The Creation of the Reserve of Nutashkuan
This article is based on stories collected during an oral history project conducted with members of the Innu community of Nutashkuan (North Shore region, Québec), which explored the creation of their reserve by the Department of Indian Affairs in the 1950s. Constituting the heart of the narrative, these stories address not only the construction of the first houses, but also the imposition of the first chief for the community and the introduction of an economic dependence through the distribution of rations and narrowing of productive activities. Taken together, they allow us to appreciate the creation of a reserve as a physical, social, political and economic space. Although locally grounded, this article hopes to shed light on the broader implications of the intrusion of the Indian Act on Aboriginal communities in Québec, propelled by the Innus’ own perspective on historical events.