Region:
Atikamekw is spoken by three isolated communities on reservations of Manuane, Obedjiwan, Weymontachie, between La Tuque, Quebec, and Senneterre, Quebec, 200 to 400 km north of Montreal in south central Quebec, along the upper reaches of the St. Maurice River.
Alternate names:
Tête de Boule, Attimewk, Attikamek, Atihkamekw, Atikamek
Dialects:
Nonpalatalized r-dialect within Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi language complex or dialect continuum. Very different from Montagnais and Naskapi in the nearby area.
Population:
3,995 (1998 Statistics Canada).
Classification:
Algic -> Algonquian -> Central -> Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi ->Atikamekw
Language use:
Vigorous. Speakers also use French.
Language developmentL
Literacy rate in first language: 10% to 30%. Literacy rate in second language: 50% to 75%.
Subgroups:
Manawan, Wemotaci, Opitciwan.
Historically:
Hunters, trappers.