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Mushuau Innu First Nation is a First Nations band government located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The band has one reserve which has been located near the community of Natuashish since 2002 when it moved from Davis Inlet. The reserve has an area of roughly 44 square kilometres (11,000 acres).

The Mushuau Innu and the Naskapi were once the same people, speaking the same dialect and writing in syllabics, but split off and headed to Eastern Labrador, probably for sustainability reasons. Very few (if any) Mushuau Innu are able to write in syllabics any more. The majority are Catholic and use the Montagnais Bible which does not use syllabics.

The chief of this First Nation is John Nui. As of October 2019, the Nation has a registered population of 1072 people, of whom 991 live on-reserve. The population of Natuashish at the 2021 Census performed by Statistics Canada was 856, down from 938 in 2016.

History

The Naskapi traditionally lived in the interior of Labrador and Quebec. In 1830, the Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post at Fort Chimo, Rupert's Land and in 1831 they established one at Davis Inlet, Labrador. The HBC traded ammunition, tobacco and alcohol to the Naskapi in exchange for fur. It is likely that the substance abuse problems that exist among the Mushuau Innu started when the HBC arrived.

The traditional way of life of the Naskapi was threatened in 1916 when caribou herd were too small to sustain the Naskapi. The same year, a Naskapi settlement was recorded at "Old Davis Inlet" (located on mainland Labrador near the modern settlement). In 1942, the Commission of Government took control of the trading post at Davis Inlet. In 1945, a Catholic missionary (from Montreal according to the Innu) set up a church in the community. The missionary attempted to control alcohol abuse in the community around this time and allowed non-drinking Innu to have bigger punts. The 1945 census showed that a large Innu community existed at Davis Inlet and a few residents used the surname "Rich" however most residents did not use a surname. A small Innu population also existed in Nain.

In 1948, the Commission moved 74 Innu from Davis Inlet to Nutak (a now-resettled Inuit community) in the north. The Innu were not consulted about the move and after a year they returned on-foot to Davis Inlet. It is unclear why the resettlement took place at all. After the province joined Canada in 1949, the Indian Act was not applied to the Innu since (according to the commission) status Indians at the time did not have the right to vote while indigenous peoples of Labrador had the right to vote before confederation. The Innu were mostly unaware of the Act and the treaties with the First Nations in other provinces until the "white paper controversy" in 1969. Many Innu felt like the federal and provincial governments had ignored them. In 1967, "Old Davis Inlet" was abandoned and the Innu were moved to the modern settlement of Davis Inlet on Iluikoyak Island. The province hoped to improve the economic situation for the Innu by getting them more involved in the saltwater fishery while the province also provided ferry service to Davis Inlet connecting it to the rest of Labrador and to Newfoundland. The Innu were promised modern housing in the new settlement however the houses were poorly constructed and lacked running water during winter while other houses lacked running water at all. The tough land prevented the houses from having basements and prevented the community from having a sewage system. Suicide and substance abuse were commonplace among the Mushuau Innu.

In 1992, six unattended children were killed in a house fire and in 1993, a video of young children huffing gasoline and shouting that they wanted to die gained national attention.

In December 1993, the Mushuau Innu Band Council banished a provincial court judge and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) from the community. The public reasoning for the expulsion concerned Innu dissatisfaction with the practice and application of the Canadian Criminal Code to its people. The Innu also stated that the RCMP did not have jurisdiction over their community. The standoff continued until March 1995 when a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government of Canada and the Mushuau Innu Band Council to establish Indigenous police officers to assist the RCMP.

On February 3, 1995, the Mushuau Innu served written eviction notice on Diamond Field Resources, the project developer of Voisey's Bay. On February 4, 1995, the Voisey's Bay standoff began and nearly 50 Mushuau Innu arrived at the Voisey's Bay Diamond Field Resources mining camp. By February 6, 1995, there were nearly 80 Innu at the site, they caused approximately $10,000 damage to Diamond Field Resources equipment. The RCMP had dispatched 30 officers to the site in an effort to maintain order. Order was eventually restored after Diamond Field Resources agreed to have the Innu fully engaged in the development planning process.

In November 1999, international Indigenous rights organization Survival International released a report on the Labrador Innu entitled Canada's Tibet: The Killing of the Innu. The report called the Innu of Davis Inlet "the most suicide-ridden people of the world".

