Pepamuteiati nitassinat is dedicated to the memory of the late Pinip Rich of the former community of Utshimassit (Davis Inlet), and the late Shinipesht Andrew of Sheshatshiu. Both of these men loved Innu place names and were always very eager to share them with other people.
For his part, Pinip Rich could easily recite over 300 Innu places names by heart, and was an excellent map reader. Pinip was proud of this knowledge of Innu place names and was truly one of the great experts in the village on this topic. He kept notebooks in which he wrote lists of names for the lakes, rivers, and mountains in the territory. Here is an example of some names from one of his lists.
Shinipesht Andrew taught Innu culture at Peenamin McKenzie School in Sheshatshiu towards the end of his life. At one point, he made a very detailed map of the Innu place names in the Kakatshu-utshishtun (Grand Lake) area. Shinipesht loved Innu history, and place names were the meshkanau (path) down which he would often take people in talking about Innu history in Nitassinan (Labrador-Quebec peninsula).
Both Shinipesht and Pinip made a big contribution to the names that went into this website, and we thank them for it. The history of the Innu people on the land continues through the names they have shared with us over the years.