Mushuau Innu First Nation

Mushuau Innu First Nation
Band No. 32
PeopleNaskapi
HeadquartersNatuashish
ProvinceNewfoundland and Labrador
Land area44.26[1] km2
Population (October 2019)[2]
On reserve991
On other land1
Off reserve80
Total population1072
Government[2]
ChiefJohn Nui[3]
Council
  • Mary Lucy Dicker
  • Angela Pasteen
  • Simon Pokue
  • Mathias Rich
Website
Innu.ca

Mushuau Innu First Nation is a First Nations band government located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.[2] The band has one reserve which has been located near the community of Natuashish since 2002 when it moved from Davis Inlet. The reserve has an area of roughly 44 square kilometres (11,000 acres).[1]

The Mushuau Innu and the Naskapi were once the same people, speaking the same dialect and writing in syllabics, but split off and headed to Eastern Labrador, probably for sustainability reasons. Very few (if any) Mushuau Innu are able to write in syllabics any more. The majority are Catholic and use the Montagnais Bible which does not use syllabics.

The chief of this First Nation is John Nui.[4][5] As of October 2019, the Nation has a registered population of 1072 people, of whom 991 live on-reserve.[6] The population of Natuashish at the 2021 Census performed by Statistics Canada was 856, down from 938 in 2016.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Mushuau Innu First Nation (Code 1010801) Census Profile". 2016 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada.
  2. ^ a b "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. 26 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Governance". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. 26 September 2019.
  4. ^ Wall, Lukas (20 November 2016). "New band chief wants to get people working together in Natuashish". CBC News.
  5. ^ "John Nui re-elected as Mushuau Innu First Nation chief in Natuashish". CBC News. 7 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Registered Population". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. 26 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Natuashish 2, Indian reserve (IRI) Newfoundland and Labrador [Census subdivision]". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.