Naskapi culture is a rich legacy of arts, stories, and survival

Culture stays alive by being practiced. Here that means the things we make with our hands and the language we speak to each other.

We learn both the same way, by sitting with someone who already knows how, and we keep them the same way, by using them.

Arts

Traditionally our arts and crafts were made entirely from what the land provided: trees, fish, and above all the caribou. Our ancestors prepared their own hide, sinew, needles and tools. The Nation has supported crafting workshops in moccasins, mittens, baby swaddlers, hats, hide preparation and snowshoe weaving.

Language

Naskapi, or ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ (Iyuw Iyimuun), is an Algonquian language written in Eastern Cree syllabics. It is closely related to Innu and to the Northern dialect of East Cree, and it remains distinct from every other language variety in the Quebec-Labrador peninsula.