The Innu hoped to relocate to the mainland so they could have better housing and hopefully fix some social issues however premier Brian Tobin hoped for them to move to an existing community like Nain while the Innu wanted a new community built. After Tobin left office in 2000 the province agreed to build a new community at Sango Pond called Natuashish. In the provincial election in 1999, the Progressive Conservative Party's candidate for the Torngat Mountains was Simeon Tshakapesh, the first Innu to ever contest in a province-wide election. He was defeated by incumbent MHA Wally Andersen.

The Davis Inlet crisis was profiled in the 1996 documentary film Utshimassits: Place of the Boss.

Current situation

The Mushuau Innu gained recognition under the Indian Act in 2002 and Natuashish became a federal Indian reserve in 2003. The new community has better housing than the settlement at Davis Inlet and it is now easier for the Innu to reach their traditional hunting lands. The MV Kamutik W (a ferry service operated by Nunatsiavut Marine Inc.) goes on a route from Happy Valley-Goose Bay to Black Tickle, Cartwright, Rigolet, Makkovik, Hopedale, Natuashish and Nain every summer. Natuashish can also be reached via the Natuashish Airport.

In a 2005 CBC report the local band council was accused of corruption, specifically that the leadership was trafficking drugs and other illicit substances to maintain power.

The community's attempt to resolve its problem with alcoholism led to a ban on the sale, purchase, and possession of alcohol within the reserve. The bylaw was originally passed in 2008 by a margin of two votes. The prohibition bylaw was upheld in a subsequent referendum held in the community in March 2010.

In 2017, the Innu Nation stated that there are 165 Labrador Innu children in foster care, 80 of whom are placed outside their home communities of Natuashish and Sheshatshiu. As of 2020, according to Innu Nation Grand Chief Gregory Rich, Natuashish and Sheshatshiu have a collective population of about 3,000 with about half of that being youths. Of that 167 of them are in the care of the Manager of Child and Youth Services.

After years of having their finances under third-party and co-management, in 2019 the Mushuau Innu First Nation moved out of co-management for the first time in its history.

In May 2020, Wally Rich, a 15-year-old boy from Natuashish died by suicide while in provincial care residing at a group home in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Innu Nation Grand Chief Gregory Rich believes it is the first time a child in the care of the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development has taken their own life.

