52°49′9.8″N67°11′53.3″W / 52.819389°N 67.198139°W /52.819389; -67.198139
Nitaskinan Nehirowisi Aski Atikamekw Aski | |
|---|---|
| Time immemorial–1763 (as aState) | |
 | |
| Status | Unrecognized /former country |
| Common languages | French,Atikamekw Nehiromowin,LSQ,English |
| Demonyms | Atikamekw (nehirowisiwok, iriniwok) |
| History | |
• Established | Time immemorial |
| 1876 | |
• Disestablished | 1763 (as aState) |
| Area | |
| Pre-invasion | 80,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi) |
| 20th c. | 51.35 km2 (19.83 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2016 | 7,747 |
| Today part of | Quebec,Canada |
| atikamekw / nehirowisiw "lake whitefish" / "Indigenous person" | |
|---|---|
| Person | Atikamekw Nehirowisiw |
| People | Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok |
| Language | Atikamekw Nehiromowin |
| Country | Nitaskinan (Nehirowisi Aski) |
Nitaskinan, also known asNehirowisi Aski andAtikamekw Territory, is the ancestralcountry of theAtikamekw people. It is located in the valley of theSaint-Maurice River inQuebec, Canada. It covers an area of 80,000 km2 (31,000 sq mi).[1] On 8 September 2014, theConseil de la Nation Atikamekw declared unilaterally the sovereignty of the Atikamekw Nation on the Nistaskinan.[2][3][4][5] The objective of this is mainly to obtain a right of review for the projects exploiting the natural resources and to highlight the Atikamekw's identity. "Nitaskinan" means "our (excl.) land" in theAtikamekw language, where "Kitaskinan" means "our (inclusive) land," similar to other Cree languages' use ofaski. From a legal perspective, according to the CanadianIndian Act, the Atikamekw have self-administration on threeIndian reserves,Manawan,Obedjiwan andWemotaci, but territory of Nitaskinan covers an area much wider.
Nitaskinan andNehirowisi Aski mean "our land" and "Atikamekw Country," respectively, inNehiromowin. Both centre the rootaski ("land"), originating fromProto-Algonquian *axskiy,[6] relating it toOjibwemowin'saki and theIstchee inEeyou Istchee,[note 1] each meaning "land" as well.
The name "Atikamekw" is derived fromatikamekw, which means "lake whitefish" in Nehiromowin. In the language, the wordsnehirowisiwok andiriniwok are also used, both meaning "[Atikamekw] people". The latter has its roots in Proto-Algonquian*elenyiwa ("human"); the former derives fromrowi ("action, movement"), with the prefixnehi- ("balance") and the suffix-siw ("human being"). Both have cognates in the likes of:nêhinawak ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐘᐠ andininiwak ᐃᓂᓂᐘᐠ (Swampy Cree),nīhithawak ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐘᐠ andithiniwak ᐃᖨᓂᐘᐠ (Woods Cree), andnêhiyawak ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐘᐠ andiyiniwak ᐃᔨᓂᐘᐠ (Plains Cree).
Nitaskinan means "our (excl.) land". It is formed by attaching the prefixni- ("I; we") and the suffix-(i)nan ("us, but not yours") to the rootaski, forming thepossessive.[9] This construction is seen in neighbouringAlgonquian languages like Plains Cree,[10]Anishinaabemowin,[11] andInnu Aimun. Indeed, Innu andAbenaki use similar constructions to refer to their homelands:Nitassinan and Ndakinna, respectively.
