Atanukans: Exploring Innu Cosmogony

Mee
Mee is the first tale in this larger cycle of five atanukans; it recounts the creation of the world, thanks to a fish coming out of the water and growing feet and fur… Darwin who? Add a meeting with a wolf pup, the discovery of fire and even a giant flood, and you’re well on your way into the world of Innu cosmogony!

Tshakapesh
At the centre of this cycle, there is the foundational tale of Tshakapesh, a hero who introduces us to the dream world, the only one who is able to access all the other worlds.

Auash kautikumit
In Auash kautikumit, or The Child Covered in Lice, we hear about the arrival of summer in a country where only winter exists, through a child with lice, abandoned by his parents, who goes searching for summer birds.

Aiaeshe
This tale tells the story of Aiaeshe, a child abandoned on an island by his father, who will break free by escaping on the back of a giant insect. His adventures will lead him to confront his father. A fantastical, strange and infinitely rich tale…

A member of the Innu people from Unamen Shipu (La Romaine) in Côte-Nord, Charles Api Bellefleur is the keeper of his people’s legends. As an important custodian of traditions and defender of Innu-aitun, his culture, and Innu-aimun, his language, he recounts his stories in a colourful and descriptive language.

He is also a hunter, a dreamer, and a musician, and accompanies himself on the accordion and the teueikan, a sacred and revered drum among the Innu. With respect, sensitivity and pride, he tells stories about the period when humans and animals shared absolutely everything, including the mysterious dream realm. He shares his art across the province and the country, and is a source of inspiration for generations seeking a deeper connection to their identity.

Charles Api Bellefleur visits Innu community events and participates in any opportunity to share his art and the traditions that he carries. In 2021, he was a winner of the Maîtres de traditions vivantes, a national program of the Conseil québécois du patrimoine vivant that recognizes artists and artisans with exceptional talent who have mastered a practice or technique handed down from generation to generation.

Joséphine Bacon is an Innu poet from Pessamit. In addition to being a filmmaker and songwriter, she is considered one of Quebec’s leading authors. She has worked as a translator-interpreter for seniors, who hold traditional knowledge, and has had the wisdom to learn to listen to their words. Joséphine Bacon often says that she is not a poet, but that in her nomadic and generous heart, she speaks a language filled with poetry where the voices of the elders who have marked her life resonate.

Her first poetry collection, Bâtons à message/Tshissinuatshitakana, about nomads who love wide open spaces, was published in 2009 by Mémoire d’encrier and translated in English as Message Sticks. In 2010, she received the readers’ choice award from the Marché de la poésie de Montréal for her poem “Dessine-moi l’arbre.” Again with Mémoire d’encrier, in collaboration with José Acquelin, she published Nous sommes tous des sauvages (2011) and Un thé dans la toundra/Nipishapui nete mushuat (2013, finalist for the Governor General’s Award and for the Grand Prix du livre de Montréal). Her most recent collection, Uiesh – Quelque part (2018), earned her the 2019 Prix des libraires.

Joséphine Bacon is also a songwriter and wrote for Chloé Sainte-Marie’s show Nitshisseniten e tshissenitamin, in addition to working in film. She has taught Innu-aimun for over 40 years.