WIKEWIKU’S OCTOBER 2016MI’KMAQHISTORY MONTH 2016 Reconciliation & Resilience Mi’kmaq History Month Annual Funding Report 2016 Mi’kmaq History Month Acknowledgments The Mi’kmaq History Month Advisory Committee would like to acknowledge our Culture and Heritage Lead Chief, Chief Wilbert Marshall for his continued support of “Wi’kipatmu’k Mi’kmawey - Honouring the Mi’kmaw Way”. Through his guidance and with the cooperation of all members of the committee, Mi’kmaq History Month aims to celebrate and build understanding of Mi’kmaw culture, history and language so that all can share in the achievements and unique story of our past, present and future. The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq recognizes funding from the Support4Culture, a designated lottery program of the Nova Scotia Provincial Lotteries and Casino Corporation. i Reconciliation & Resiliencce Introduction The following narrative report provides an overview of all activities undertaken by the Mi’kmaq History Month CommitteeAnnual Funding project Report grant. All 2016 Mi’kmaq culture and heritage activities were provided funds in order to strategically strengthen Mi’kmaw culture and heritage activities throughout Mi’kmaq History Month as well as throughout the entire year. Backgrounder In 1993, Premier John Savage, alongside our Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy designated October as Mi’kmaq History Month and declared in the proclamation “that the Government of Nova Scotia and the Mi’kmaq Nation wish to promote public awareness for all citizens of Nova Scotia”. Over the past 20 years, there have been limited resources available for the development and promotion of Mi’kmaq History Month. Despite this, schools, individuals and organizations have continued to express an interest in educating and promoting Mi’kmaw culture and history. Therefore in 2013, the Mi’kmaq History Month Advisory Committee was formed to focus specifically on providing advisory services and some planning and implementation of activities for Mi’kmaq History Month. The Mi’kmaq History Month Advisory Committee has spearheaded efforts to re- develop this level of structure and put a process in place that will create a sustainable program and encourage, enable and assist all parties and communities to participate, in order to consistently and uniformly promote Mi’kmaq History Month. At this stage the province has made an annual commitment of $50,000 to promote Mi’kmaq History Month and has supported a centralized body to coordinate activities and to support a core advisory group (Mi’kmaq History Month Advisory Committee). On June 10th, 2014 the Terms of Reference for the committee was completed and presented to the committee along with the lead Chief of Culture and Heritage, Chief Wilbert Marshall. By formal resolution of the Assembly of NS Mi’kmaq Chiefs dated January 22, 2015 the Assembly accepted the terms of reference, and with the support of the Board of Directors of The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM), CMM was appointed the host organization and directed to develop an MOU with the Department of Communities Culture and Heritage for the delivery of administration and core activities for Mi’kmaq History Month. ii Honouring of the Mi’kmaw Way Remarks from the Chair 2016 Mi’kmaq History Month continued to provide an opportunity for our Mi’kmaw communities to showcase and share Mi’kmaw culture. In an effort to assist all Nova Scotians Mi’kmaq History Month in increasing their knowledge and awareness of Mi’kmaq culture, history and heritage the Mi’kmaq History Month Advisory Committee was established to promote and encourage educational and cultural activities during the month of October. This year, through the Mi’kmaq History Months’ Community Activities Support program, we were in a position to support 14 community events from Unama’kik to Kespukwitk. Through the fund, $30,000 was provided through the Support4Culture program and NS Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage to support community initiatives. This year’s theme for the poster focused on Reconciliation, a big word that means many things to many people, for most, Reconciliation means finding ways of connecting to our past and to expressing who we are. For some people reconciliation is learning how to bead, for others it is speaking everyday in the Mi’kmaw language, and for still others it is recording and sharing the stories of our families. Ceremonies, practices and protocols that were once outlawed are now being shared and embraced. Various events took place across the province, many of them highlighted past contribution to Mi’kmaw Culture, language, preservation and instilling todays youth with an appreciation for Mi’kmaw culture and heritage. Some events included the popular lecture series in Wagmatcook, weekly talks at the Millbrook Cultural Centre, Mini-Mawio’mi to Celebrate Treaty Day in Membertou; a successful book Launch of Theresa Meuse’s new book, L’nuk in Liverpool hosted by Acadia First