October is Mi’kmaw History Month. Did you know that traditional Mi'kmaw territory, which is called Mi'kma'ki ("The Land of the Mi'kmaq"), was divided into seven districts? 1/4 Mi’kma’ki districts are the Gaspé region of Quebec, eastern and northern New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. 2/4

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It’s also known as Orange Shirt day. It’s to remember Indian Residential School Survivors. In Mi’kma’ki/the Atlantic, there was the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. 1/5 The school officially closed on June 30, 1967. But some Survivors see the closing as of June 21, 1967. That’s when the last students left the school. One of them lives in my home community of We’koqma’q. 2/5

Canada had at least 139 Indian Residential Schools with an estimated 150,000 children who attend. The last school closed in 1996.

Canada had 669 Indian Day Schools, and about 200,000 students attended. The last school closed in 2000.

1/5 In Mi’kma’ki, the last/only Indian Residential School closed in 1967, and the last Indian Day School (22 of them) closed in 1997. Mine closed in 1993.

Now think about how the intergenerational trauma works here re children, grandchildren, etc… from these numbers.

2/5

Forty years ago today, Donald Marshall Junior was finally released from prison for a crime he never committed.

From "Justice Denied: The Law versus Donald Marshall" by Michael Harris at page 350, when Junior was released:

1/8 When Junior’s caseworker, Margaret MacWilliam, informed him that his day parole had been granted…she volunteered that he must be “happy” about the turn of events.

2/8

October is Mi’kmaw History Month. Did you know about Indian Day Schools? These were the government’s earliest attempts to assimilate Indigenous children. At these schools, children were also abused. 1/7 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report did not focus on these schools, nor were they part of the 2006 Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement. 2/7

October is Mi’kmaw History Month. Did you know about the Indian Residential School system? It was a means to assimilate First Nations children. Indian Agents took children from their families, often by force, and brought them to the schools. 1/4 These schools prohibited children from speaking their First Nations language and often they experienced various types of abuse, such as physical, sexual, emotional, spiritual, etc... 2/4

October is Mi’kmaw History Month. Did you know that the word Niskam was adapted by the early Catholic missionaries to connote the word "God"? In the Mi'kmaw language, there is no one word for Creator, but rather, various verbs that articulate different processes of creation. 1/4 Kisu'lkw: what created us.

Ankweyulkw: what looks after us.

Jikeyulkw: what watches after or over us.

Tekweyulkw: what is with us.

None of these words were nouns that meant one central being (a God/Creator) as a source of creation. 2/4

October is Mi’kmaw History Month. Did you know that Mi'kmaq have folklore legends of little people (akin to leprechauns in Irish folklore)? They're Wiklamu'jk, usually known as being mischievous (with fun pranks) rather than malevolent. 1/4 Some say they were evil. Others considered them nice and would help you if you got lost in the woods.

They're revered (and feared) because they played an important role in Mi'kmaw mindset re respectful and sensible behaviour. 2/4

June is National Indigenous History Month. Did you know the story of Donald Marshall Junior? He was wrongfully convicted of murder and imprisoned for 11 for a crime he never committed. Throughout his imprisonment, he always maintained his innocence. 1/4 A Royal Commission found, among many things, that racism was a major factor in his wrongful conviction. Then in 1993, he was charged with illegal commercial fishing and he cited a Treaty Right as his defence. 2/4

June is National Indigenous History Month. Did you know that the word Niskam was adapted by early Catholic missionaries to connote the word "God"? In Mi'kmaw language, there is no one word for Creator, but rather, various verbs that articulate different processes of creation. 1/4 Kisu'lkw: what created us.

Ankweyulkw: what looks after us.

Jikeyulkw: what watches after or over us.

Tekweyulkw: what is with us. 2/4

June is National Indigenous History Month. Did you know that Mi'kmaq have folklore legends of little people (akin to leprechauns in Irish folklore)? They're Wiklamu'jk, usually known as being mischievous (with fun pranks) rather than malevolent. Some say they were evil. 1/4 Others considered them nice and would help you if you got lost in the woods.

They're revered (and feared) because they played an important role in Mi'kmaw mindset re respectful and sensible behaviour. If one misbehaved towards another, a fear arose because that person… 2/4

October is Mi'kmaw History Month. Rather than trivia, I end with a story.

As you may know, the school in my home community of We'koqma'q is under Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey jurisdiction and not the province. In June 2016, I was home for my cousin's high school graduation. 1/9 For the first time in the school's history, a non-Native graduated.

My cousin told me that this young man (an Acadian) was subjected to bullying at his old school, was very depressed, and even had suicidal thoughts. He was allowed to come to the on-reserve school. 2/9

October is Mi'kmaw History Month. Did you know that for the Mi’kmaw districts, Epekwitk aq Piktuk (what is today Prince Edward Island and the lowland area of the Northumberland Strait) is recognized as one district (not two)? 1/3 It was believed that the land below this water was once above water. But after the ice age, enough water was left to create the island-land separation. 2/3