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Micmac/Mi'kmaq
A
member tribe of the Abenaki
Confederacy.
At
the time of European contact, the Micmac occupied
Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, the northern portion
of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. They
are the Souriquois of the Jesuit Relations and the
Gaspesians of LeClercq.
Like their neighbours, the Maliseet,
the Micmac remained allies of the French throughout
the wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
A Micmac community was also established in Newfoundland,
at Conne River, in the nineteenth century.
The
Micmac and the Maliseet subsisted on a wide variety
of riverine resources, including salmon, striped
bass, eel and gaspereau. Along coastal areas, seal
hunting and shellfish gathering were important.
During the winter months, they relied heavily on
moose, caribou and porcupine for subsistence.
(DCB
Dictionary of Canadian Biography"," G. Brown","
ed.; IC Indians of Canada"," D. Jenness)
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Mi'kmaq
To
the Mi’kmaq, storytelling was a means of entertaining
people and sharing information. Their stories were
more like story cycles; a storyteller could take episodes
from one and insert them into another to highlight
certain points.
The
"Mi’kmaq
Women Who Married Star Husbands" is a good example.
This well-known story was carved into the rocks of
Kejimkujik Lake in Nova Scotia. It tells of two sisters
who point out stars they want to marry. To their surprise,
they wake up the next morning with new husbands and
find themselves in the World Above the Sky. Seeing
how upset they are, their husbands let them return
to their world, but give them strict instructions
to follow.
The
Mi’kmaq see their world as having many levels of existence.
The "persons" that inhabit it include humans, animals,
unusual rocks, mountains, stars, thunder and wind.
Power — how it is gained, used and lost, and the consequences
of having it — is the central theme of almost every
story. It was both respected and feared by the Mi’kmaq.
The
art of storytelling has been passed down from generation
to generation. The Mi’kmaq loved to hear stories,
some of which went on for hours. It was a way of enjoying
each other’s company, as they sat listening, laughing,
and smoking their pipes.
Selected
Bibliography
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Hayward,
Patricia. Early Man in Nova Scotia. Halifax: Nova
Scotia Museum, 1973.
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Robertson, Marion. Rock Drawings of the Micmac
Indians. Halifax: Nova Scotia Museum, 1973
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Whitehead,
Ruth Holmes. Six Micmac Stories. Halifax: Nimbus
Publishing and Nova Scotia Museum, 1992.
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Whitehead,
Ruth Holmes. Micmac, Maliceet and Beothuk Collections
in Europe and the Pacific. Halifax: Nova Scotia
Museum, 1989.
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Whitehead,
Ruth Holmes. Stories from the Six Worlds. Halifax:
Nimbus Publishing, 1988.
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Whitehead,
Ruth Holmes. Micmac, Maliceet and Beothuk Collections
in Great Britain. Halifax: Nova Scotia Museum,
1988.
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Noisemaker
White
ash Beating time on a noisemaker, a drum, or
even a hollowed-out log, would signal to the
community that storytelling was about to begin.
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Reproduction
of a Petroglyph
This
petroglyph illustrates the story of two Mi’kmaq
women who married stars. The figure of the Star
Husband was carved into the smooth Cambrian
rock of Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia.
A sharp-tipped stone arrowhead, a piece of quartz,
bone, or antler was used to cut into the rocks
of Kejimkujik.
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Carved
Stone
Found
at McGowan Lake, Nova Scotia Some of the designs
and symbols most commonly found on petroglyphs
are: parallel bands, triangles (represent life-giving
energy), circles (represent the sun), eight-pointed
stars, double-curve motif.
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Museum
of Civilization, Ottawa, Canada
PHOTOS
OF CMC ARTIFACTS: Richard Garner, Harry Foster
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Micmacs
Language
The
Micmac language is part of the Algonquian
linguistic group. Estimates are that 40% of the total
population of the Micmac Nation in Quebec speak their
language.
Total
Population
The
population of the Micmac Nation in Quebec is estimated
at 4,375 people, with more than 2,500 residents on
the actual territory within their communities. There
are another 15,000 members of this Nation that make
there home in the Maritime provinces: New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Territories
The
Gaspé peninsula, south of the Saint Lawrence River,
is where one will find the territories of the Micmac
Nation in Quebec. This area makes up the northwestern
limits of the ancestral territories of the Micmac
Nation, which also include what are now known as the
Maritime provinces.
Communities
There
are three Micmac Nation communities in Quebec: Listuguj,
Gesgapegiag,
and Gaspé.
(Links direct to the Native Trail Site)
Listuguj
Location
The
Micmac community of Listuguj, also known by
the name Restigouche, is on a reserve located
on the north shore of the Ristigouche River,
118 km southwest of Bonaventure. The surface
area of the reserve is 3,663.22 hectares. Highway
132 is the main access route to Listuguj. A
gravel road network (5,890 meters), a paved
road network (4,540 meters), and more than 420
houses are to be found within the territory.
Population
There
are more than 2,870 people in Listuguj, with
approximately 2,030 residents on the actual
territory of the reserve.
Presentation
Listuguj
is one of the three communities that make up
the Micmac Nation in Quebec. Starting as a catholic
mission in the 1640's, the community was known
by the name of Sainte-Anne, then, later, by
the name of Restigouche. The name Listuguj was
formally adopted in 1994, and could have its
origins in the Macmac words for "small forest",
"small trees", "the river with five arms" or
"the theater of the great quarrel of the squirrel".
The
principal languages spoken in the community
are Micmac and English.
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Organizations
Each
community has its own band council for the administration
of local affairs. Salmon fishing has been at the
center of all economic activity for the Micmac Nation.
In Gesgapegiag, this resource is administered by
the community's salmon development company: The
Cascapedia River Salmon Management Society.
First
People, Native Trail, for much more information,
please visit their site!
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