The Mi’kmaq Way of Life Mi’kmaq was the spelling of a tribe of Indians that had first contact with European explorers in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Through the years, the name has been changed to what we know today as Mic Mac. The word Mi’kmaq derives from the word nikmak, which means “my kin-friends” or allies. The rich and descriptive Mi’kmaq language was a member of the Algonkin family. Although every Mi’kmaq can understand each other, the dialect varies between bands. For example
Harry Wells Indian histories Professor Kristy Feldhousen-Giles Final The Penobscot nation (Algonkian by the book) As you may have heard some of my family originate from the Penobscot nation, My grandfather's grandmother was a full blooded Penobscot Indian. This makes me 1/64th, I know it's not much however I have lots of intrigue into my family history and this would be part of it. So I looked into my families history through Indian history and combed pages, internet, and information alike, to
The Aboriginal People of Newfoundland The Beothuk people of Newfoundland were not the very first inhabitants of the island. Thousands of years before their arrival there existed an ancient race, named the Maritime Archaic Indians who lived on the shores of Newfoundland. (Red Ochre Indians, Marshall, 4.) Burial plots and polished stone tools are occasionally discovered near Beothuk remains. Some people speculate that, because of the proximity of the artifacts to the former lands of the Beothuk
1991, The Old Man Told Us: Excerpts from Micmac History 1500 - 1950, was just one of the few texts written specifically on the Mi’kmaq of Atlantic Canada, which incorporated both the colonial and Mi’kmaq “voice” side by side. The author, Ruth Holmes Whitehead is an ethnologist, historian, and research associate at the Nova Scotia Museum and has written many books on the Mi’kmaq. This text however, takes on a very different form than her other published works. Instead of penning the narrative, Whitehead
Beliefs- The Mi’kmaq people, like most natives the Mi'kmaq people beliefs were animism. Animism is where they would believe and acknowledge the living spirits in everything, not just animals but even in rocks, sun and the river. The Mi'kmaq also they believed that the universe was full of a spirit mntu or manitou. They had person called shamans and when they were individually called puoin. The Mi'kmaq people thought they had the power to cure an illness or even cause them. Where they live lived/live
reframe it to include the Aboriginal perspective and experience, The Míkmaw Concordat (1997), provides an important insight into an aspect of Mi’kmaq history not widely discussed. While the negative effects of European religion on Aboriginal cultures is widely discussed and documented, this text reconstructs a unique relationship formed between the Mi’kmaq of Atlantic Canada and Catholicism in the early seventeenth century. In 1610 a Concordat alliance was cemented between Mikmáki and the Holy See
King v. Gabriel Sylliboy. In 1926/7 Sylliboy had been arrested, tried, and convicted for catching muskrats out of season, camping on private property, and cutting wood without a permit (64). The interpretation of the 1752 treaty by Sylliboy and five Mi’kmaq men played an integral part to Sylliboys defense. Divided into three sections, Wicken covers a time frame of almost 200 years in just a few hundred pages. Each section analyses and utilizes a variety of primary and secondary sources to explain and
Often, North American history is perceived from the European mindset of superiority over the indigenous groups that were there prior. However, the underlying reality is much more complex than what is commonly accepted. Deep seeded relationships between the Natives and Europeans, both animus and amiable, created intricate societal structures in which Native Americans were able to exercise historical agency over the European immigrants seeking to gain. Historical agency can simply be defined as the
Hoop’) has been used by Native American Tribes for healing and health. It can be known as a “wheel of protection”. The medicine wheel is an artifact that to many people would look similar to a dream catcher, but has a totally different meaning. The Mi’kmaq people have certain symbols that represent their belief system and the way they look at the world. The wheel represents their thinking and symbolizes life experiences and their life journey which is why it is so important to the native peoples.
