Romaine River: The “essential” and “essentialized” territory of the Innus of Ekuanitshit
Since 2009, members of the Innu community of Ekuanitshit (also known as Mingan) in Quebec’s Côte-Nord region are facing a major hydroelectric project on the Romaine River, an integral part of the Nitassinan, their ancestral territory. The construction of four dams, power stations and reservoirs, at an estimated cost of 6.5 billion dollars, makes it one of the largest projects underway in northern Canada. In this article, we reflect on essentialism in the context of resource development on Indigenous territories. Drawing on the transformations of the Innu’s identity in relationship to the Romaine River, we explore the strategies put in place on one side to reinforce their distinct claims, aspirations, and territorialities, on the other side to discredit them. Our analysis reveals that, despite the perverse effects of essentializing Indigenous territorialities, the territory is nevertheless essential.