Innus of Ekuanitshit (French: Les Innus d'Ekuanitshit) are a First Nation band in Quebec, Canada. They live primarily in the Indian reserve of Mingan on the north coast of the St Lawrence River. As of October 2019^[update], the band had a registered population of 677 members.

Demographics

Members of the band of Ekuanitshit are Innus. As of October 2019^[update], the Nation had a total registered population of 677 members, of which 54 lived off reserve.^[2] According to the 2016 Canadian Census, the median age of the population is 24.9 years old.^[3]

Geography

Innus of Ekuanitshit has only one reserve, Mingan, also called Ekuanitshit, where the band is headquartered and where lived the majority of its members.^[1][4] The reserve is located on Quebec Route 138, 28 kilometres (17 mi) west of Havre-Saint-Pierre in the Côte-Nord region in Quebec at the mouth of the Mingan River on the St Lawrence River.^[5] It covers an area of 3,838 hectares (9,480 acres).^[4] The closest important city is Sept-Îles.^[6]

Governance

Innus of Ekuanitshit are governed by a band council elected according to a custom electoral system based on Section 11 of the Indian Act. For the 2018 to 2021 tenure, this council is composed of the chief Jean-Charles Piétacho and four councillors.^[7]

Languages

The language spoken by the Innus is Innu-aimun, a language of the Cree-Innu-Naskapi dialect continuum of the Algonquian languages family. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 95.4% of the Innus of Ekuanitshit have an Aboriginal language has the first language learned and 100% know an Aboriginal language and speak it at home. With respect to official languages, 6.4% know both, 88.1% know only French and 0% know only English.^[8]