Pre-contact period In southwestern Nova Scotia, there is archaeological evidence that traces traditional land use and resources to at least 4,000 years. In
Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, there are canoe routes that have been used for thousands of years by Indigenous people travelling from the
Bay of Fundy to the Atlantic ocean. Research published in 1871 showed that some Mi'kmaq believed they had emigrated from the west, and then lived alongside the Kwēdĕchk. According to Mi'kmaq traditions recorded by S. T. Rand, the Kwēdĕchk were the original inhabitants of the land. The two tribes engaged in a war that lasted "many years", and involved the "slaughter of men, women, and children, and torture of captives", and the eventual displacement of the Kwēdĕchk by the victorious Mi'kmaq. focused his MA research specifically on pre-contact fish weirs in southwestern Nova Scotia. In the chapter "Early Indian-European Contact" in the 1978
Handbook, ethnologist T. J. Brasser, described how pre-contact small semi-nomadic bands of a few
patrilineally related families who lived in a climate unfavorable for agriculture, had subsisted on fishing and hunting. Developed leadership did not extend beyond hunting parties. In the same 1978
Handbook, anthropologist Philip Bock described the annual cycle of seasonal movement of pre-contact Mi'kmaq. Bock wrote that the Mi'kmaq had lived in dispersed interior winter camps and larger coastal communities during the summer. The spawning runs of March began their movement to converge on
smelt spawning streams. They next harvested spawning
herring, gathered waterfowl eggs, and hunted
geese. By May, the seashore offered abundant
cod and shellfish, and coastal breezes brought relief from the biting
black flies,
deer flies,
midges, and
mosquitoes of the interior. Autumn frost killed the biting insects during the September harvest of spawning
American eels. Smaller groups would disperse into the interior where they hunted
moose and
caribou. The most important animal hunted by the Mi'kmaq was the moose, which was used in every part: the meat for food, the skin for clothing, tendons and sinew for cordage, and bones for carving and tools. Other animals hunted/trapped included deer, bears, rabbits, beavers, and porcupines. Mi'kmaq territory was the first portion of North America that Europeans exploited at length for resource extraction. Reports by
John Cabot,
Jacques Cartier, and Portuguese explorers about conditions there encouraged visits by Portuguese, Spanish, Basque, French, and English fishermen and whalers, beginning in the 16th century. European fishing camps traded with Mi'kmaq fishermen, and trading rapidly expanded to include furs, according to
Thomas B. Costain, (1885–1965), a journalist who wrote historical novels. By 1578, some 350 European ships were operating around the
Saint Lawrence estuary. Most were independent fishermen, but increasing numbers were exploring the
fur trade.
17th and 18th centuries Colonial wars In the wake of
King Philip's War between English colonists and Native Americans in southern New England (which included
the first military conflict between the Mi'kmaq and New England), the Mi'kmaq became members of the
Wapnáki (
Wabanaki Confederacy), an alliance with four other Algonquian-language nations: the
Abenaki,
Penobscot,
Passamaquoddy, and
Maliseet. The Wabanaki Confederacy was allied with the
Acadian people. Over a period of seventy-five years, during six wars in Mi'kma'ki, the Mi'kmaq and Acadians fought to keep the British from taking over the region (See the four
French and Indian Wars as well as
Father Rale's War and
Father Le Loutre's War). France lost military control of
Acadia in 1710 and political claim (apart from Cape Breton) by the 1713
Treaty of Utrecht with England. But the Mi'kmaq were not included in the treaty, and never conceded any land to the British. In 1715, the Mi'kmaq were told that the British now claimed their ancient territory by the Treaty of Utrecht. They formally complained to the French commander at Louisbourg about the French king transferring the sovereignty of their nation when he did not possess it. They were informed that the French had claimed legal possession of their country for a century, on account of laws decreed by kings in Europe, that no land could be legally owned by any non-Christian, and that such land was therefore freely available to any Christian prince who claimed it. Mi'kmaq historian Daniel Paul observes that, "If this warped law were ever to be accorded recognition by modern legalists they would have to take into consideration that, after Grand Chief Membertou and his family converted to Christianity in 1610, the land of the Mi'kmaq had become exempt from being seized because the people were Christians. However, it's hard to imagine that a modern government would fall back and try to use such uncivilized garbage as justification for non-recognition of aboriginal title." Along with Acadians, the Mi'kmaq used military force to resist the founding of British (Protestant) settlements by making numerous raids on Halifax,
Dartmouth, Lawrencetown, and
Lunenburg. During the French and Indian War, the North American front of the
Seven Years' War between France and Britain in Europe, the Mi'kmaq assisted the Acadians in resisting the British during the
expulsion. The military resistance was reduced significantly with the French defeat at the
Siege of Louisbourg in Cape Breton. In 1763, Great Britain formalized its colonial possession of all of Mi'kma'ki in the
Treaty of Paris.
