I know too well the posison and the sting from things too sweet
Adelaide Anne Proctor
'Songs From the Hearts of Women'
It is believed that they had been inhabiting the region for more than 2,000 years, one of the group of Asian emigrants who followed the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last ice-age. There is evidence that a group of Cree-speaking Algonquin began to occupy Labrador and eastern Quebec about that time, and the Naskapi were living on the Labrador peninsula when the Vikings first arrived. As a matter of fact, both the Montagnais and Naskapi had extensive contact with the European fishermen who frequented the Grand Banks during the 1500s, and by and large their encounters were friendly. It was their exchange of furs for European goods that actually created the fur trade that would bring a mass influx of traders to the region in the early 1600s.
Living in small nomadic bands, they originally followed the caribou migrations, supplementing their diet with fish and other small game. More hunters than gatherers, their dwellings were designed to be lightweight and portable, which they would cover with caribou hide in the colder weather to insulate them from the arctic chill.
The group who occupied the forest areas along the north shore of the St. Lawrence at the time, were a woodland people, moving between summer villages near the river and winter hunting camps in the interior, like the one at Tadoussac. After the French fur trade concentrated them near the St. Lawrence in the early 1600s, the southern Montagnais bands were forced to organize themselves within fixed hunting territories. They wore buckskin clothing like their southern neighbors and began living in birchbark covered wigwams. Their diet was mostly moose and seal, but also included salmon and eel. They considered porcupine a delicacy and as such were often referred to as the "Porcupine Indians."
When Champlain established his first trading post at Tadoussac, he began a friendship with the Montagnais people that would last throughout his lifetime. They would often rely on him, to a certain extent, to help them out throught the long winter months, but in return he got the loyalty of these proud Canadians, and the access to some of the best furs in the country.
But he would also be drawn into a war that had been raging since about 1550. Though the Iroquois had left the region, they still posed a major threat to trade, and when the French attempted to extend their business west of Kebec in 1608, they renewed their agression against the Montagnais and other Algonkin nations. This would set the tone for the next several decades, and many would pay the price.
The Montagnais were among the first converts to Christianity, though their souls came with a price: French firearms. At first the missionaries limited the amount of ammunition they gave them, to ensure they didn't use them against wach other. This was enough to allow the Montagnais and others, like the Huron, to keep the Iroquois at bay, at least temporarily.
Bound to the French through religion and intermarriage, the Montagnais provided warriors during their four wars with the British between 1689 and 1763, but things changed for them after the British gained control of their country. About this time, lumber interests moved into the Saguenay River Valley and the upper north shore of the St. Lawrence, which brought increased settlement. This cost them greatly, as they began to lose much of their original homeland, and were constantly exposed to epidemics. Beaver hats gave way to silk during the 1830s ending one their major sources of income, and the use of firearms in hunting for profit depleted much of available wildlife.
In general, the Montagnais are not well-known outside of Quebec and Labrador. Many of their important contributions to the early history of Canada have been obscured by their frequent confusion with the Algonkin or Cree.
Currently there are about 13,000 Montagnais residing at Nitassinan, their original homeland, made up of three divisions: the Montagnais along the St. Lawrence between the St. Maurice River and Sept-Iles; the Naskapi east of them in Labrador; and the Attikamek on the upper St. Maurice River north of Montreal.
They were little more than skeletons, and Champlain doled out what little food they had, beginning with the nursing mothers and small children. He then ordered his men to assist in building small dwellings nearby, covering them with layers of bark to keep out the cold. Still more perished. Mothers’ milk dried up, resulting in the deaths of many infants, and the residents resorted to eating their dogs and even the bait left out by the French to trap wild game. By the time the spring shad began to run, ending the famine, there was nothing left to do but bury the dead and comfort the living.
They also took part in many symbolic dances, that required disrobing, that were more spiritual in nature, but not without a sensual element. Sex was not a sin, as the missionaries believed, but a natural thing. Later as some converted to Christianity, they were able to adapt to more modest attire and 'moral' conduct.
Unlike many other Canadian Nations at the time, the Montagnais women were not expected to do all the work, but domestic duties were shared, with the men handling the more ardous tasks, leaving the women and children to do the less fatiquing chores.
Men were always served their meal first, and would begin eating before the women, but women made all the major decisions; like future plans, when to leave their current location and which direction to take. Like the Huron Women they would agree to arranged marriages that would strengthen their trade relation and alliances.
During war, men would take women prisoners but never kill them on their own. Instead, they would be brought home to meet their fate at the hands of the Montagnais females. Death would often be slow and painful, depending on how much they themselves had suffered as a result of the conflict.
The Montagnais absolutely adored their children, and considered them to be treasures, never to be taken for granted. It was difficult for them to understand how the missionaries could consider their nudity indecent, and yet the striking of a child a necesssay thing. You never struck a child, no matter what. They also had their own brand of justice, that the French found difficult to understand. One incident that occurred at Tadoussac in 1617, showed just how far they would go to protect their children.
When Champlain had to return to France on a business matter, he left Sieur Du Parc in charge, and the man got along very well with the local people. However, one of the Montagnais was beaten up by the new locksmith at the post; who felt that the deputy commander was showing him favor. The man became so enraged that a few days later when he saw the French locksmith out fishing with a sailor, he ambushed them, killed them both and tied their bodies together. He then weighted the bodies with stones and threw them into the stream. However, they eventually rose to the surface and were recognized. The murderer’s accomplice gave him away and Du Parc was left with deciding his punishment.
The Canadians wanted to settle it in their own way, by presenting gifts to the relatives of the victims, but the French wanted the two men executed. Soon the entire colony was involved, and there was nothing left to do but summon Champlain to act as mediator. He arrived at Tadoussac on June 24, 1618; bringing along his 18 year old brother-in-law; Eustache Brouille.
While the prisoners were being held inside the habitation, the Montagnais tried to storm the building to rescue them, but Champlain put down the drawbridge and posted arquebusiers at the entrance, forcing the mob to retreat. Later the murderer’s father got down on his knees to plead for his son’s release, so Champlain, understanding the father's devotion, decided to hand him over with instructions to keep him under control.
However, the women still hold their place of prominence in the family unit; still adore their children; and still love to laugh. Some things never change.
