What is "atikamekw"

n. Any of the indigenous inhabitants of the area they refer to as Nitaskinan ("Our Land") in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Maurice,%20Quebec. n. Their language, part of the Cree subgroup of Algonquian.

The Atikamekw are the indigenous inhabitants of the area they refer to as Nitaskinan ("Our Land"), in the upper Saint-Maurice River valley of Quebec (about north of Montreal), Canada. Their population currently stands at around 7000. One of the main communities is Manawan, about northeast of Montreal. They have a tradition of agriculture as well as fishing, hunting and gathering. They have close traditional ties with the Innu people, who were their historical allies against the Inuit.

The Atikamekw language, a variety of the Cree language in the Algic family, is still in everyday use, making it therefore among the indigenous languages least threatened with extinction. But their home land has largely been appropriated by logging companies and their ancient way of life is almost extinct. Their name, which literally means " lake whitefish", is sometimes also spelt "Atihkamekw", "Attikamekw", "Attikamek", or "Atikamek". The French colonists referred to them as Têtes-de-Boules, meaning "Ball-Heads" or "Round-Heads".

A small number of families still make their living making traditional birch bark baskets and canoes.