Nation; support for the very successful 4th Annual Bear River Harvesters’ Gathering; as well as support for Sharing circles and Cultural teaching in many of the communities. The working committee also took on the challenge to update and upgrade our website www. mikmaqhistorymonth.com. The committee refreshed the look and tweaked the functionality and compatibility with social media. Through our office of the Confederacy of the Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM), the administration for the Mi’kmaq History Month Advisory Committee is supported by our administrator, Sheila Pierro Tremblay; our terrific staff at the Confederacy and the Mi’kmawey Debert Project as well as the leadership of the History and Culture Department of CMM. In closing, I want to acknowledge the support of my colleagues on the committee. It’s their commitment to Wi’kipat’ma’k Mikmawey that’s helping to restore lost teachings and meaningful stories in our Mi’kmaw communities. Tim Bernard Chair, Mi’kmaq History Month Advisory Committee iii Reconciliation & Resiliencce Table of Contents Annual Funding Report 2016 Acknowledgements . i Introduction . ii Background information . .ii Remarks from the Chair . iii Table of Contents . iv Mi’kmaq History Month Events Acadia First Nation . 1 Annapolis First Nation . 2 Bear River First Nation . 3 Eskasoni . 5 Glooscap First Nation . 6 Membertou . 7 Millbrook First Nation . 8 Paq’tnkek First Nation . 9 Pictou Landing First Nation . 10 Potlotek . 11 Sipekne’katik First Nation . 12 Wagmatcook . 13 Waycobah . 14 Appendices Appendix A: Redesigned Website . 15 Appendix B: Mi’kmaq History Month Poster Sample . 16 Appendix C: Calendar for Website . 17 iv Honouring of the Mi’kmaw Way Acadia First Nation With the support provided by the Community Activities Support Initiative for Mi’kmaq History Month, the Sipuke’l GalleryMi’kmaq held Historya basket Month making workshop. The workshop was led by Mi’kmaw artist Sandra Racine. Participants learned about black ash in association to traditional basket making and were also taught basic basketry skills to aid in the making of a simple Mi’kmaw basket. At the end of the workshop, participants were able to take their baskets home. Lunch and coffee were provided during the workshop. Several months later, the Sipuke’l Gallery held an additional event to continue honoring Mi’kmaw history. The gallery hosted a book launch in January featuring the book L’nuk (the Mi’kmaq of Atlantic Canada) written by Mi’kmaw Author Theresa Meuse. 1 Reconciliation & Resiliencce Annapolis Valley First Nation To celebrate Mi’kmaw culture, Annapolis Valley First Nation initiated weekly Traditional Giveaway ceremonies during theAnnual month Funding of October. Report A Giveaway 2016 is often part of a traditional Mi’kmaw gathering. It reinforces the traditional teachings to inform individuals to not allow possessions to become the focal point of one’s life. A Mi’kmaw Elder presented a gift to someone each week. A Multi-Cultural Event, titled Embracing Diversity, also took place during Mi’kmaq History Month. Five Mi’kmaw youth performed at this event and gave a brief presentation on Mi’kmaw dance and song and performed the honor song. The event was about celebrating multiculturalism and inclusivity. Many different cultures performed songs, dances, and speakers’ challenges at the event. Following the Traditional Giveaways and Embracing Diversity, a presentation explaining traditional dance and regalia took place in November. During this event, the Mi’kmaw history of arts and crafts were discussed. The event ended in a read aloud where stories of Kluscap were read. As Mi’kmaq History Month drew to an end, the community held an Aboriginal Arts Showcase. Drumming and dancing took place at the showcase and concluded with a feast which was open to all. 2 Honouring of the Mi’kmaw Way Bear River First Nation Bear River First Nation came together for their Annual Harvester’s Gathering to honour Mi’kmaq History Month.Mi’kmaq In History celebration Month of the Mi’kmaw culture, Bear River First Nation focused on being rooted to the natural ways of life and giving back to the land, emphasising on both traditional, and modern earth-based skills. The 2016 Harvest Gathering was a four-day long gathering which included, a sacred fire, prayers, workshops, storytelling, trading, several guest speakers, the sharing of knowledge and celebrating life. Day one of the Harvester’s Gathering began with an opening prayer and the lighting of a sacred fire. The sacred fire was lit using the drawstring technique. The Medicine Trail Grand re-opening also took place on the first day. Following the re-opening of the trail, all were welcome to join a Medicinal Trail Walk where knowledge of the medicine plants along the trail was shared. After the Medicine Trail Walk, an event titled “Art from Nature” took place. At this event, discussions about arts, writing, music, crafts, and paintings were shared. Participants were encouraged to create art from the land that afternoon.