The history of relations with those who were once called the “wild” is paved with conflicting feelings. We often talk about the good reports of the settlers of New France with some of the indigenous peoples, which does not exclude bloody episodes. In his novel Taqawan, Éric Plamondon evokes the “war on salmon” which saw battle in 1981, the mi’kmaq reserve of Restigouche, and an armada of police officers. With this tremendous sentence : “In Quebec, it was all of indian blood, if it is not in the veins, it is on the hands “.
Homage to the mestizaje, but also a reminder that violent conflicts emerge sometimes, as was the case during the “Oka crisis” which caused a death in 1990. At the gates of Montreal, Mohakws held head to the police and the army to prevent the expansion of a golf course on the site of a cemetery traditional. It took time to calm the spirits as it took centuries to honor the earth native that was born in Montreal. In 2017, the flag is changed : the white pine tree of peace for the natives, throne now at the side of the lily, the rose, the thistle and the shamrock, symbols of the founding peoples of the city, French, English, scottish, and irish.
Eleven Nations
The “Québec autochtone” is a mosaic of eleven nations, ten indian, and an inuit, most of the Métis. Nearly 183.000 people declared they were members of First Nations, Métis, or Inuit in 2016, equivalent to 2.3% of the provincial population and 11% of aboriginal people in Canada. Mohawks and Crees came first, followed by the Innu, the Inuit and the Algonquin. In ten years, their number has increased 66%, due to a galloping demography, and because the Métis increasingly assert their aboriginal identity.
Geographically, more than a quarter live in Montreal, the other in 55 communities or reserves, close to Montreal or Quebec (Mohawk and Huron-Wendat) or in areas…
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By Anne Pélouas (Montrealéal, correspondence)
