Tipatshimuna 
Description:
In the days before settlement the Innu had three ways of fishing: with nets (anapi), with hook and line (kushkan and kushkaniapi) and with uashuakanashku.
Uashuakanashku is a special kind of fish spear or leister that grips the fish over a sharp dart when it is struck. They once used this spear at several locations in the Innu territory, including along Mishikamau-shipu (Naskaupi River) and the headwaters of Iatuekupau-shipu (Eagle River). Innu fishers would paddle out in their canoes after dark and set birch bark torches ablaze. Salmon would be attracted to the light and would swim towards the surface enabling the fishers to strike them with the spears.
Stories:
Gallery:
-
- Leister (fish spear), uashuakanashkᵘ. Peenamin McKenzie School collection
-
- Innu birch bark torch and uashuakanashkᵘ (leister) used for night fishing in the Pakut-shipu area (St. Augustin, Quebec). 1947-57. Photo by William F. Stiles. Courtesy, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution
-
- Kushkan and kushkaniapi, fish hooks and lines, made of wood and string. Peenamin Mackenzie School collection
-
- Model anapi – fish net for catching lake trout. Peenamin Mackenzie School collection
-
- Kushkan and kushkaniapi, fish hooks and lines, made of wood, nails and sinew or babiche. Peenamin Mackenzie School collection
-
- Kushkan, fish hook carved of bone. The Rooms, Provincial Museum Division. Newfoundland and Labrador
Search fish net, hook and line in the Material Culture section of this website for more information and images on fishing gear.