Covenant Chain of Peace and Friendship Treaties , c. 1791 Between 1725 and 1779, the Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqey (Maliseet), and Peskotomuhkati (Passamaquoddy) signed numerous treaties, commonly referred to as the Covenant Chain of Peace and Friendship Treaties, through which they entered into a "peaceful relationship with the British Crown." The Mi'kmaq assert that through these treaties—which were referenced as legal precedent by the Supreme Court of Canada in
R v Marshall—the Mi'kmaq "did not cede or give up their land title and other rights." The
Halifax Treaties (1760–1761), marked the end of warfare between the Mi'kmaq and the British. The 1752 Peace and Friendship Treaty Between His Majesty the King and
Jean-Baptiste Cope, on behalf of the
Shubenacadie Mi'kmaq has been cited in the Supreme Court of Canada's 1985 decision in
R v Simon. With the signing of various treaties, the 75 years of regular warfare ended in 1761 with the
Halifax Treaties. Although the treaties of 1760–1761 contain statements of Mi'kmaq submission to the British crown, later statements made by Mi'kmaq reveal that they intended a friendly and reciprocal relationship, according to the 2009 book,
Nova Scotia: a pocket history, by
Saint Mary's University history professor,
John G. Reid and Brenda Conroy. In the early 1760s, there were approximately 300 Mi'kmaq fighters in the region and thousands of British soldiers. The goals of the Mi'kmaq treaty negotiators engaged in the 1760 Halifax treaty negotiations, were to make peace, establish secure and well-regulated trade in commodities such as furs, and begin an ongoing friendship with the British crown. In return, the Mi'kmaq offered friendship and tolerance of limited British settlement, although without any formal land surrender, according to Reid and Connor. The arrival of the
New England Planters and
United Empire Loyalists in greater number put pressure on land use and the treaties. This migration into the region created significant economic, environmental and cultural pressures on the Mi'kmaq. The Mi'kmaq tried to enforce the treaties through threat of force. At the beginning of the
American Revolution, many Mi'kmaq and
Maliseet tribes supported the Americans against the British. They participated in the Maugerville Rebellion and the
Battle of Fort Cumberland in 1776. Mi'kmaq delegates concluded the first international treaty, the
Treaty of Watertown, with the
United States soon after it declared its independence in July 1776. These delegates did not officially represent the Mi'kmaw government, although many individual Mi'kmaq did privately join the
Continental Army as a result. In June 1779, Mi'kmaq in the
Miramichi valley of New Brunswick attacked and plundered some of the British in the area. The following month, British Captain Augustus Harvey, in command of HMS
Viper, arrived and battled with the Mi'kmaq. One Mi'kmaq was killed and 16 were taken prisoner to Quebec. The prisoners were eventually taken to Halifax. They were released on 28 July 1779 after signing the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown. As their military power waned in the beginning of the 19th century, the Mi'kmaq people made explicit appeals to the British to honor the treaties and reminded them of their duty to give "presents" to the Mi'kmaq in order to occupy Mi'kma'ki. In response, the British offered charity or, the word most often used by government officials, "relief". The British said the Mi'kmaq must give up their way of life and begin to settle on farms. They were also told they had to send their children to British schools for education. ,
Shubenacadie First Nation,
Nova Scotia Gabriel Sylliboy was the first Mi'kmaq elected as grand chief in 1919 and the first to fight for treaty recognition—specifically, the
Treaty of 1752—in the
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. In 1986, the first
Treaty Day was celebrated by Nova Scotians on October 1, 1986 in recognition of the treaties signed between the British Empire and the Mi'kmaq people. The treaties were only formally recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada once they were enshrined in
Section 35 of the
Constitution Act of 1982. The first Treaty Day occurred the year after the Supreme Court upheld the Peace
Treaty of 1752 signed by
Jean-Baptiste Cope and Governor
Peregrine Hopson.
19th century Royal Acadian School Walter Bromley was a British officer and reformer who established the
Royal Acadian School and supported the Mi'kmaq over the thirteen years he lived in Halifax (1813–1825). Bromley devoted himself to the service of the Mi'kmaq people. The Mi'kmaq were among the poor of Halifax and in the rural communities. According to historian Judith Finguard, his contribution to give public exposure to the plight of the Mi'kmaq "particularly contributes to his historical significance". Finguard writes:
Mi'kmaq Missionary Society Silas Tertius Rand in 1849 help found the Mi'kmaq Missionary Society, a full-time Mi'kmaq mission. Basing his work in
Hantsport, Nova Scotia, where he lived from 1853 until his death in 1889, he travelled widely among Mi'kmaq communities, spreading the Christian faith, learning the language, and recording examples of the Mi'kmaq oral tradition. Rand produced scriptural translations in Mi'kmaq and Maliseet, compiled a Mi'kmaq dictionary and collected numerous legends, and through his published work, was the first to introduce the stories of
Glooscap to the wider world. The mission was dissolved in 1870. After a long period of disagreement with the Baptist church, he eventually returned to the church in 1885.
