Mi'kmaq

Míkmaq
Mikmaq State Flag.svg
Grand Council Flag of the Mi'kmaq Nation [1]
Total population
40,000
Regions with significant populations
Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec), United States (Maine)
Languages

English, Míkmaw, French
Religion

Christianity, Míkmaq Traditionalism and Spirituality, others
Related ethnic groups

other Algonquian peoples
The Míkmaq

The Míkmaq (pronounced [miːɡmax]) are a First Nations (Native American) people, indigenous to northeastern New England, Canada's Atlantic Provinces, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. The nation has a population of about 40,000 of whom nearly 11,000 speak the Algonquian language Lnuísimk, more commonly known as "Micmac".[2][3][4] Once written in Míkmaq hieroglyphic writing, Lnuísimk is now written using most letters of the standard Latin alphabet.

Their name has traditionally been spelled Micmac in English (pronounced /ˈmɪkmæk/), but the natives have used different spellings: Mi’kmaq (singular Mi’kmaw) by the Míkmaq of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, Miigmaq (Miigmao) by the Míkmaq of New Brunswick, Mi’gmaq by the Listuguj Council in Quebec, or Mìgmaq (Mìgmaw) in some native literature.[5] Until the 1980s, "Micmac" remained the most common spelling in English. Although still used, for example, in Ethnologue, this spelling has fallen out of favour in recent years. Most scholarly publications use the preferred native spelling of Mi'kmaq.[6] The Míkmaq prefer to use one of the three current Míkmaq orthographies when writing in English or French.[7] They consider the English spelling to be "colonially tainted."[5]

Contents

Etymology

Lnu (the adjectival and singular noun, previously spelled "L'nu"; the plural is Lnúk, Lnu’k, Lnu’g, or Lnùg) is the self-recognized term for the Míkmaq of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Maine, meaning "human being" or "the people".[8]

Various explanations exist for the origin of the term Míkmaq. The Mi'kmaw Resource Guide states that "Míkmaq" means "the family":

The definite article "the" suggests that "Mi'kmaq" is the undeclined form indicated by the initial letter "m". When declined in the singular it reduces to the following forms: nikmaq - my family; kikmaq - your family; wikma - his/her family. The variant form Mi'kmaw plays two grammatical roles: 1) It is the singular of Mi'kmaq and 2) it is an adjective in circumstances where it precedes a noun (e.g. mi'kmaw people, mi'kmaw treaties, mi'kmaw person, etc.)[9]

However, there are other hypotheses:

The name "Micmac" was first recorded in a memoir by de La Chesnaye in 1676. Professor Ganong in a footnote to the word megamingo (earth), as used by Marc Lescarbot, remarked "that it is altogether probable that in this word lies the origin of the name Micmac." As suggested in this paper on the customs and beliefs of the Micmacs, it would seem that megumaagee the name used by the Micmacs, or the Megumawaach, as they called themselves, for their land, is from the words megwaak, "red", and magumegek, "on the earth", or as Rand recorded, "red on the earth," megakumegek, "red ground," "red earth." The Micmacs, then, must have thought of themselves as the Red Earth People, or the People of the Red Earth. Others seeking a meaning for the word Micmac have suggested that it is from nigumaach, my brother, my friend, a word that was also used as a term of endearment by a husband for his wife... Still another explanation for the word Micmac suggested by Stansbury Hagar in "Micmac Magic and Medicine" is that the word megumawaach is from megumoowesoo, the name of the Micmacs' legendary master magicians, from whom the earliest Micmac wizards are said to have received their power.[10]

Members of the Mi'kmaq First Nation historically referred to themselves as Lnu, but used the term níkmaq (my kin) as a greeting. The French initially referred to the Míkmaq as Souriquois"[11] and later as Gaspesiens or (through English) "Mickmakis". The British originally referred to them as Tarrantines.[12]

History

The Mi'kmaw territory was divided into seven traditional "districts". Each district had its own independent government and boundaries. The independent governments had a district chief and a council. The council members were band chiefs, elders, and other worthy community leaders. The district council was charged with performing all the duties of any independent and free government by enacting laws, justice, apportioned fishing and hunting grounds, made war, and sued for peace, etc.

The Seven Mi'kmaq Districts are Kespukwitk, Sikepnékatik, Eskíkewaq, Unamákik, Piktuk aqq Epekwitk, Sikniktewaq, and Kespékewaq.

In addition to the district councils, there was also a Grand Council or Santé Mawiómi. The Grand Council composed of "Keptinaq", or Captains in English, who were the district chiefs. Also Elders, the Putús (Wampum belt reader, historian, and dealt with the treaties with the non-natives and other Native tribes), the women council, and the Grand Chief. The Grand Chief was a title given to one of the district chiefs, which was usually from the Mi'kmaq district of Unamáki or Cape Breton Island. This title was hereditary and usually went to the Grand Chief's eldest son. The Grand Council met on a little island on the Bras d'Or lake in Cape Breton called "Mniku", on a reserve today call Chapel Island or Potlotek. To this day, the Grand Council still meet at the Mniku to discuss current issues within the Mi'kmaq Nation.

