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The Mi’kmaq of Atlantic
Canada
The First
Nations People of Nova Scotia were known as the Mi’kmaq and
were part of a loose confederacy of Indian tribal nations
bound together by a common system of clans. They were the
easternmost of the Algonquin tribes and their language stems
from the Algonquin linguistic family. They occupied the
forests and northeastern parts of North America, calling
today’s Maritime provinces home long before European
influence began. Archeologists who study the pre-history of
the area are still trying to determine when the Mi’kmaqs
began moving into the Maritimes. Mi’kmaq is the correct
spelling of the Micmac name, but as years have passed,
Micmac is most commonly used. They called themselves L’nu’k
which means “the people.”
Early Lifestyle
At the time of their first contact with European explorers,
the Mi’kmaq lived along the seacoasts and the rivers of Nova
Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec
and the eastern half of New |
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Brunswick, including the
islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as well as St. Pierre
and Miquelon. Their homeland consisted of seven districts
with a chief presiding over each jurisdiction. The chief
also served as a delegate to the Grand Council - the Mi’kmaq
governing body. In large canoes, these Indians traded and
traveled down the New England Coast, up the St. Lawrence
River and north into Labrador and later into Newfoundland
and New England, as well. They call the region Mi’kma’mi.
These natives were known to be mild and peaceful in
temperament.
Due to the geographical location of their homeland, these
Indians lived too far north to grow corn and did little
farming. Instead, they were a semi-nomadic tribe moving
between summer fishing villages near the coast to inland
locations near the rivers where they established camps for
winter hunting. They were skilled hunter-gathers, using
bows, arrows, spears and traps to provide food and clothing
to their families. Such clothing was made from animal hides
- furs from moose or caribou - fish and birds.
In the late fall they broke their communal seashore camps
and scattered inland to hunt deer, elk, bear, caribou,
moose, beaver and porcupine. They lived near rivers in
conical wigwams covered with white birch bark. Here they
could spear and trap eels and other water creatures. They
traveled around in snowshoes, by sled or by taba’gan, from
which we derive the English word “toboggan.” During the
winter season, women sewed and repaired canoes. They were
also adept at working with hides and quills for clothing,
using beads or quills, as well as basket making. In the
spring and summer, Mi’kmaq villages were formed and families
joined together often 10 to 25 per open-air wigwam. |
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At low tide in
the summertime, one could see them combing the shores,
gathering shellfish and eggs. They fished with line or spear
at rivers, hunted coastal seals, smelts, herring, sturgeon,
salmon, cod and eels; they collected roots, herbs and maple
sap to supplement their summer diet. They moved about by
light and durable canoes and were known for their dexterity
with these craft. There was one type of canoe for lakes and
streams and another distinctive, humped-back design which
was very light and capable of maneuvering rapids and
crossing open sea water. In these they sometimes ventured
out to sea to hunt whales, walrus, porpoise, lobster and sea
birds. In the 1600’s, they added sails to their watercraft.
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Mi’kmaq
Religion
Early missionaries crossed into North America intent on
converting Native Americans. According to Mi’kmaq history,
their spiritual beliefs were misinterpreted by the early
settlers. The Europeans made assumptions that the absence of
religious structure meant that the Mi’kmaq did not possess
any form of religion or spiritual ideology. Further, they
assumed that the religious practices of the Mi’kmaq were
mere superstitions when in fact, such practices were pursued
out of Mi’kmaq spiritual beliefs, based on respect for both
the living and the deceased. Mi’kmaq approach to religion
was relaxed and they displayed little outward manifestation
of their worship. These people had no need, nor did they
organize themselves into religious groups.
It’s true that Mi’kmaq primitive religion is obscure. Their
history suggests that they lived according to specific laws
bestowed on them by a higher power - a creator who deserved
reverence and controlled their destiny. The Mi’kmaq called
their Creator the “Great Spirit” whose laws governed their
relationship with land, animals and mankind. Nature, as God,
was their provider and sustenance of life and respect was
the basic element of their spirituality. Their beliefs also
included a number of invisible spirits, some good and some
bad.
