Acoutsina

Acoutsina ( 1697 – after 1719), was an Inuk from Labrador who was enslaved by Augustin le Gardeur de Courtemanche. During her captivity she taught François Martel de Brouague, his stepson and a French colonist and commandant of the coast of Labrador, the language of her people, while she learned French. After a few years in captivity, her father came to the fort and secured her release. Historians analyse records of her captivity for information on French-Indigenous relationships.

Heritage and family It is difficult to ascertain the heritage of Acoutsina due to the limited information that exists from this area at this period in history. The French adopted the term "Eskimo" from the indigenous people in North America, but their use of the word referred to several Nordic Amerindian groups in the area, including the Naskapi and the Beothuk, who are not part of the Eskimo group. Jacques Rousseau, a professor of ethnobiology, asserts that Acoutsina was part of the Eskimo people and not Naskapi or Beothuk, due to the translation of her name from the language, her instruction of the Eskimo language to children, and the Eskimo cultural practices that she is recorded to have demonstrated. One month after her capture, de Courtemanche died and his stepson, Brouague, took over the commandant position for the fort. Acoutsina was placed under the care of Courtemanche's wife, and Acoutsina later recounted to other Inuit that she was always near Madame Courtemanche, who protected Acoutsina from harm. Acoutsina taught her language to Brouague and was tasked with domestic work. Acoutsina was distressed over this declaration and she was reassured that this would not happen. Instead, the Inuit promised not to stop burning the French fishermen's ships. The fort's chaplain gave Acoutsina a book so that she could demonstrate her knowledge of the French language to her people. She departed with the indigenous people, and there are no further records of her.

Legacy After leaving, Acoutsina and the Inuit did not return to the French fort and continued to destroy French boats.

Records of Acoutsina's statements have allowed historians to analyse the diplomatic relationship between Inuit and Europeans in the sixteenth century.