Abittibi (abi’ta, half, middle intermediate; bi, a secondary stem referring to a state or condition, here alluding to water; -g, a locative suffix: hence half-way-across water, referring to the situation of Abittibi lake. W. Jones). A little known Algonkin band whose habitat has been the shores of Abittibi Lake, Ontario. The first recorded notice of them is in the Jesuit Relation for 1640. It is said in the Relation of 1660 that the Iroquois had warred upon them and two other tribes of the same locality. Du Lhut (1684) includes them in the list of nations of the region N. of L. Superior whose trade it was desirable should be turned from the English of Hudson bay to the French. Chanvignerie (1736) seems to connect this tribe, estimated at 140 warriors, with the Tětes de Boule. He mentions as totems the partridge and the eagle. They were reported by the Canadian Indian Office to number 450 in 1878, after which date they are not officially mentioned. (James Mooney, Cyrus Thomas)
