In 1943, Jacques Rousseau makes a short ethnological trip among the Têtes-de-Boule (litterally, "Heads-of-Ball") in the Manouane Reserve, in the Mauricie region. More than half of the photos in the album have been taken by the priest Albert Tessier (1895-1976).

It was not until 1974 that the group Têtes-De-Boule resume the name Atikamekw. The community reserve Manawan is the northernmost of the three communities in the nation Atikamekw. The Atikamekw describe themselves as Americans of the Interior, who live in the Haute-Mauricie, in the center of the Québec province. These are people of great lakes and long rivers.