The Mi'kmaq were members of the Wapnáki (Wabanaki Confederacy), an alliance with four other Algonquian-language nations: the Abenaki, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet. The allied tribes ranged from present-day New England in the United States to the Maritime Provinces of Canada. At the time of contact with the French (late 16th century), they were expanding from their maritime base westward along the Gaspé Peninsula /St. Lawrence River at the expense of Iroquoian Mohawk tribes, hence the Míkmaq name for this peninsula, Kespek ("last-acquired"). On 24 June 1610, Grand Chief Membertou converted to Catholicism and was baptised. He concluded an alliance with the French Jesuits which affirmed the right of Mi'kmaq to choose Catholicism, Mi'kmaw tradition, or both.

The Mi'kmaq, as allies with the French, were amenable to limited French settlement in their midst. After France lost political control of Acadia in 1710, the Mí'kmaq engaged in intermittent warfare with the British. For example, along with Acadians, the Mi'kmaq used military force to resist the founding of British (protestant) settlements in Dartmouth and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. During the French and Indian War, the Mi'kmaq assisted the Acadians in resisting the British during the Expulsion of the Acadians. The military resistance ended with the French defeat at the Siege of Louisbourg (1758) in Cape Breton. After the war, the Mi'kmaq soon found themselves overwhelmed by the British, who seized much of their land without payment.

Between 1725 and 1779, the Mí'kmaq signed a series of peace and friendship treaties with Great Britain, but none of these were land cession treaties. The nation historically consisted of seven districts, which was later expanded to eight with the ceremonial addition of Great Britain at the time of the 1749 treaty.

Later the Mí'kmaq also settled Newfoundland as the unrelated Beothuk tribe became extinct. Mí'kmaq delegates concluded the first international treaty with the United States soon after its declaration of independence, the Treaty of Watertown, in July 1776. These delegates did not officially represent the Mi'kmaq government, although many individual Mi'kmaq did privately join the Continental army as a result.

On August 31, 2010, the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia signed an historic agreement with the Mi'kmaq Nation, etablishing a process whereby they must consult with the Mi'kmaq Grand Council before engaging in any activities or projects that affect the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia — which covers most, if not all, actions these governments might take within that jurisdiction. This is the first such collaborative agreement in Canadian history including all the First Nations within an entire province.[13]

Míkmaq First Nation subdivisions

Míkmaw names in the table are spelled according to several orthographies. The Míkmaw orthographies in use are Míkmaw pictographs, the orthography of Silas Tertius Rand, the Pacifique orthography, and the most recent Smith-Francis orthography, which has been adopted throughout Nova Scotia and in most Míkmaw communities.

Community Province/State Town/Reserve Est. Pop. Míkmaq name
Abegweit First Nation  Prince Edward Island Scotchfort, Rocky Point, Morell 396 Epekwitk
Acadia  Nova Scotia Yarmouth 996 Malikiaq
Annapolis Valley  Nova Scotia Cambridge Station 219 Kampalijek
Aroostook Band of Micmac  Maine Presque Isle 920 Ulustuk
Bear River First Nation  Nova Scotia Bear River 272 Lsetkuk
Buctouche First Nation  New Brunswick Buctouche 80 Puktusk
Burnt Church First Nation  New Brunswick Burnt Church 14 1,488 Eskinuopitijk
Chapel Island First Nation  Nova Scotia Chapel Island 576 Potlotek
Eel Ground First Nation  New Brunswick Eel Ground 844 Natuaqanek
Eel River Bar First Nation  New Brunswick Eel River Bar 589 Ugpi'gangij
Elsipogtog First Nation  New Brunswick Big Cove 3000+ Lsipuktuk
Eskasoni First Nation  Nova Scotia Eskasoni 3,800+ Wékistoqnik
Fort Folly First Nation  New Brunswick Dorchester 105 Amlamkuk Kwesawék
Micmacs of Gesgapegiag  Quebec Maria 1,174 Keskapekiaq
Nation Micmac de Gespeg  Quebec Fontenelle 490 Kespék
Glooscap First Nation  Nova Scotia Hantsport 360 Pesikitk
Indian Island First Nation  New Brunswick Indian Island 145 Lnui Menikuk
Lennox Island First Nation  Prince Edward Island Lennox Island 700 Lnui Mnikuk
Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation  Quebec Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation 3,166 Listikujk
Membertou First Nation  Nova Scotia Sydney 1,051 Maupeltuk
Metepenagiag Mi'kmaq Nation  New Brunswick Red Bank 527 Metepnákiaq
Miawpukek First Nation  Newfoundland and Labrador Conne River 2,366 Miawpukwek
Millbrook First Nation  Nova Scotia Truro 1400 Wékopekwitk
Pabineau First Nation  New Brunswick Bathurst 214 Kékwapskuk
Paq’tnkek First Nation  Nova Scotia Afton 500 Paqtnkek
Pictou Landing First Nation  Nova Scotia Trenton 547 Puksaqtéknékatik
Indian Brook First Nation  Nova Scotia Indian Brook (Shubenacadie) 2,120 Sipekníkatik
Wagmatcook First Nation  Nova Scotia Wagmatcook 623 Waqmitkuk
Waycobah First Nation  Nova Scotia Whycocomagh 900 Wékoqmáq


