98 PORTAGE ROAD |
Newfoundland Tourism Region : Labrador
Sheshatshiu (also known as Sheshatshit): Located in central Labrador, on the Hamilton Inlet across from North West River, according to ENL sources, it was established in the late 1950s "by government and church officials as a permanent settlement for nomadic groups of Mushuau, Maskuanu, Uashau and Sheshatshiu Innu".
Sheshatshit is Innu for "the narrow place" and was applied "applied by the Innu to the waterway through which Grand Lake empties into Hamilton Inlet (Lake Melville), and had, historically been a major seasonal encampment of the Innu people.
Unfortunately, "by the 1930s the Innu were suffering from falling fur prices, lack of access to trapping lines and a declining caribou population.
Facing starvation in the interior, the Innu began to spend more time at North West River, where goods, services and relief were available.
Roman Catholic missionaries convinced the Innu to move their camps to the south side of the River, and in the 1950s the process leading to permanent settlement began."
In the early 1950, an Oblate missionary by the name of Joseph Pirson settled at the Innu camp, and it was him that built a church and initiated formal schooling for the children.
To encourage year-round residency, between 1957 and 1968, over 60 houses were built to house community members.
But life was not easy: As far back as the 1980s, "like the Innu of Utshimassit (or Davis Inlet), the residents of Sheshatshit have suffered from poverty, poor health, substance abuse and other social problems.
Some Innu expressed a desire to return to the nomadic way of life, and in the mid-1980s an outpost program was developed to transport residents to seasonal camps in order to hunt, fish and pick berries".
Unfortunately, such programs were not enough to stem the problems experienced, particularly by the youth.
From a recent CBC News article, dated Nov. 5, 2019, entitled "The Sheshatshiu suicide crisis 'didn't happen overnight.' How does the community break the cycle?" by Lindsay Bird came the following:
The Innu Nation reserve is no stranger to suicide, substance abuse, social upheaval and the headlines that come on the heels of such tragedies.
But the latest crisis has struck particularly deep, and is instigating a discussion of change to a degree not seen in recent years.
Chief Eugene Hart declared the crisis on Oct. 29 [2019], after 10 people between ages 12 and 18 attempted suicide.
Those attempts came on the heels of a 20-year-old woman's drowning death the previous weekend, as well as the loss of 14 community members to natural causes over the last year.
According to the 2016 Census, there were 1,023 residents in Sheshatshiu, a decrease of 22.1% over 2011 when 1,314 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 withing 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/Sheshatshiu