because he was trusted by the French and the Mi’kmaq. The most significant thing Membertou ever did to aid in a smooth and peaceful European contact and colonization was to be first Mi’kmaq person to get baptized into the Catholic Church. This was extremely significant because Membertou was so highly respected in the community and his baptism inevitably led to the baptism of most of the native community. Very little is known about Membertou because the Mi’kmaq didn’t keep written records like the Europeans
In modern-day Canada, treaties have been negotiated and signed throughout its history for various purposes. Treaties are the building blocks of Canada as they began prior to the creation of Canada between the Indigenous and the Crown. There are approximately seventy historical treaties that are accredited by the Canadian government between the Indigenous and the Crown (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 2008). The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) and the Anglo-American colonies signed a
The most important issue that the Canadian government urgently needs to address is education. The education of the First Nations should be taken more seriously by the Canadian government because the funding given to the First Nation schools is not enough to support the schools, there are no educational standards for the schools, and lastly, non-First Nation students are excelling more in school than First Nation students. First and foremost, the First Nations’ school systems get funding from the
Broad Context Fisheries management draws on fisheries science in order to find ways to protect fisheries resources so that sustainable exploitation is possible,” (FAO, 2005). Fisheries management also involves legal governance of the ocean activities at an international or national level (Jentoft, Bavinck, Johnson, & Thomson, 2009). The Government of Canada created processes, tools, and systems to implement and monitor activities in the sea. For example, In 1867, the Federal Department of Fisheries
John Cabot or Giovanni Caboto brought about the colonization of Canada yet he carried illnesses that killed approximately 90% of the native population. Some people may regard Cabot as a villain, he has indubitably supported the establishment of what is Canada today. John Cabot’s relevance to Canada has been taught to students by a preponderance of academic school board’s in the nation. There are both positives and negatives regarding John Cabot. The positives are that. Giovanni Caboto claimed land
Donald Marshall Jr. it took 14 years to finally show the country why he was prosecuted for the murder of Sandy Seal. This essay will outline how the Canadian Criminal Justice System failed Marshall as a youth. Real Justice: Convicted for Being a Mi’kmaq: The Story of Donald Marshall written by Bill Swan will show how Marshall was neglected by the justice system at every turn. Furthermore, connecting the treatment Donald Marshall was subjected to with class lectures dealing with subjects such as
sovereign people indigenous to what is now Maritime Canada and the northeastern United States, particularly Maine. They were and are significant participants in the historical and present Wabanaki Confederacy along with the Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Mi'kmaq nations. The word "Penobscot" originates from a mispronunciation of their name "Penawapskewi." The word means "rocky part" or "descending ledges" and originally referred to the portion of the Penobscot River between Old Town and Bangor. The tribe
Throughout history, Aboriginals have been misunderstood and mistreated, despite their contributions to the country. There were many native men who gave their lives during the first World War and numerous native communities that did anything they could to help the war effort in Canada. Aboriginals contributed in many ways to serve their country during World War I. At the beginning of World War I, the Canadian government was hesitant about Aboriginals in the military. When the war broke in 1914, recruitment
Like so many writers, Rita Joe poured her heart into her work. With each poem, each line, she made herself vulnerable; exposing her pain in hopes that people would understand her better. It’s what earned her the name “Gentle Warrior”. Joe was a Mi’kmaq woman from Cape Breton and used her writing to teach others about her culture and people. Years after her death, her words are still fighting. Her most poignant piece of work, I Lost My Talk, published in 1978, recounts her years at a residential
Many individuals still harbor attitudes of racism towards Indigenous People, forcing them into the margins of society. They are painted in a negative light, instead of being recognized for their achievements. Indigenous Peoples have made major contributions to the economy of Canada, in addition to sharing their beliefs and inventions. Aboriginal people are not acknowledged for their substantial contributions to Canadian society, at least not to the degree that is deserved. There is a fair amount
Canadian law enforcement due in large part to institutionalized reputations as chronic substance abusers who are incapable of reform (Dickson-Gilmore, 2011, p.77-78). One of the more startling contemporary examples of this is the case of Frank Paul; a Mi’kmaq Canadian who was left to die in a Vancouver alley by officers of the Vancouver Police Department after being denied refuge in a police “drunk tank”. Not surprisingly, this event garnered significant controversy and public outcry amongst Canada’s Aboriginal