Committed to a lifestyle and economic development that respects traditions and the environment, the Atikamekw are masters of bark work, canoe-making, and of making blueberry gummies and maple syrup! Their name means "white fish."

 

Atikamekw is a language spoken by the Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok, a people living among three communities, Wemotaci, Manawan and Opitciwan, in the regions of Lanaudière and Mauricie, in Quebec. The Atikamekw language belongs to the Algonquian family.

 

The Atikamekw language is a polysynthetic language meaning that each word is composed of several elements and a single word can correspond to an entire sentence in other languages. The alphabet of the Atikamekw language features only 15 letters, which make 21 sounds, including a letter which is unique to its alphabet: the 'tc'.

 

The language is considered the least endangered of the Indigenous languages in Quebec: 95% of the members of the communities are fluent in the Atikamekw language, making it the most spoken Indigenous language in Quebec.