. Francis was first occupied by the Sokokis as early as 1660 according to tradition, as many as twenty families; the earliest Sokoki baptism recorded in the area was nearby in Trois-Rivières in 1658. Central Maine
was formerly inhabited by people of the Androscoggin tribe, also known as Arosaguntacook. The Androscoggins were a tribe in the Abenaki nation. They were driven out of the area in 1690 sometime after King Philip's War
(1675-1676). They were relocated at St. Francis
, Canada, which was later destroyed and burnt
by Rogers' Rangers in 1759. The Abenakis and some St. Francis residents participated in raids, which were sometimes organized and led by French military men, against English colonial settlements on the frontiers of New England
in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Other Abenaki tribes suffered several severe defeats in reprisal, particularly the capture of Norridgewock
in 1724 and the defeat of the Pequawket
in 1725, which greatly reduced their numbers. They finally withdrew to Canada
, where they were settled at Bécancour and Sillery
, and later at St. Francis, along with other refugee tribes from the south.
people. The reserve supports several other businesses, including an independently owned gas station and a dairy
specializing in the production of cheese
("La Fromagerie d'Odanak").
Aboriginal award-winning filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin
grew up in Odanak. Her domumentary, Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises (2006) is a tribute to the people of St. Francis. Her most recent documentary film Gene Boy Came Home
(2007) tells the story of Eugene "Gene Boy" Benedict. He was raised in Odanak. As a young man, he fought in the US Marine Corps against the North Vietnamese in the Vietnam War
before returning to his roots and home village.
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
in the Centre-du-Québec
Centre-du-Québec
Centre-du-Québec is a region of Quebec, Canada. The main centres are Drummondville, Victoriaville and Bécancour. It has a land area of 6,928.78 km² and a 2006 census population of 224,200 inhabitants.-Description:...
region, 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....
, Canada
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...
. The mostly Abenaki population as of the Canada 2006 Census
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
was 469. The territory is located near the mouth of the Saint-François River
Saint-François River
The Saint-François River is a river in the Canadian province of Quebec.The Saint-François takes its source from Lake Saint-François in Chaudière-Appalaches, southeast of Thetford Mines...
at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. It is partly within the limits of Pierreville
Pierreville, Quebec
Pierreville is a community in Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality, Quebec, located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Saint-François rivers, at the edge of Lac Saint-Pierre. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 2,337....
and across the river from Saint-François-du-Lac
Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec
Saint-François-du-Lac is a community in the Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 2,002...
. Odanak is an Abenaki word meaning "in the village".
History
Beginning about 1000 CE, Iroquoian-speaking people settled along the St. Lawrence River, where they practiced agriculture along with hunting and fishing. Archeological surveys have revealed that by 1300, they built fortified villages identifiable as similar to those seen and described by FrenchFrench people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
explorer Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
in the mid-16th century, when he visited Hochelaga
Hochelaga
Hochelaga may refer to:Hochelaga* Hochelaga , a 16th century village on the Island of Montreal* Hochelaga Archipelago, Montreal and surrounding islands...
and Stadacona
Stadacona
Stadacona was a 16th century St. Lawrence Iroquoian village near present-day Quebec City.French explorer and navigator Jacques Cartier, travelling and charting the Saint Lawrence River, reached it on 7 September 1535. He returned to Stadacona to spend the winter there with his group of 110 men...
. By 1600, however, the villages and people were gone. Since the 1950s, historians and anthropologists have used archeological and linguistic evidence to develop a consensus that the people formed a distinct group, which they have called St. Lawrence Iroquoians
St. Lawrence Iroquoians
The St. Lawrence Iroquoians were a prehistoric First Nations/Native American indigenous people who lived from the 14th century until about 1580 CE along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and New York State, United States. They spoke Laurentian...
. They spoke Laurentian and were separate from the powerful Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
confederacy of nations that developed in present-day New York.
Their disappearance by 1600 is believed to be due to attacks and decimation from the Mohawk Nation
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
, which stood to gain the most by getting control of the hunting grounds along the St. Lawrence River and dominating the fur trade route above Tadoussac, which was under Montagnais control. By the time of Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
's arrival, the St. Lawrence River valley was essentially uninhabited and used by the Mohawk only for hunting grounds and as a path for war parties.
