Geography

The term "Algonquin" has been applied to other Algonquin-speaking people, who ranged over the continent from Virginia to the Rocky Mountains, and as far north as Hudson Bay. Along with the Iroquois, Algonquin-speaking tribes forged a network of footpaths called the Great Trail that connected the Great Lakes to New England--major highways would later follow these same footpaths. The 11,000-strong Algonquin tribe itself now resides mostly in Quebec.

Features

Prior to the introduction of Christianity, the Algonquin were known to practice Midewiwin, a spiritual or religious tradition that asserts that everything--from plants to animals to stones and to machines, even--possesses its own manitok, a concept that can be simplified as "spirit." Many modern-day Algonquins still practice Midewiwin, often in conjunction with Christianity. Totems--an Algonquin word--tied together clans more than the European concept of nations. And for a time, the verb-based Algonquin language was considered "in tune" with the discoveries of quantum physics, although this theory has been widely dismissed.

History

Shortly after meeting the explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1603, some Algonquins allied themselves with the French in the interest of battling their fur trade rivals, the Iroquois. The Iroquois Confederacy, with the help of the Dutch and English, would drive the Algonquin northwards in what would become known as the French and Iroquois Wars, or the Beaver Wars. The Algonquin would fight with the French until British conquest in 1760. Emigration of United Empire Loyalists from the American Revolution would encroach on Algonquin lands, as would the logging industry in the 19th century. In 1850, the Canadian government established nine Algonquin reserves in Quebec, followed by a tenth in 1873 in Ontario.

Significance

The reserves established by the Canadian government amounted to a fraction of what was once the Algonquin homeland. In 1876, the Parliament of Canada enacted the Indian Act, which served to define who and who did not have Indian status, and to govern the legal rights for registered Indians. Until 1960, Indians had to renounce their status in order to vote in federal elections; until 1985, women lost their status by marrying a non-status Indian. Amendments over the years enforced other unfair provisions, such as the prohibition of religious services.

Potential

The condition of Algonquins reserves, and those of aboriginal communities generally, have been compared to those in third world countries. High unemployment and low incomes are common. Algonquin communities still clash with logging efforts on their land, going so far as to blockade and protest clear-cutting and uranium mining operations. In 2008, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for Canada's policy of trying to assimilate aboriginal children in residential schools, where their native language was often prohibited. Efforts to revive or preserve Algonquin culture, however, are a hallmark of many Algonquin groups.