Natuashish: Located 295 km (183.3 mi) north of Goose Bay and 80 km (49.7 mi) southeast of Nain, Natuashish from Innu-aimun, meaning "a small lake" refers specifically to Little Sango Pond, approx. 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) away from the community of Davis Inlet (Utshimassit).

Natuashish was resettled to the "Pond" in 2002 from Davis Inlet in an attempt to fix some of the original communities serious social problems in Davis Inlet stemming primarily from drug and alcohol abuse.

Natuashish is very remote, accessible only by plane or boat, however its location inland gives better access to the ancestral fishing and hunting grounds.

The original community of Davis Inlet was located on the southwest part of the bay that separated Ukasiksahk and Uuikyak Islands in northern Labrador.

According to material presented in the ENL, it was an old settlement, first established as a trading post by A.B. Hunt and Company in 1831.

Later, in 1869 it was purchased by the Hudson's Bay Company and remained one of their posts until 1942.

It was "explored" as far back in 1876 when Governor John Elliot requested, that Captain Thomas Graves visits it coast and harbours, specifically to see whether or not the inlet connected with Hudson's Bay (which it didn't) or any other inland bay (which it also didn't!).

According to the 2016 Census, there were 936 residents in Natuashish, a slight increase of 0.5% over 2011 when 931 were recorded.

INNU OF NL:

The second group of aboriginal people of Newfoundland and Labrador is the Innu. The following description is from the Wikipedia website:

The Innu (or Montagnais) are the Indigenous inhabitants of an area in Canada they refer to as Nitassinan ("Our Land"), which comprises most of the northeastern portion of the present-day province of Quebec and some eastern portions of Labrador.

Their ancestors were known to have lived on these lands for several thousand years as hunter-gatherers. They used portable tents made of animal skins.

Their subsistence activities were historically centred on hunting and trapping caribou, moose, deer, and small game.

Their language, Innu or Ilmu (popularly known since the French colonial era as Montagnais), is spoken throughout Nitassinan, with certain dialect differences.

It is part of the Cree language group, and is unrelated to neighboring Inuit languages. According to Lee Sultzman (n.d.), in his article entitled "Montagnais History" the origin of the term "Montagnais" is as follows:

Montagnais, meaning "mountaineers," was the name given [the Innu] by the French. Spelled variously as: Montagnar, Moatagne, Montagnie, and Montainier, it originated from the rugged St. Lawrence shoreline near the mouth of the Saguenay River where the French first met them.
They were also commonly called the Kebik, which is probably the source of Quebec.

Montagnais and Naskapi today refer to themselves as the Innu, or "people." To avoid confusion, the Innu are NOT the same as the Inuit (Eskimo) who most Montagnais regarded as enemies.

Other names used for themselves were Neenoilno (perfect people) and Tshetsiuetineuerno (people of the north-northeast).

Naskapi (Nascapee) comes from a Montagnais word meaning "rude or uncivilized" and obviously was not intended as a compliment to their eastern relatives.

The Attikamek (Atikamekw, Atihkamekw, Atikamek, Attikiriniouetch, Attimewk) are more commonly known as Téte de Boule and in some classifications are grouped with the eastern Cree rather than the Montagnais.

Other names for Montagnais were: Chauhagueronon (Huron), Kebik, Lower Algonquin (French), Porcupine Indians, Shoudamunk (Beothuk-good Indians), Sheshatapoosh, Skraelling (Norse), Ussagenewi (Penobscot-people of the outlet), and Ussaghenick (Maliseet).

The Innu Nation has an excellent website which includes a detailed bibliography of historical books and articles related to the area. The following is from their website:

The Innu Nation is the organization that formally represents the Innu of Labrador... most of whom live in the two Innu communities of Sheshatshiu and Natuashish.

The Sheshatsui Innu live in the community of Sheshatshiu while the Mushuau Innu live in the community of Natuashish.

Some Innu also live in other communities within Labrador and on the island part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In order to protect their interests, their land and their rights from outside forces the Innu people first organized themselves in 1976 under the Naskapi Montagnais Innu Association (NMIA).

In 1990, the NMIA changed its name to the Innu Nation.....

The Innu Nation's mandate is to speak as one voice to protect the interests of the Innu people and to oversee all its political and business affairs.

The Innu Nation is involved in on-going land claim and self-governance negotiations with the Federal and provincial governments.

As of 2006, the Innu of Labrador have been formally recognized under The Indian Act of Canada. The Innu Nation is also involved in the social and economic development and well-being of its community.

According to the 2016 Census, there are 2,860 residents in Newfoundland and Labrador who indicated that they were of Innu/Montagnais ancestry.

Used with permission from "Uncovering the Origin of 1001 Unique Place Names in Newfoundland and Labrador" 2021 Jennifer Leigh Hill

Address of this page: http://nl.ruralroutes.com/DavisInlet