Parks Canada has purchased l’Île du Havre de Mingan as part of the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve/Parks Canada

Parks Canada has announced that it acquired l’Île du Havre de Mingan last year, one of three private islands that had not yet been annexed to Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve during its establishment in Quebec.

The island — named Ekuanitshiu Minishtiku in Innu aimun — is close to shore and faces the Innu community of Ekuanitshit and Maison de la Culture Innue. The Innu practice traditional hunting and gathering activities as well as cultural activities on the island.

In recent years, the head of Ekuanitshit expressed concern about the transfer of ownership to a potential private buyer. In May 2022, Parks Canada seized a historic opportunity to acquire this island for $2,685,000 ($1.97 million USD) to promote the development of Innu culture and conserve the island’s natural and cultural wealth for present and future generations.

Parks Canada is open to establishing a shared governance model with the Innu First Nation of Ekuanitshit. The chief of Ekuanitshit supports the community's efforts to showcase cultural activities in collaboration with Parks Canada. Discussions will take place in the coming months.

The Innu of Ekuanitshit practice traditional hunting and gathering activities as well as cultural activities on the island/Parks Canada

During a May 24 community event organized by the Innu First Nation of Ekuanitshit, Jean-Charles Piétacho, Chief of the Nation, along with Hugues Michaud, executive director of Quebec and Nunavut at Parks Canada, announced an Indigenous guardians initiative.

This initiative, and the acquisition of the island, provide opportunities for the First Nation and Parks Canada to advance several common priorities, including the enhancement of Innu culture, the economic development of the First Nation, and the commitments made by the Government of Canada to protect 30 percent of terrestrial and freshwater, coastal and marine environments by 2030.

“It is now up to us to protect l'Île du Havre de Mingan, which has protected us for decades, and to perpetuate our presence alongside it,” Piétacho said. “Its protection will be ensured by our Innu guardians of the Nitassinan Islands, as perpetuated by our ancestors before us."

The island’s ecosystems are like those found in the rest of the national park reserve and are exposed to the same threats posed by climate change. The presence of rare or threatened plants and wildlife has been reported.

The island stands out from the rest of the archipelago by the presence of an archaeological site, testifying to the period of contact between Europeans and Indigenous peoples. Among the artifacts recovered to date, some demonstrate the continued use of the island by the Innu, including a Basque kiln and the remains of the first fur trading post built by Louis Joliet under French rule, and operated by his wife.