Language:: Montagnais Innu is an Algonkian language spoken by about 9000 people in
eastern Canada. The Montagnais and Naskapi are actually part of the same
Indian nation, calling themselves Innu; their languages, however, have diverged enough that most linguists consider them
separate languages (though some do class Naskapi as a dialect of Montagnais, or both as dialects of the
Cree language). Montagnais is certainly very closely related to Cree, about as similar in features as
Spanish is to Italian. Montagnais speakers call their own language Innu-Aimun, or Innu Aionun;
since Naskapi speakers also call their language Innu-aimun, linguists tend to refer to the two languages as Montagnais Innu and
Naskapi Innu for clarity's sake. Though the Innu face many social crises today, language loss is not one of them, and most
Montagnais children are raised speaking their native language. Illiteracy is a bigger problem in these impoverished communities,
where education is inadequate and usually in French. When the Montagnais language is written, the French alphabet is
usually used. As many as 3000 Innu are monolingual in their native tongue, with the rest also speaking French (particularly in Quebec)
or English (in Labrador).
People: The two peoples known to white settlers as 'Montagnais' and 'Naskapi'
were actually members of the same people, Innu. Living in different areas and wearing different clothing styles,
they were dealt with separately by the colonizing Europeans, who called the larger group "Montagnais" (French for
"mountaineer") and the smaller group "Naskapi" (Montagnais for "lousy dressers." I am not making that up.) Despite
any deeply-held beliefs they might have had about whose fashion sense was superior, however, the Naskapi
and Montagnais Indians have always considered themselves different communities within the same nation, and many Innu
reject the labels "Montagnais" and "Naskapi" entirely. There are about 14,000 Innu people in Labrador and
Quebec today, of whom all but 800 are Montagnais. Though the Innu and Inuit are neighbors,
the similarity between their names is coincidental--their languages are not at all related and have no more in common
with each other than with English.
History: Early Innu relations with Europeans were friendly and mutually beneficial,
as the Innu traded furs with the French and allied with them against the Iroquois Confederacy.
Unfortunately for the Innu, once other Europeans had erased the initial French advantage by selling
firearms to the Iroquois as well, that powerful alliance of nations defeated French, Innu,
and Algonquin alike, and between war and European diseases, the Innu population was decimated.
The survivors were settled in villages by well-intended Europeans, but Innu land, unlike the land
of the village-based Indians elsewhere in North America, was not well-suited to agriculture,
and deprived of the their previously effective hunter-gatherer lifestyle, the Innu rapidly fell
into poverty and dependency. The Innu tribe today is struggling to regain control over their
traditional lands, which the governments of Canada and Quebec are using for mining, logging,
building power plants, and running military exercises without the permission of the natives
trying to eke out a living there. Most recently, mercury runoff from the power plants
contaminated the drinking water of the Innu and their neighbors the Attikamek, and the Innu people
are now calling for all industrial projects on Innu land to be immediately suspended.
Montagnais Vocabulary:
List of vocabulary words in the Montagnais language, with comparison to words in other Algonquian languages.
Innu Pronunciation Guide:
How to pronounce Montagnais words.
Montagnais Animal Words:
Illustrated glossary of animal words in the Montagnais Innu language.
Innu Body Parts:
Online and printable worksheets showing parts of the body in Montagnais.
Innu Colors:
Worksheet showing color words in Montagnais.
Innu Numbers:
Worksheet showing how to count in Montagnais.
Montagnais Animate Nouns:
Lesson on Montagnais animate and inanimate nouns.
Montagnais Possession:
Lesson on the use of Montagnais possessive prefixes.
Montagnais Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions
Innu-Aimun:
Website dedicated to the Naskapi and Montagnais Innu languages, with online lessons, texts, and linguistics papers. Mostly PDF format.
Ashkui:
Linguistic analysis of an Innu word
La Langue Montagnaise:
Grammar, phonology, and verb morphology of Montagnais Innu. Page in French.
Ilnu-Aimun
Montagnais Innu orthography and text example.
Montagnais Dictionaries and Vocabulary Sets
Montagnais Innu Lexique:
French-Montagnais glossaries.
Utapan:
Short glossary of Innu toboggan terms, with information about toboggans.
Native American Nations
Le Montagnais (French version)
Montagnais Vocabulary:
Taking Charge:
