{"id":309,"date":"2025-12-08T17:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T22:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atanukana.com\/about-the-project\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T11:15:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T15:15:38","slug":"about-the-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/atanukana.com\/en\/about-the-project\/","title":{"rendered":"About the project"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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About the project<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Share 10,000 years of history with Charles Api-Bellefleur<\/strong><\/h2>

The Atanukana are the ancestral tales and legends of the Innu, First Peoples whose traditional territory, Nitassinan, stretches across the North Shore, Saguenay, Lac-Saint-Jean, and Labrador.<\/p>

They are of central heritage value to the Innu people and carry millennia of knowledge whose value is inestimable. These ancient stories, which deal with both the origin of the world and the meaning of human presence, offer subtle observations accumulated over thousands of years.<\/p>

The legend of Tshakapesh<\/a> (the man in the moon, or the one who pulls a rope behind him) is probably the most popular in the Innu tradition. Passed down throughout the Innu territory, they recount numerous episodes in the lives of these two characters.<\/p>

Most Innu myths address fundamental themes such as the need for sharing, mutual aid, individualism, carelessness, arrogance, and family ties. These stories reflect a basic human need to understand the world in which we live. They are powerful tools for transmission and education.<\/p>

Storyteller Charles-Api Bellefleur is also one of the last speakers of Nutshimit Innu-Aimun, the language of the territory, an ancient version of this Indigenous language. Faced with the urgent need to preserve this language and these stories from the oral tradition, we recognize the importance of the ancestral knowledge held by our elders. It is essential to ensure that this knowledge is passed on to future generations.<\/p>

Charles-Api Bellefleur<\/strong><\/h3>

An Innu from Unaman Shipit on the North Shore, Charles-Api Bellefleur is the guardian of his people’s legends. A great bearer of traditions and a valuable defender of his culture and his language, Innu-aimun, he tells his stories in colourful, vivid language.<\/p>

He is also a musician and accompanies himself on the accordion and teueikan, a sacred drum that is highly respected among the Innu. He recounts stories with respect, emotion, and pride, relating to a time when humans and animals truly shared everything, including the mysterious world of dreams. He shares his art throughout the province and the country and is a source of inspiration for generations seeking to fulfill their identity.<\/p>

In 2021, he was named a “Ma\u00eetres de traditions vivantes<\/a>“, a national program of the Conseil qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois du patrimoine<\/em> vivant<\/em> that recognizes artists and artisans of exceptional talent who have mastered a practice or technique passed down from generation to generation.<\/p>

Credits<\/h4>

Storyteller<\/b>: Charles-Api Bellefleur<\/span>
<\/span>Studio production<\/b>: Shikuan Vollant<\/span>
<\/span>Director of Photography<\/b>: Elie-John Joseph<\/span>
<\/span>Sound Recording<\/b>: Kim Fontaine<\/span>
<\/span>Editing<\/b>: Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush<\/span>
<\/span>Coordination – postproduction<\/b>: Jean-S\u00e9bastien L\u00e9tourneau<\/span>
<\/span>Editing assistant<\/b>: Anne-Claire St-Onge<\/span>
<\/span>Innu Translation<\/b>: Louise Canap\u00e9, H\u00e9l\u00e8ne St-Onge, Sylvie Basile, Evangeline Canap\u00e9, Sabine Mestokosho, Kathy Moreau-Lacasse, Georges Awad<\/span>
<\/span>Production<\/b>: Kim O\u2019Bomsawin, Alexandre Bacon, Andr\u00e9e-Anne Frenette<\/span>
<\/span>Coordination<\/b>: Ariane Alain, Kim Arseneault, Elie-John Joseph, Nadia Koromyslova, Florence Jarry<\/span>
<\/span>Communications<\/b>: Andr\u00e9anne O\u2019Bomsawin<\/span>
<\/span>Thanks<\/b>: Studio Makusham<\/span>
<\/span>SPECIAL THANKS<\/b>: Charles-Api Bellefleur, Jos\u00e9phine Bacon and the community of Uashat mak Mani-utenam<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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All atanukana<\/em> were recorded in 2023.<\/p>

We are committed to the quality of our content. If you have any suggestions regarding our translations and transcriptions, please contact us at info@nikanheritage.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Share 10,000 years of history with Charles Api-Bellefleur The Atanukana are the ancestral tales and legends of the Innu, First Peoples whose traditional territory, Nitassinan, stretches across the North Shore, Saguenay, Lac-Saint-Jean, and Labrador. They are of central heritage value to the Innu people and carry millennia of knowledge whose value is inestimable. These ancient\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1823,"parent":0,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_theme","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-309","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nAbout the project - Atanukana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Atanukana's project is about sharing the ancestral tales and legends of the Innu First People.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/atanukana.com\/en\/about-the-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About the project - Atanukana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Atanukana's project is about sharing the ancestral tales and legends of the Innu First People.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/atanukana.com\/en\/about-the-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Atanukana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nikanheritage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-26T15:15:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/atanukana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/atanukana-charles-api-bellefleur-V3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atanukana.com\\\/en\\\/about-the-project\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atanukana.com\\\/en\\\/about-the-project\\\/\",\"name\":\"About the project - 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