Demographics

Year Population Verification
1500      4,500 Estimation
1600      3,000 Estimation
1700      2,000 Estimation
1750      3,000 Estimation
1800      3,100 Estimation
1900      4,000 Census
1940      5,000 Census
1960      6,000 Census
1972      10,000 Census
1998    15,000 SIL
2006    20,000 Census

The pre-contact population is estimated at 50,000-100,000. In 1616, Father Biard believed the Míkmaq population to be in excess of 3,000, but he remarked that, because of European diseases, there had been large population losses during the 16th century. Smallpox, wars and alcoholism led to a further decline of the native population, which was probably at its lowest in the middle of the 17th century. Then the numbers grew slightly again, apparently stable during the 19th century. During the 20th century, the population was on the rise again. The average growth from 1965 to 1970 was about 2.5%.

Celebrations

In the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, October is celebrated as Míkmaq History Month and the entire Nation celebrates Treaty Day annually on October 1. This was first signified in the year, 1752, with the Peace and Friendship Treaty (also called the Treaty of 1752) signed by Chief Cope of Shubenacadie, representing all of the Míkmaq people, and the king's representative. It was stated that if the natives would be given gifts annually,"as long as they continued in Peace."[14]

Notable Míkmaq

Pre-Contact Culture

Housing

Mi'kmaq people lived in structures called wigwams. Saplings, which were usually spruce, were cut down and bent over a circle drawn on the ground. These saplings were lashed together at the top, and then covered with birch bark. The Mi'kmaq had two different sizes of wigwams, the smaller size, could hold 10-15 people, and the larger size, could hold 15-20 people. Wigwams could be either conical or domed in shape.

Food/Hunting

The Mi'kmaq were semi-nomadic. During the summer they spent most of their time on the shores harvesting seafood; during the winter they would move inland to the woods to hunt. The most important animal hunted by the Mi'kmaq was the moose which provided food, clothing, cordage, and other things. Other animals hunted/trapped included deer, caribou, bear, rabbit, beaver, and others. The weapon used most for hunting was the bow and arrow. The Mi'kmaq made their bows from maple.

Hunting a moose

The moose was the most important animal to the Mi'kmaq, it was their main meat, clothing, and cordage source, all crucial things to the well-being of the community. The Mi'kmaq usually hunted moose in groups of 3-5 men. Before the moose hunt, the Mi'kmaq would starve their dogs for 2 days, this way they would be fierce in helping to finish off the moose. To kill the moose, they would injure it first, by using a bow and arrow, or other weapons, and after it was down, they would move in on it and finish it off with spears, and their attacking dogs. The guts would then be fed to the dogs. During this whole process, the men would try to direct the moose in the direction of the camp, this way the women would not have to go as far to drag the moose back. A boy became a man in the eyes of the community after he had killed his first moose. It was only then he had earned the right to marry.

Other

One spiritual capital of the Míkmaq nation is Mniku, the gathering place of the Míkmaq Grand Council or Santé Mawiómi, Chapel Island in the Bras d'Or Lakes of Cape Breton Island. The island is also the site of the St. Anne Mission, an important pilgrimage site for the Míkmaq. The island has been declared a historic site.[15]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Flags of the World
  2. ↑ Ethnologue
  3. ↑ Statistics Canada 2006
  4. ↑ Indigenous Languages Spoken in the United States
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Emmanuel Metallic et al., 2005, The Metallic Mìgmaq-English Reference Dictionary
  6. ↑ Mi'kmaq Landscapes by Anne-Christine Hornborg (2008), p. 3
  7. ↑ "it is now the preferred choice of our People." Daniel Paul, We Were Not the Savages, 2000, p. 10
  8. ↑ The Nova Scotia Museum's Míkmaq Portraits database
  9. ↑ Mi'kmaw Resource Guide, Eastern Woodlands Publishing (1997)
  10. ↑ cited in Paul to Marion Robertson, Red Earth: Tales of the Micmac, with an introduction to their customs and beliefs (1965) p. 5.
  11. ↑ Relations des Jésuites de la Nouvelle-France
  12. ↑ Lydia Affleck and Simon White. "Our Language". Native Traditions. http://www.peicaps.org/betweengen/circle/language.html. Retrieved 2006-11-08. 
  13. ↑ Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia, Province of Nova Scotia and Canada Sign Landmark Agreement
  14. ↑ Treaty of 1752|http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/al/hts/tgu/pubs/pft1752/pft1752-eng.asp
  15. ↑ CBCnews. Cape Breton Míkmaq site recognized

References

http://www.cmmns.com/KekinamuekPdfs/Ch2screen.pdf

Documentary film

Maps

Maps showing the approximate locations of areas occupied by members of the Wabanaki Confederacy (from north to south):

Mi'kmaq

Maliseet, Passamaquoddy

Eastern Abenaki (Penobscot, Kennebec, Arosaguntacook, Pigwacket/Pequawket)

Western Abenaki (Arsigantegok, Missisquoi, Cowasuck, Sokoki, Pennacook

External links