| Group: | NunatuKavummiut (People of NunatuKavut) |
| Population: | ~6,000[1] |
| Popplace: | Central and southern Labrador (Canada) |
| Languages: | Newfoundland English |
| Religions: | Christianity (Protestantism, Evangelicalism), Animism |
| Related: | Inuit, European Canadians |
| Person: | NunatuKavummiuk |
| People: | NunatuKavummiut |
| Language: | Inuttut |
NunatuKavummiut (or People of NunatuKavut) are a non-Status Aboriginal group living in central to southern Labrador who describe their heritage as mixed Inuit–European. They have also been called the Southern Inuit of NunatuKavut, South Central Labrador Inuit, and Labrador Inuit-Métis. While some members of NunatuKavut communities have used the term métis (meaning "mixed" in French), they are unrelated to the Métis of Western Canada.
The NunatuKavummiut span 24 communities across NunatuKavut, forming the majority in 14 of those, and most still partake in traditional livelihoods such as hunting, fishing, trapping, and berry collecting. The region claimed by the NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) encompasses southern Labrador from the Grand River (Newfoundland name: Churchill River), south to Lodge Bay and west to the extent of the official border between Quebec and Labrador, although the NunatuKavummiut's proposed land use is much more extensive.[2]
The NCC (formerly the Labrador Métis Nation) signed a memorandum of understanding with the federal government in 2019, though this does not grant Indigenous rights in itself. It is also an associate member of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. The NCC and its approximately 6,000 members have not been recognized by the Nunatsiavut Government, the Innu Nation, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Inuit Circumpolar Council, and several other Indigenous groups and organisations.[3] [4] [5] [6] The Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador said the NunatuKavummiut had a "credible but [as yet] unproven" case for Indigenous rights.
Nunatuĸavut or NunatuKavut means "Our Ancient Land" in the traditional Inuttitut dialect of central and southern Labrador. The NunatuKavummiut (literally "the People of Our Ancient Land") have also been known as the South Central Labrador Inuit, Southern Inuit of NunatuKavut, Southern Labrador Inuit, and Labrador Inuit-Metis.[7] [8] [9] The NCC was previously known as the Labrador Métis Nation and the Labrador Métis Association. When used as a generic noun or an adjective, métis means "mixed" in French, but this name was changed to avoid confusion with the Indian Métis peoples.[10] [11]
Exonyms for the peoples today comprising the NunatuKavummiut have included Anglo-Esquimaux, Labradorians, livyeres, mixed settlers or Settlers, planters, Southlanders, and more pejorative terms such as half-breeds and half-castes (some of which have also been used to refer to the Métis).[12]
NunatuKavummiut are the descendants of Inuit who occupied and used the southern shore of Lake Melville and the coastal regions of Labrador south of Groswater Bay for thousands of years, long before the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador made any real foray into the area in the early 20th century.[13] [14] Archeological evidence shows the Southern Inuit lived as far south as the Sandwich Bay area, and other archeological and anthropological evidence suggests with some certainty that they lived year-round as far south as the modern day southern border between Labrador and Quebec.[15] Occupation was likely much more extensive and consistent than that, as most NunatuKavummiut lived a transhumant semi-nomadic way of life until the mid-1900s.[16] [17]
There has been general scholarly agreement that Inuit people were active in southern Labrador from at least the point of European first contact in the 1550s until the 1760s, when the area came under effective European control. Some Inuit groups were in conflict with the Basque and French whalers beginning in the mid-1500s, though others engaged in trade with Europeans and intermarriage did occur.
By the 1760s, Inuit communities in southern Labrador were probably already well established, having migrated from the south and east coast to cover the area from Hamilton Inlet to the current border with Quebec. During the 19th century, some European men settled, took Inuit wives, and permanently assimilated into the local culture. Although influenced in many ways by prolonged contact with seasonal workers and merchants, the culture and way of life has remained distinctly Inuit.[18] [19]
While mixed Inuit–Europeans in the north formed the Kablunângajuit group (also known as Settlers), the Southern Inuit diverged from them and other mixed groups as they sought to maintain their nomadic livelihoods of trapping, fishing, fur trading, and resource-harvesting in the areas of NunatuKavut. As a result, they became more isolated from each other and the Moravian missions in the north, and many adopted English. Despite this, they had a consistent culture throughout the 19th and early 20th century, until Newfoundland and Labrador joined the Canadian Confederation in March 31, 1949.[20] [21] .
After the British Dominion of Newfoundland became part of the Canadian Confederation, the Kablunângajuit were incorporated into the recognized Inuit groups, but the Southern Inuit were not.[22] Subsequently, during the 1960s, the Southern Inuit were encouraged by the provincial government's resettlement policy to move to population hubs such as Cartwright, Mary's Harbour, and Port Hope Simpson, thus leaving their traditional homes behind and disrupting their practices. Nevertheless, NCC figures from 2007 suggest that almost all NunatuKavummiut have retained traditional practices such as hunting, fishing, collecting wood, and harvesting today; and almost two-thirds still trap.[23]
The NunatuKavummiut community has continued to be affected by developments in the NunatuKavut area, and as a result the NCC has campaigned about local issues which may impact the livelihoods of its members. They have been affected by loss of traditional hunting territory and the decline in native wildlife, such as the caribou.
The traditional territory of the NunatuKavummiut consists of a region of southern shore of Lake Melville and southern Labrador that encompasses communities from Mud Lake in southeast Lake Melville to the modern border of Labrador and Quebec.[24] The NCC represents 24 communities in NunatuKavut, of which the NunatuKavummiut are the majority in 14. Across these communities, the NunatuKavummiut are still engaged in their traditional livelihoods. According to the NCC's 2007 figures, more than 90% of NunatuKavummiut hunt, fish for food, and collect their own wood. Nearly all NunatuKavummiut also harvest local vegetation such as berries, and 70% still trap.
Like other Indigenous Nations in Newfoundland and Labrador, including the Nunatsiavut, Innu Nation, and the Conne River Mi'kmaq, the NunatuKavut also has a large diaspora in many other parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, and across the world.
In 1985, the Labrador Métis Association (LMA) was established to represent the NunatuKavummiut. In 1998, the LMA became the Labrador Métis Nation (LMN). In 2007, the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador found that the Labrador Métis Nation had a "credible but [as yet] unproven claim" to Indigenous rights, which means the Crown has a duty to consult the group on Indigenous issues.[25] [26] The NunatuKavummiut are today represented by the NunatuKavut Community Council, which was formed in 2010 from its predecessor, the LMN.[27] The NCC is a member of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples along with other non-Status Aboriginal groups.[28]
In 2019, NCC president Todd Russell signed a memorandum of understanding with then Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister, Carolyn Bennett.[29] The memorandum of understanding said, "Canada has recognized NCC as an Indigenous collective". This triggered a legal challenge by other Indigenous groups, which was dismissed on the basis that the memorandum of understanding was the start of a process towards potential federal recognition, and did not grant Indigenous rights in itself.[30] [31] [32]
NunatuKavummiut claim NunatuKavut as their homeland, and are in the process of launching an Aboriginal land claim with the Canadian courts. These claims were first launched in 1991.[33] The NCC has said it will work with other Inuit and Indigenous groups, such as the Nunatsiavut government and the Innu Nation, to negotiate shared land use or resolve overlapping land claims where necessary.[34]
The NCC is also active in the debates over the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project, and the dam at Muskrat Falls.[35]