This thesis relates to the reconstitution and the definition of the Northeast of America's territorial space. The main objective is the reconstruction of the Abenaki's territorial map, one of the aboriginal nations who live in this region. Supported by the essence of identity expressed through the original Abenaki toponymy within le territoire quebecois, it was possible to trace their historical territory, the W8banaki . By examining systematically the historical, cartographical and geographical sources available, it was possible to collect more than 1000 toponyms of Abenaki origin; they referring to more than 800 geographical entities. Based on this gazetteer the toponymic classification was carried based on the toponyms' character; the toponyms were then placed on maps. Related to the presence of Abenaki in various sources, the complementarity of the data established the effective presence of the Abenaki within a definite territory in Quebec according to the historical sources that the European colonists preserved. / Being mainly and everywhere dispersed throughout southernmost Quebec, the toponyms of Abenaki origin follow a pattern strongly linked to the rivers. The highest concentration of Abenaki toponyms lies on the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River, which is included in the original territory. The toponyms follow mainly the limit of the Richelieu River to the west and appear down to the Bas-Saint-Laurent in the east. However, the Malecite presence at the same area does not allow the identification of this zone with precision. On the north bank of the St. Lawrence, the two extensions that hold the attention are the Outaouais, where the presence of Abenaki toponyms is recent and not based on settlement and Mauricie, which corresponds to the hunting practices in these territories. / The conclusion is that the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River has been Abenaki territory from the Richelieu River to the Bas-Saint-Laurent from 17th century to the beginning of the 21st century. During the 20th century the Bas-Saint-Laurent is the easternmost zone where Abenaki toponyms are established. On the northern side, the Saint-Maurice River constitutes a zone of Abenaki occupation only since the 19th century and in the Outaouais it can be traced back to the 20 th century. It is almost totally the southernmost territory of Quebec with the concentration of 80% of its population that constitutes an indigenous world that had entirely been lost in memory, conscience and presence at the same time.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.85138 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Charland, Philippe |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Geography.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002227878, proquestno: AAINR12818, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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