The Innu, who speak a dialect of Cree, live in several communities in northern Quebec and Labrador. The term Innu (“people”) is the name they call themselves, while they are known to non-Innu as Montagnais (French for “mountain people”) and Naskapi.
Panels for this cap were sewn on a hand-cranked sewing machine. The Montagnais believed that red symbolized light from the fire, and black, the dark of night. Most of their hats were in this color combination.