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<strong>How do they
live?</strong> Their homeland, where they have lived for millennia, is
a vast area of sub-arctic spruce and fir forest, lakes, rivers and rocky
'barrens'. They call this land Nitassinan. Up until the second half of the 20th century, the Innu lived as
nomadic hunters. For most of the year, the waterways of Nitassinan are frozen,
and they would travel in small groups of two or three families on snowshoes,
pulling toboggans. When the ice melted, they would travel by canoe to the coast
or a large inland lake to fish, trade, and meet friends and relatives. They hunt
animals including bear, beaver and porcupine, and also fish and gather berries -
but most of all they rely on the herds of caribou which migrate through their
land every spring and autumn. Until recently, the Innu got all that they needed
- food, clothing, shelter, tools and weapons - from the caribou, which have a
huge cultural significance. Today the Innu have been settled into villages;
although many hunt, fish and gather, some have paid jobs as well, or depend on
social security.<br />
<br />
<strong>What problems do they face?</strong> During the
1950s and 1960s, the nomadic Innu were pressured into settling in fixed communities by the
Canadian government and Catholic church. The transition was difficult and
traumatic. Life in the  communities is marked by extremely high
levels of alcoholism, petrol-sniffing amongst children, violence, and record
levels of suicides. Many of the Innu are still fighting to retain much of their
traditional lifestyle, increasingly difficult as the government hands out their
land in mining concessions, floods the heart of their territory for hydro power
schemes, and builds roads which cut up the remainder. In April 1999, the UN
Human Rights Committee described the situation of tribal peoples as 'the most
pressing issue facing Canadians', and condemned Canada for 'extinguishing'
aboriginal peoples' rights.<br />
<br />
<strong>How can I help?<br />
</strong>Click <a target="_self" href="/how_to_help.php?howto_help_id=1">here</a> to donate to Survival.<br />
Click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.writetothem.com/">here</a> to write to your MP or MEP (UK).<br />
Click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/">here</a> to write to the President, your senators, congressmen or other elected officials (US).<br />
Write to your local Canadian high commission or embassy, click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.embassiesabroad.com/">here</a> to find out the address.<br />
<br />
<strong>How does Survival help?</strong>
Survival is calling on the Canadian government to rethink its approach to
negotiations with the Innu and other similar groups - currently they will only
recognise Innu land rights if the Innu agree to surrender most of their land.
Canada must recognise the Innu's right to own their land, and live on it as they
choose.<br />
<br />
0
0
The Innu are the indigenous people of most of the Labrador-Quebec peninsula, in eastern Canada. They were formerly referred to as the Montagnais-Naskapi Indians, and are unrelated to the Inuit (or 'Eskimo') who live further north.
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the Innu
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2009-05-29T17:54:14+01:00