First Nation on Canada’s smallest reserve has big dreams, ideas for the future – CBC

Sep 29, 2025

Members of Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation revitalizing identity through dance, cuisine, language

Like nearly all the other 2,200 people who identify as Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk in Quebec, Charlie Lavoie has never lived on her nation’s ancestral territory.

The land allotted to the First Nation community by the federal government in 1869 became the smallest reserve in Canada, clocking in at under one hectare. It’s limited to a narrow but breathtaking peninsula that juts out into the Saint-Lawrence River in the town of Cacouna, Que., 220 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

Every year, 17-year-old Lavoie travels to the reserve, called Cacouna 22, for the annual powwow held in August. It’s a chance to reconnect with other Wolastoqewi who live across Quebec and New Brunswick. Above all, it’s a reminder of the place where she first learned to dance when she was eight.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/cacouna-wolastoqiyik-identity-reserve-big-dreams-1.7615803