The Innu language, sometimes referred to as Innu-aimun, is part of the Algonquian language family. While many contemporary Innu communities retain these religious affiliations, traditional beliefs persist in some communities. In the 18th century, missionaries in association with community members helped to develop a standard orthography for the Innu language, in addition to their efforts to convert Early in the relationship, Christian texts were translated into the Innu languageĪnd missionaries became actively involved in Innu spiritual and cultural life. The arrival of European missionaries drastically altered ways of life for the Innu. Shamans performed Shaking Tent rites, and hunters appeased animal spirits by placing offerings of bones and skulls in trees or on raised platforms. The caribou was the most revered animal as it provided practically all the necessities of life. Pre-contact Innu religion was a personal endeavour and encouraged the cultivation of respect for animals. ( See also Indigenous Art in Canada.) Religion Since 1985, Uashat mak Mani-utenam has hosted a yearly summer festival of Indigenous music, Innu Nikamu.Įach year, more than 10,000 festival-goers celebrate and connect with traditional music and artists. Show that Innu culture continues to adapt and thrive. The books of Montagnais author, An Antane Kapesh, and the Innu-language recordings by pop music duo Kashtin, Nametau Innu, for example, is a project that aims to pass skills and traditional knowledge from elders to youth. While Innu culture (and Indigenous culture, more broadly) has been threatened by the forces of colonization, several programs today support the survival of The Innu have a rich culture that includes traditional art, music, dance and sacred ceremonies. Much of the ancestral religion is recorded in legends and songs. The feast included drumming and songs sung to the animal spirits. Makushan) of caribou fat and bone marrow. After the hunt, communities would hold a ceremonial feast People gained status mainly through the ability to make gifts of meat to others. Belief in animal spirits played a major role in the hunt. The cracks and fissures in a burnt caribou shoulderīlade were believed to foretell the location of game. Traditional hunting techniques used every part of the caribou craft makers decorated skins with painted or quill designs to make clothing of many kinds, or made drums for celebrations and sacred singing. Several families would come together into winter hunting camps, while larger gatherings occurred in the summer, providing an opportunity for festivities and socializing. Social groups revolved around the seasons. In addition, Innu lived in wigwams made of birchbark in the south and caribou hide

The Innu travelled in much the same way as their Algonquian relatives, using the canoe in summer, and snowshoes and toboggans in winter. They developed trade networks with other Indigenous groups such as the Huron-Wendat. In addition to hunting game, Innu fished for eels and fish, hunted seals, and gathered roots, berries and maple sap. Innu hunted game animals like caribou in the eastern and northernĪreas, moose in the west, as well as beaver, bear, Innu traditionally hunted and fished across the vast boreal territory known as Nitassinan on the Labrador Peninsula.

The two largest Innu communities in Labrador are the Mushuau Innu in Natuashish and the Sheshatshiu Innu in Tshishe-shastshit. Innu communities in Quebec include Pessamit, Kawawachikamach, Unamen Shipu, Essipit, Uashat mak Mani-utenam (the collective name for the two Sept-Îles communities), Mashteuiatsh, Ekuanitshit, Nutashkuan, Pakua Shipu, and Matimekush-Lac-John (Schefferville). Matimekush-Lac-John and Kawawachikamach around Schefferville, Québec, north of Labrador. Others are far more remote, like the communities of For example, Uashat and Mani-utenam are in and around Sept-Îles, Many communities are remote, but relatively accessible. Groups are widely dispersed across a huge area of land. Though Innu were traditionally nomadic, contemporary communities are largely sedentary, the product of government policies to integrate Indigenous peoples into the globalĮconomy through forced relocation. They are distinct from but closely related to Eastern Cree groups that inhabit the western portion of the Labrador Peninsula. The Innu inhabit a vast boreal territory on the Labrador Peninsula known as Nitassinan. (courtesy Native Land Digital / Native-Land.ca)

(courtesy Harfang/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0) Population and Territory Innu (Montagnais-Naskapi) traditional territory.

Warlike alliance names