References

1. ^ "Mushuau Innu First Nation (Code 1010801) Census Profile". 2016 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada.
2. ^ "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. 26 September 2019.
3. "Governance". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. 26 September 2019.
4. Wall, Lukas (20 November 2016). "New band chief wants to get people working together in Natuashish". CBC News.
5. "John Nui re-elected as Mushuau Innu First Nation chief in Natuashish". CBC News. 7 November 2019.
6. "Registered Population". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. 26 September 2019.
7. "Natuashish 2, Indian reserve (IRI) Newfoundland and Labrador [Census subdivision]". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
8. ^ Powers, Timothy A. (22 August 1997). Conscious Choice of Convenience: The Relocation of the Mushuau Innu of Davis Inlet, Labrador (PDF) (Master of Arts). St. Mary's University.
9. "1945 Newfoundland Population Census, Labrador District". Newfoundland's Grand Banks Site. 19 February 2013.
10. ^ Press, Harold (1995). "Davis Inlet in Crisis: Will the lessons ever be learned?" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Native Studies. 15 (2): 187–209. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
11. ^ Place of the Boss: Utshimassits (1996) at IMDb 
12. Learning, Bonnie (Sep 29, 2017). "'By Innu, for Innu'". Saltwire News. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
13. ^ Roslin, Alex (January 20, 1994). "Davis Inlet boots out RCMP". The Nation. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
14. "Valentine's Day tragedy in Davis Inlet". CBC News. Feb 17, 1992. Retrieved Oct 27, 2020.
15. "Davis Inlet: Innu Community in Crisis". CBC Digital Archives. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 Jan 1993. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
16. "The Innu of Labrador: From Davis Inlet to Natuashish". CBC News. February 14, 2005. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
17. Fennell, Tom (Feb 15, 1993). "Horror in Davis Inlet". Maclean's. Retrieved Oct 27, 2020.
18. "A New Home and a Fresh Beginning for the Mushuau Innu of Davis Inlet". Cultural Survival. 2018.
19. Lockyer, Deborah (1994). "Davis Inlet stalls return of judge". Windspeaker. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
20. "Swearing in of Innu Peacekeepers as supernumerary constables in Davis Inlet". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. January 11, 1996. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
21. "Staking Claims: Innu Rights and Mining Claims at Voisey's Bay". Cultural Survival. Mar 2001. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
22. "Davis Inlet: World's most suicide-ridden people". CBC. Nov 8, 1999. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
23. "Witness focuses on Innu move to remote Davis Inlet". Vancouver Sun, February 10, 1996.
24. "Mountie series gets its Gemini, again: Hockey drama Net Worth, new series Traders and sportscaster Ron MacLean come up winners". The Globe and Mail, March 3, 1997.
25. "Mushuau Innu First Nation Band Order SOR/2002-415". Justice Canada. 21 November 2002.
26. "Archived - Reserve Creation at Natuashish". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Nov 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-10-14. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
27. Moore, Angel (Apr 5, 2020). "Indigenous leaders asking that access to Labrador be sealed off". APTN News. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
28. Churchill Duke, Laura (20 Sep 2019). "Hopedale woman circulating petition calling for the province to subsidize flights to northern Labrador". Saltwire. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
29. "The Innu of Labrador: From Davis Inlet to Natuashish". CBC News. December 14, 2004. Archived from the original on December 17, 2004. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
30. "Natuashish: Struggling with the hangovers of old Davis Inlet". CBC. Feb 8, 2005. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
31. Power, Peter (March 6, 2015). "A decade after the people of Davis Inlet were relocated, they are still hunting demons". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail Inc. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
32. "Band money fuelling addictions: sources". CBC News. Feb 9, 2005. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
33. "Labrador Innu leaders pocketing band money: audit". CBC News. Oct 26, 2005. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
34. "Labrador Innu village votes for booze ban". CBC News. February 1, 2008. Archived from the original on Feb 2, 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
35. "Natuashish to vote on all-out ban on alcohol, drugs". CBC News. January 30, 2008. Archived from the original on Jan 31, 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
36. "Natuashish votes to keep alcohol ban". CBC News. Mar 26, 2010. Archived from the original on Mar 28, 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
37. White, Bailey (Nov 16, 2017). "Innu Nation 'disappointed and embarrassed' Ottawa won't participate in foster care inquiry". CBC News. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
38. ^ "Innu Nation calling for province to follow through on inquiry after teen dies in care". CBC News. Jun 4, 2020. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
39. Taillon, Joan (2001). "DIAND takes over Innu money management". Windspeaker. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
40. "Natuashish ready to regain control of finances, chief says". CBC News. Feb 18, 2019. Retrieved Oct 16, 2020.
41. "Innu Nation wants answers on what lead to death of 15-year-old in care | SaltWire".
42. "An Innu teen died in care. Now a fired social worker is speaking out | CBC News".
43. "Wally Rich's mother says system failed teen who died under N.L. government care | CBC News".

Further reading

• Burns, Aušra (Spring 2006). "Moving and Moving Forward: Mushuau Innu Relocation from Davis Inlet to Natuashish". Acadiensis. 35 (2): 64–84. JSTOR 30303231.
• Dalsbø, Elisabeth Thørring (Spring 2010). "We were told we were going to live in houses" : relocation and housing of the Mushuau Innu of Natuashish from 1948 to 2003 (PDF) (Master of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies). University of Tromsø.
• Henriksen, Georg (2010). Hunters in the Barrens: The Naskapi on the Edge of the White Man's World. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-0-85745-367-9.
• Pollard, Deidre (2006). The political rhetoric of social problems: gasoline sniffing among the Innu of Labrador. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
• Powers, T. A. (1997). Conscious Choice of Convenience: The Relocation of the Mushuau Innu of Davis Inlet, Labrador. Master thesis, Saint Mary's University.
• Samson, Colin (2003). A Way of Life that Does Not Exist: Canada and the Extinguishment of the Innu. Verso. ISBN 978-1-85984-525-7.
• Samson, C., J. Wilson, & J. Mazower (1999). Canada's Tibet: the Killing of the Innu. London: Survival International.
• Walker, John (1996). Place of the Boss: Utshimassits. National Film Board of Canada.
• "Following the Mushuau Innu caribou hunt: A Land & Sea archival special". CBC News. 16 March 2019.
• Land & Sea: Mushuau Innu learn to hunt caribou in Labrador. CBC NL - Newfoundland and Labrador. 16 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 – via YouTube.
• The Mushuau Innu: Surviving Canada. Films Media Group. 2004. ISBN 978-1-61753-429-4.

External links

• "Natuashish". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
• "Natuashish 2". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
• "Davis Inlet". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.

55°54′47″N 61°7′38″W / 55.91306°N 61.12722°W / 55.91306; -61.12722

• First Nations in Newfoundland and Labrador
• First Nations governments in Atlantic Canada
• Mushuau Innu First Nation