page_title: Manawan
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Manawan / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph. Members of the Atikamekw Nation from the Manawan community. Original description: "Royal Family", Manowan Indian group, QC, about 1900, Anonymous, Silver salts on paper mounted on card - Albumen process - 20 x 12 cm Français&#160;: Photographie. Membres de la nation Atikamekw, village the Manawan . Description originale&#160;: «&#160;La famille royale&#160;», autochtones de la Manouane, QC, vers 1900, Anonyme, Sels d'argent sur papier monté sur carton - Papier albuminé - 20 x 12 cm
context_page_description: Manawan, officially named communauté Atikamekw de Manawan, is a First Nations reserve on the south-western shores of Lake Métabeskéga in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada. It belongs to the Atikamekw of Manawan band of the Atikamekw Nation.
  The 5-kilometre by 2-kilometre reserve is an enclave within the Baie-Atibenne unorganized territory, approximately 72 kilometres north of Saint-Michel-des-Saints. It is accessible by gravel road.
  The reserve takes its name from the Manouane River that has its source nearby. The standardized writing of the Atikamekw language spells it as Manawan, and this form was adopted on January 8, 1991. It means "place where they gather eggs".
context_section_description: At least since 1850 and probably earlier, the shores of Lake Métabeskéga were a gathering place for Atikamekw families from Wemotaci. This location, near their winter hunting grounds, was known in the 19th century as Metapeckeka, meaning "swamp coming from a bay" (from the fact that the lake is often dotted with floating plant debris that winds blew of the banks).
  Around 1870, logging companies moved into the area, prompting several families to permanently settle on the site. A year later, the Hudson's Bay Company opened its post. But damming of Kempt, Manawan, and Châteauvert Lakes in the early 1900s inundated the old village. A new village formed downstream at the current site.
  Establishing a reserve for themselves proved difficult for the Atikamekw. The repeated requests of Chief Louis Néwashish for this portion of their territory were rebuffed by the Canadian Government, saying that the Maniwaki reserve, created in 1850, was reserved for them. The Atikamekw refused to go and live there. The federal government still declined to establish a reserve, arguing that Wemotaci was also for them. After years of correspondence followed by numerous trips in birch-bark canoe to Ottawa and lengthy negotiations for federal services, the government agreed. On August 29, 1906, the Manouane Reserve was officially founded with 1,906 acres (771 ha) of land and having some 50 inhabitants.
  The Hudson's Bay Company general store closed circa 1941. The village experienced further growth in the 1950s when more families settled down as a result of growing forest exploitation and the construction of large dams. In 1973, Manawan was connected by road to Saint-Michel-des-Saints.
caption: Atikamekw of Manawan circa 1900
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