THE MALECITE

The Malecite are part of the Algonquian linguistic family. They account for 712 in Quebec, but only two of them reside on reserve. Their territory is located in the Lower Saint-Lawrence, near Rivière-du-Loup. There are two Malecite communities in Quebec: Cacouna, of a 0.17 hectare surface, and Whitworth of 173.01 hectare. They were semi-nomadic. They lived on hunting and fishing, but also cultivated corn.

Did you know that until the XVI century, the Malecite lived in New-Brunswick?

• The Malecites, a water-borne renaissance

THE MALECITES, A WATER-BORNE RENAISSANCE
Par Annabelle Dionne

Nothing grand has ever been accomplished except by those who dared to believe that something in them was stronger than the circumstances surrounding them.

Bruce Barton

The Malecites of Viger were, in 1999, following the Marshall decision, the first Aboriginal group to sign a commercial fishing agreement. Seven months later, they had launched their first boat. "People still can't believe it," admits Anne Archambault, Grand Chief of the Malecites. "Especially since we have fished all our crab and shrimp quotas," she hastens to add. From once posting a deficit of $223,000, the community now boasts assets of $8.5 million dollars.

Commercial fishing is not an easy occupation, even for those with years of experience. Fishing rookies must confront even greater challenges, since they are taking a plunge into truly uncharted waters. The boat dubbed Amalécite I nevertheless won the Mishtapew merit award for new business development in March 2001. When asked about the secret of this success, Ms. Archambault unhesitatingly replied that time, energy, strong determination, and outstanding teamwork all combined to make this dream a reality.

Today, the community is the owner of another two, recently purchased boats. Amalécite II, a shrimp boat allocated a quota of 280 tonnes, is currently moored at Rivière-au-Renard, Québec, and is ready to take to the sea. Amalécite III is a crab boat with a quota of 100 tonnes, and will weigh anchor in 2002. Manpower represents a major challenge for the Malecites, as close to 700 of their members live outside of the community, scattered across Québec, Canada and the United States. In itself, finding Malecite fishers is a daunting adventure.

The land area of the community of Viger measures 0.17 hectares, making it the smallest reserve in Canada. The space is just large enough (or just small enough) to accommodate the band council, set aside a parking lot, and leave intact the last house of the community, known as the Dennis Launière house. This home was restored to its period features for use as a handicrafts shop and an interpretation centre.

At the centre, a storyteller narrates the history of the Malecites. In particular, this First Nation was a nomadic people that has had to overcome many obstacles; they were moved from Viger to Witworth in 1875, onto a rock-strewn land unfit for agriculture and thereafter to Cacouna, on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, in 1891. For Anne Archambault, the access to resources made possible by commercial fishing has launched a renaissance among the Malecites and provided them with the opportunity to take steps toward achieving self-government.

In addition to its fishing venture, the community of Viger is in the process of negotiating an aquaculture project centring on Arctic char, as a means of protecting this resource. Next year, it will also have a cold-storage warehouse in which to store fish, a project "enabling [the community] to diversify its economy," explains Grand Chief Archambault. The next step will consist in bringing the Malecites together and giving its youth the desire to return and settle in the community. To achieve that objective, they will have to negotiate for more land on which to build houses. All in all, there's no shortage of challenges ahead for the Malecites.

The Abenakis / The Algonquins / The Attikameks / The Crees
The Hurons-Wendat / The Malecites / The Micmacs
The Mohawks / The Montagnais / The Naskapis / The Inuits