As French missionaries worked in present-day Quebec and central-western New York with native peoples in the late 17th and early 18th century, they established mission villages for converted natives near the colonial towns of Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. The Abenaki who converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
were allied with the French. There is evidence that St. Francis was first occupied by the Sokokis as early as 1660 according to tradition, as many as twenty families; the earliest Sokoki baptism recorded in the area was nearby in Trois-Rivières in 1658. Central Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
was formerly inhabited by people of the Androscoggin tribe, also known as Arosaguntacook. The Androscoggins were a tribe in the Abenaki nation. They were driven out of the area in 1690 sometime after King Philip's War
King Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
(1675-1676). They were relocated at St. Francis
Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec
Saint-François-du-Lac is a community in the Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 2,002...
, Canada, which was later destroyed and burnt
St. Francis Raid
The St. Francis Raid was an attack in the French and Indian War by Robert Rogers and a band of his Rangers on the primarily Abenaki village of St. Francis, near the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River in what was then the French province of Canada, on October 4, 1759...
by Rogers' Rangers in 1759. The Abenakis and some St. Francis residents participated in raids, which were sometimes organized and led by French military men, against English colonial settlements on the frontiers of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Other Abenaki tribes suffered several severe defeats in reprisal, particularly the capture of Norridgewock
Norridgewock
The Norridgewock were a band of the Abenaki Native Americans/First Nations, an Eastern Algonquian tribe of the United States and Canada. The tribe occupied an area in Maine to the west and northwest of the Penawapskewi tribe, which was located on the western bank of the Penobscot River...
in 1724 and the defeat of the Pequawket
Pequawket
The Pequawket are a Native American subdivision of the Abenaki people who formerly lived near the headwaters of the Saco River in Carroll County, New Hampshire and Oxford County, Maine...
in 1725, which greatly reduced their numbers. They finally withdrew to Canada
Canada, New France
Canada was the name of the French colony that once stretched along the St. Lawrence River; the other colonies of New France were Acadia, Louisiana and Newfoundland. Canada, the most developed colony of New France, was divided into three districts, each with its own government: Quebec,...
, where they were settled at Bécancour and Sillery
Sillery
Sillery may refer to:*Sillery, Quebec City, a district Quebec City, Canada*Sillery, Marne, a commune in Marne, France-People with the name:*Noël Brûlart de Sillery , French diplomat, Knight of Malta and religious figure after whom the district in Quebec is named*Pierre Brulart, marquis de Sillery ,...
, and later at St. Francis, along with other refugee tribes from the south.
Contemporary
Odanak is the site of the Musée des Abénakis (Abenaki Museum), dedicated to the history, culture and art of the Western AbenakiWestern Abenaki
The Abenaki are a tribe of Native American and First Nations people, one of the Algonquian-speaking peoples of northeastern North America. The Abenaki live in the New England region of the United States and Quebec and the Maritimes of Canada, a region called Wabanaki in the Eastern Algonquian...
people. The reserve supports several other businesses, including an independently owned gas station and a dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
specializing in the production of cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
("La Fromagerie d'Odanak").
Aboriginal award-winning filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin
Alanis Obomsawin
Alanis Obomsawin, OC is a Canadian filmmaker of Abenaki descent. Born in New Hampshire, and raised primarily in Quebec, she has produced and directed many National Film Board of Canada documentaries on First Nations culture and history...
grew up in Odanak. Her domumentary, Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises (2006) is a tribute to the people of St. Francis. Her most recent documentary film Gene Boy Came Home
Gene Boy Came Home
Gene Boy Came Home is a 2007 documentary film by First Nations filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, produced by the National Film Board of Canada.The film tells the story of Eugene "Gene Boy" Benedict, a First Nations person raised on the Odanak Indian Reserve, approximately an hour and a half east of...
(2007) tells the story of Eugene "Gene Boy" Benedict. He was raised in Odanak. As a young man, he fought in the US Marine Corps against the North Vietnamese in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
before returning to his roots and home village.
Population
Population trend| Census | Population | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 469 | 10.4% |
| 2001 | 425 | 8.4% |
| 1996 | 392 | 17.7% |
| 1991 | 333 | N/A |
Language
Mother tongue language (2006)| Language | Population | Pct (%) |
|---|---|---|
| French only | 410 | 88.17% |
| English only | 55 | 11.83% |
| Both English and French | 0 | 0.00% |
| Other languages | 0 | 0.00% |