Mi'kmaq hockey sticks in
Nova Scotia . The Mi'kmaq practice of playing
ice hockey appeared in recorded colonial histories from as early as the 18th century. Since the nineteenth century, the Mi'kmaq were credited with inventing the
ice hockey stick. The oldest known hockey stick was made between 1852 and 1856. Recently, it was sold for US$2.2 million. The stick was carved by Mi'kmaq from Nova Scotia, who made it from
hornbeam, also known as ironwood. In 1863, the Starr Manufacturing Company in
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, began to sell the Mic-Mac hockey sticks nationally and internationally. Image:Micmac camp.jpg|Mi'kmaq encampment, Sydney, Cape Breton Island Image:Mi'kmaq people at Tufts Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, ca. 1871.jpg|A Mi'kmaq father and child at
Tufts Cove, Nova Scotia, around 1871 Image:Micmac1.jpg|Mi'kmaq people (1873) Image:Micmac2.jpg|Mi'kmaq people (1865)
20th and 21st centuries Jerry Lonecloud worked with historian and archivist
Harry Piers to document the ethnography of the Mi'kmaq people in the early 20th century. Lonecloud wrote the first Mi'kmaq memoir, which his biographer entitled "Tracking Dr. Lonecloud: Showman to Legend Keeper". Historian Ruth Holmes Whitehead writes, "Ethnographer of the Mi'kmaq nation could rightly have been his epitaph, his final honour."
World Wars Over 150 Mi'kmaq men signed up during World War I. During the First World War, thirty-four out of sixty-four male Mi'kmaq from
Lennox Island First Nation, Prince Edward Island enlisted in the armed forces, distinguishing themselves particularly in the
Battle of Amiens. In 1939, over 250 Mi'kmaq volunteered in World War II. (In 1950, over 60 Mi'kmaq enlisted to serve in the Korean War.)
Mi'kmaq of Newfoundland When
Newfoundland joined
Canada in
confederation in 1949, political leader (later Premier)
Joey Smallwood declared that there were "no
Indians in Newfoundland." This ultimately led to the Mi'kmaq people of Newfoundland not receiving
indian status or recognition as
First Nations that other Indigenous groups in Canada did in the years following. In 1972, activists formed the Native Association of Newfoundland and Labrador as the main organization representing the Mi'kmaq,
Innu, and
Inuit peoples of Newfoundland and Labrador. After the Labrador Innu and Inuit left the Association in 1975, the organization was renamed as the Federation of Newfoundland Indians. The FNI included six Mi'kmaq bands (Elmastogoeg First Nations, Corner Brook Indian Band, Flat Bay Indian Band, Gander Bay Indian Band, Glenwood Mi'kmaq First Nation, and the Port au Port Indian Band). The provincial government supported the FNI. The federal government approved only the petition for recognition made by the Mi'kmaq at Conne River. In 1987, the
Miawpukek Mi'kmaq First Nation was recognized under the
Indian Act, and their community of
Conne River was classified as reserved land for the Mi'kmaq. Recognition for the remainder of Newfoundland's Mi'kmaq was a much longer process. Minister
David Crombie was willing to work with the FNI and the government of Newfoundland, but the provincial government considered it to be a federal matter. In 2011, the
Government of Canada announced recognition by an
order-in-council to a group in Newfoundland and Labrador called the Qalipu First Nation. The new band, which is landless, had accepted 25,000 applications to become part of the band by October 2012. In total over 100,000 applications were sent in to join the Qalipu, equivalent of one-fifth of the province's population. In response, parliament passed Bill C-25, authorizing it to review all applications and retroactively reject some, based on criteria similar to those used in the
R v Powley case that defined rights for the
Métis people. Several Mi'kmaq institutions, including the Grand Council, had argued that the Qalipu Miꞌkmaq Band did not have legitimate aboriginal heritage and was accepting too many members. In 2017, only 18,044 people were eligible for Band membership. In 2018, the Qalipu First Nation announced that the updated Founding Members List for the Band had been adopted by way of an Order in Council which came into effect on June 25, 2018. The 2018 Band list included 18,575 members. In November 2019, after concerns about legitimacy had been addressed, the Qalipu First Nation was accepted by the Mi'kmaq Grand Council as being part of the Mi'kmaq Nation. Qalipu Chief Mitchell stated, "Our inclusion into the AFN, APC and acknowledgement by the Mi'kmaq Grand Council are important to us; it is part of our reconciliation as Mi'kmaq people. Friendships are being formed, and relationships are being established. It is a good time for the Qalipu First Nation." By 2021, nearly 24,000 people were recognized as founding members, in 67 Newfoundland communities and abroad. The
Friends of Qalipu Advocacy Association is currently taking Qalipu First Nation (and its precursor) to court over the enrolment process. ==Religion, spirituality, and tradition==