Algonquian Peoples

The Algonquian-speaking peoples are one of the most populous and widespread Indigenous cultural groups in North America, with territories stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Rocky Mountains.

Graph: By John White - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28583036

  • Anishinaabe (including Ojibway, Saulteaux, Odawa, Potawatomi, Algonquin, Mississauga)
    A large group of culturally related peoples, the Anishinaabe nations are spread across the Great Lakes region and into the northern plains.

    • Attawapiskat First Nation (ON)

    • Beardy's & Okemasis Band (SK) (Primarily Cree, but with historical connections)

    • Brokenhead Ojibway Nation (MB)

    • Cote First Nation 366 (SK)

    • Keeseekoose Band (SK)

    • Kinistin Saulteaux Nation (SK)

    • Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (ON)

    • Muskowekwan Band (SK)

    • Pasqua First Nation #79 (SK)

    • Pikangikum First Nation (ON)

    • Rolling River Band (MB)

    • Saulteaux Band (SK)

    • Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve (ON)

  • The Cree are the most populous and widely distributed First Nations group in Canada, with traditional territories stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.

    • Beardy's & Okemasis Band (SK)

    • Bunibonibee Cree Nation (MB)

    • Cumberland House Cree Nation (SK)

    • Flying Dust First Nation (SK)

    • God's Lake First Nation (MB)

    • James Smith Band (SK)

    • Little Black Bear Band (SK)

    • Little Pine Band (SK)

    • Little Red River Cree Nation (AB)

    • Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation (SK)

    • Manto Sipi Cree Nation (MB)

    • Montana Band (AB)

    • Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (MB)

    • Norway House Cree Nation (MB)

    • O'Chiese First Nation (AB)

    • Opaskwayak Cree Nation (MB)

    • Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (SK)

    • Pelican Lake Band (SK)

    • Piapot First Nation (SK)

    • Poundmaker Band (SK)

    • Sapoteweyak Cree Nation (MB)

    • Sweetgrass Band (SK)

    • War Lake First Nation (MB)

    • Waterhen Lake Band (SK)

    • Witchekan Lake Band (SK)

    • Wuskwihk Sipihk First Nation (MB)

  • The Mi'kmaq are the founding people of the Atlantic region, with traditional territory (Mi'kma'ki) covering what is now Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and parts of Quebec and Newfoundland.

    • Abegweit First Nation (PEI)

    • Elsipogtog First Nation (NB)

    • Esgenoopetitj First Nation (NB)

    • Site d'interpretation Micmac de Gespeg (QC)

  • The Atikamekw people's traditional territory, Nitaskinan, is located in the upper St. Maurice River valley of Quebec.

    • Conseil des Atikamekw d'Opitciwan (QC)

  • The Innu are the Indigenous inhabitants of a vast territory they call Nitassinan, which consists of the northeastern portion of Quebec and Labrador.

    • Mushuau Innu First Nation (NL)

  • The Abenaki people's homelands are located in parts of the northeastern United States and southeastern Quebec.

    • Odanak (QC)

    • Première Nation des Abénakis de Wôlinak (QC)

1. Definition

  • Algonquian (or Algonkian) peoples are not a single nation but a large group of Indigenous peoples in North America who share related languages and cultural traits.

  • The term Algonquian refers primarily to the language family, one of the largest in North America, but is often extended to describe the peoples who speak those languages.

2. Geography

  • Historically, Algonquian peoples lived across a huge area of North America:

    • From the Atlantic Coast (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New England)

    • Through the Great Lakes region (Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota)

    • Into the Canadian Prairies and Subarctic (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta)

    • Even reaching into the Rockies and Plains in some cases.

This wide spread explains why there is so much diversity among Algonquian peoples.

3. Culture and Lifestyle

Because the Algonquian peoples lived in such different environments (coast, forest, plains, subarctic), their ways of life varied:

  • Eastern Algonquian (e.g., Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Powhatan): fishing, hunting, farming (corn, beans, squash), wigwams, birchbark canoes.

  • Northern Algonquian (e.g., Cree, Innu): relied on hunting, trapping, fishing; lived in wigwams or tipis; snowshoes and toboggans were important.

  • Plains Algonquian (e.g., Blackfoot, Plains Cree): buffalo hunting, horse culture after European contact, tipis.

But common threads included:

  • Clan systems with animal totems.

  • Oral traditions for passing knowledge.

  • Spirituality deeply connected to nature.

4. Language

  • The Algonquian language family is huge, with many related but distinct languages.

  • Example: Ojibwe, Cree, Blackfoot, Mi’kmaq, Innu are all different languages, but they share roots and structures.

  • In Canada today, Algonquian languages are the most widely spoken Indigenous language group, though many are endangered.

5. Population

  • Millions of people in North America today trace their ancestry to Algonquian nations.

  • In Canada alone, over 160,000 people reported knowledge of an Algonquian language in the 2021 census.

6. Important Distinction

  • Algonquin = one Indigenous nation (around the Ottawa River in Ontario/Quebec).

  • Algonquian = the whole family of nations and languages, including the Algonquin, but also many others.