Cacouna: Wolastoqiyik

The Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation, formerly known as the Maliseet First Nation of Viger, has two communities: Cacouna and Kataskomiq. Unlike the vast majority of other indigenous communities, they are uninhabited by the Wolastoqiyik. Cacouna is home to the nation’s headquarters as well as the Denis-Launière house, a heritage building that houses the Matuweskewin art studio-boutique. The origin of the word Cacouna is not unanimous. A first hypothesis would come from the iiyiyuu ayimuun with the word Kakwa or Kakoua which means “porcupine” and nak which means “dwelling of”. This gives “the home of the porcupine”. Since the Eeyou never really visited the region, it is assumed that the Innu named the place after them during their crossings. It could also be a Wolastoqey word, kakona, which translates as “turtle. Although most members of the nation speak French, many efforts have been made in recent years to revitalize the ancestral language, Wolastoqey latuwewakon.