There is a Mi’kmaq myth handed down from generations past
that all-powerful white Gods would come from the east to
“conquer and possess their lands” and teach and show them
the way to a glorious future. So, it seems that the North
American natives were predisposed to adapting the European
religion and it doesn’t appear that the Jesuits had too
difficult a time converting them to the Roman Catholic
faith. The process took place over a 70-year period,
beginning with the conversion of their Grand Chief Membertou
in 1610. The Mi’kmaq Nation’s first treaty with a European
nation was an agreement with the Vatican that incorporated
Mi’kmaq spirituality within the context of Roman
Catholicism. Intermarriage between the French and the
Mi’kmaqs was common, further binding the two cultures
together. It is said that the Mi’kmaqs were the most firmly
converted Christians of all North American groups. In 1628,
they adopted St. Anne as their patron saint and each year
Mi’kmaq gather at two areas in Nova Scotia to honor her -
Chapel Island and Merigomish.
Population
Accounts of the Mi’kmaq population vary considerably and
numbers between 3,000 and 30,000 have been published. Yet,
James Hannay, a reliable historian of Nova Scotia history,
tells us that the early missionaries placed the count in the
range of 2,000 to 3,000. Hannay was of the view that "an
uncultivated country can only support a limited population.”
Actual numbers were made only after the arrival of the
Europeans and even then, remain suspect.
Although no permanent European settlement was made in the
1500’s, European diseases began to decrease the Mi’kmaq
population. There were unknown epidemics between 1564 and
1570 and typhus in 1586. It is said that an epidemic in 1617
killed three-fourths of the native population. It reached a
low point of about 1,800 in the year 1823.
Early European Contact
European contact began early - perhaps as early as the 11th
century with the Viking settlements on the coast of North
America. And, if not then, surely with the Basque fishermen
who visited the Grand Banks before 1492. John Cabot made the
first known contact with the Mi’kmaqs in 1497. Contact
between the two groups became routine in 1501 when Basque,
Spanish, French, British and Irish fishing boats visited the
Grand Banks every summer. The Mi’kmaqs greeted them in their
own Algonquian language and later, in French and English as
well. Their very name comes from their own Indian word
“nikmaq” which means “my kin-friends” or “allies” and they
used this word as a greeting when speaking to the newcomers
from Europe. Trade began between the Europeans and Mi’kmaqs
when the fishermen began coming ashore to dry their catch.
The natives looked forward to incorporating the strangers
new technologies into their own culture.
Alliance with the French
The Mi’kmaq steadfastly allied themselves with the French
throughout the early periods of Canadian history. There are
a number of reasons for this alliance. The French were there
longer than any of the other group and for the first century
of European settlement there were no other settled white men
in Mi’kmaq territory. Further, the Mi’kmaq related to the
French much better than they did to the British. Part of the
reason was that what the Indians knew of the English they
learned from the French – not good! Another reason is that
French temperament was much better suited to that of the
Mi’kmaq. The French met their native friends on their level
and learned the way of the woods, feasted, traded and
established meaningful relationships with them. They built
their homes near the bay rather than clearing forest lands
and disturbing Mi’kmaq lifestyle. In time, they enjoyed a
common religious bond and, of course, they intermarried. In
the 100 years the French were in Acadia not one single
treaty, between themselves and the Mi’kmaq, was required to
maintain peace.
This alliance continued as the French moved their capital to
Île Royale . They treated their Indian friends like
sovereign allies. They lived among them and traded with
them. It was their Mi’kmaq friends who helped them resettle
in Île Royale and adapt to their new surroundings. They
assisted in establishing transportation paths, lucrative
trading posts, and even helped to fight the British. Mi’kmaq
loyalty to the French never wavered during the time that the
British and the French were trading places in Acadia or in
Île Royale.
Copyright ©
June 2004, All Rights Reserved |
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