Manawan : Atikamekw

The Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok are one of the 11 Aboriginal nations in Quebec. They are divided into three communities: Manawan, Opitciwan and Wemotaci, grouped under the Atikamekw Nation Council. They speak the Atikamekw language, which is part of the Algonquian linguistic family, as well as Innu and Naskapi. They refer to their territory as Nitaskinan, meaning “Our Land”.  Manawan is one of the three Atikamekw communities that occupy the Saint-Maurice River valley. Manawan means in Atikamekw “place where eggs are gathered” referring to the gathering of migratory birds’ eggs that was done at one time. With the creation of Tourisme Manawan, the Atikamekw have been able to showcase their culture, their crafts and their heritage to the general public.

In the magnificent Lanaudière region, the community of 2000 inhabitants of Manawan lives peacefully. Interesting fact: there are 6 Atikamekw seasons. Nipin (summer), Takawakin (fall), Pitcipon (pre-winter), Pipon (winter), Sikon (pre-spring) and Miroskamin (spring).

Marie-Kristine Petiquay is originally from Manawan. She graduated from Kiuna Institution and is currently studying political science at the Université du Québec à Montréal. At the age of 12, she made her first short films with the Wapikoni mobile. Afterwards, she trained herself in short film production before returning to Wapikoni mobile in 2017 as a participant. She was also able to create short capsules for the promotion of Kiuna and gave workshops in short film production as part of the office automation course offered at the institute. Marie-Kristine is also slowly beginning to carve out a place for herself in the film world by becoming a co-writer for Le Mur Invisible (2020) and by obtaining a development grant from the National Film Board’s Francophone studio to write her first feature-length documentary. She says she would like to follow in Alanis O’bomsawin’s footsteps.

According to Indigenous Tourisme Quebec, in the magnificent Lanaudière region, the community of 2000 inhabitants of Manawan lives peacefully. Interesting fact: it has 6 Atikamekw seasons. Nipin (summer), Takawakin (fall), Pitcipon (pre-winter), Pipon (winter), Sikon (pre-spring) and Miroskamin (spring).

Click HERE to discover more about the Atikamekws.