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Innu Perspective

Canadian history from an Innu perspective. Long before Jacques Cartier’s official “discovery”, the territory was visited by Inuit, Vikings, Bretons, Basques, Normands and possibly even Chinese.


  • History
    7:55 min - Many visitors passed through the port of Brest on the Basse-Côte-Nord.
    Image of a rock painting found near Forestville
  • French Presence
    3:20 min - This was the period of the seigneuries and the “Canaïens”.
    Scene from daily life at a trading post in Ekuanitshit in the French period
  • British Presence
    3:45 min - This was the period of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the beginning of the country’s era of commerce.
    Scene from daily life at a British trading post in Ekuanitshit during the British period
  • The Indian Act of 1814
    1:58 min - 1814 marks the darkest period in Innu history. With no more need for the Indians, the government decided to assimilate ...
    Traditional camp grounds on an island in the Mingan Archipelago
  • Missionaries
    2:16 min - “The missionaries came here and started baptizing us and changing our names.” Evelyne St-Onge, Mani-utenam Innu
    Print of two priests, one with a child in his arms
  • The Indian Act Of 1876
    6:05 min - The Indian Act of 1876 amended and consolidated previous laws concerning Aboriginals. This law, based on assimilation, is still in ...
    Priests announcing their departure for the residential school to Innu children from Ekuanitshit
  • Politics
    2:34 min - Indians were passed from one jurisdiction to another over the years. For more than 50 years, they came under the ...
    Motorized canoe in front of the community of Ekuanitshit
  • Last Visitor
    2:11 min - Today Parcs Canada occupies and manages the Mingan Archipelago, and Innu gatherings no longer take place on the islands in ...
    Meeting between a family from Ekuanitshit and a wildlife conservation officer on an island in the Mingan Archipelago


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