The Atikamek of Canada

The Atikamek of Canada, numbering approximately 6,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Algonquian people of Quebec's upper Saint-Maurice River valley known as Nitaskinan, described by French colonists since the early 1600s, whose fur-trade economy and population were devastated by a 1670s smallpox epidemic and later by industrial logging. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Atikamekw is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Atikamek

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: North American Peoples
Country: Canada
People Cluster: North American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Atikamekw (atj)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 6,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG043356
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Atikamek of Canada

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

89%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Atikamekw
Language Family: Algic

100%
%
Atikamekw Speakers

Media Resources in Atikamekw:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Atikamekw:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Atikamekw bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Atikamek are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Atikamek:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Atikamek of Canada

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
readMatthew 13:8-9

Pray that they will have open hearts and minds to the Word of God, and that it will take root in their lives and bear fruit for His glory.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
readGalatians 3:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be united in Christ across all differences of ethnicity, social status, and gender.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sends me, even so I am sending you."
readJohn 20:21

Ask God to raise up and send out believers cross-culturally who will go out in His authority and be sustained by His peace as they share the gospel with the lost.

Atikamek Across Countries (ROP3 - 100600) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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