Ekuanitishit: Innus

Located in the heart of the Nitassinan of the Ekuanitshiunuat, the community of Ekuanitshit is an age-old spring and summer gathering place where the Innu maintain a close relationship with the islands of the Mingan Archipelago. The Innu oral tradition transmits a rich knowledge of these islands, each of them bearing a name in Innu language that refers to its history, its fauna, its flora or its exceptional aspect. Ekuanitshit translates as “people of the place where something is stranded” referring to the whales that get stuck in the sand during the summer. The Innu of Ekuanitshit speak mainly Innu-aimun. The Maison de la culture innue d’Ekuanitshit presents an exhibition highlighting Innu culture but it is also a gathering place dedicated to sharing.

Born in 1992, Shanice Mollen-Picard is Innu and grew up in Ekuanitshit, on the North Shore. A young woman who is athletic and involved in her community, she cultivates her connection to the territory by canoeing and rafting. In 2015, she directed her first short film, Shipu (River), in honor of the ancestral highways. She continues to create films aimed at reclaiming her culture and language to keep them alive and well. In 2018, she is co-directing a second short film about how elders refer to the land.

Uapukun Mestokosho Mckenzie grew up in Ekuanitshit on the North Shore, a little corner of paradise. Uapukun means “flower” in Innu. At the Kiuna Institution, she studied in Human Sciences, First Nations profile. Her pride and passion for her culture are at the heart of her commitment to her community. She wishes to transmit and share her experience and her outdoor adventures with all those who wish to do so.