Innus of Ekuanitshit
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Innus of Ekuanitshit (French: Les Innus d'Ekuanitshit) are a First Nation band in Quebec, Canada. They live primarily in the Indian reserve of Mingan on the north coast of the St Lawrence River. As of October 2019[update], the band had a registered population of 677 members.
| People | Innu |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Ekuanitshit |
| Province | Quebec |
| Land[1] | |
| Main reserve | Mingan |
| Land area | 38.38 km2 |
| Population (October 2019)[1] | |
| On reserve | 623 |
| On other land | 13 |
| Off reserve | 41 |
| Total population | 677 |
| Government[1] | |
| Chief | Jean-Charles Piétacho |
| Council |
|
| Tribal Council[1] | |
| Regroupement Mamit Innuat | |
| Website | |
| Ekuanitshit.com | |
Demographics
Geography
Innus of Ekuanitshit has only one reserve, Mingan, also called Ekuanitshit, where the band is headquartered and where lived the majority of its members.[1][4] The reserve is located on Quebec Route 138, 28 kilometres (17 mi) west of Havre-Saint-Pierre in the Côte-Nord region in Quebec at the mouth of the Mingan River on the St Lawrence River.[5] It covers an area of 3,838 hectares (9,480 acres).[4] The closest important city is Sept-Îles.[6]
Governance
Innus of Ekuanitshit are governed by a band council elected according to a custom electoral system based on Section 11 of the Indian Act. For the 2018 to 2021 tenure, this council is composed of the chief Jean-Charles Piétacho and four councillors.[7]
Languages
The language spoken by the Innus is Innu-aimun, a language of the Cree-Innu-Naskapi dialect continuum of the Algonquian languages family. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 95.4% of the Innus of Ekuanitshit have an Aboriginal language has the first language learned and 100% know an Aboriginal language and speak it at home. With respect to official languages, 6.4% know both, 88.1% know only French and 0% know only English.[8]