Mi'kmaq

The Míkmaq or Mi'kmaq (sometimes spelled Micmac in English, and formerly Mìgmaq (Mi'gmaq) in Míkmaw) are a First Nations or Native American people, indigenous to northeastern New England, Canada's Atlantic Provinces, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. The word Míkmaw is an adjectival form of the name for the people, Míkmaq.

The nation has a population of about 40,000, of whom approximately one-third still speak the Algonquian language Lnuísimk. Lnuísimk was once written in Míkmaq hieroglyphic writing and is now written using most letters of the standard Latin alphabet.

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.

Name

Lnu (the adjectival form, previously spelled "L'nu"; the noun is Lnúk) is the self-recognized term for the Míkmaq of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Maine, meaning "human being" or "the people".. The name "Míkmaq" comes from a word in their language meaning "allies". With constant use, the term "Micmac" entered the English lexicon and was used by the Lnúk as well. "Míkmaq" is the noun, and Míkmaw the adjective form of the name.

Members of the Míkmaq First Nation historically referred to themselves as Lnu, but the Míkmaq's French allies, to whom the Míkmaq referred as Níkmaq, meaning "my kin", initially referred to the Míkmaq (as is written in Relations des Jésuites de la Nouvelle-France) as "Souriquois" (the Souricoua River was a travel route between the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence) or "Gaspesians". Over time, their French allies and succeeding immigrating nations’ peoples began to refer to the Lnúk as Níkmaq, (invariably corrupting the word to various spellings such as Mik Mak, Mic Mac, etc.). The British originally referred to them as Tarrantines.

History

The Míkmaq were members of the Wapnáki (Wabanaki Confederacy), an alliance with four other Algonquian nations: the Abenaki, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet. 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 Iroquioian Mohawk tribes, hence the Míkmaq name for this peninsula, Kespek ("last-acquired"). In 1610, Chief Membertou concluded an alliance with the French Jesuits which affirmed the right of Míkmaq to choose Catholicism, Míkmaw tradition, or both.

The Míkmaq were allies with the French and were amenable to limited French settlement in their midst. After France lost political control of Acadia in 1710, the Míkmaq soon found themselves overwhelmed by the British, who seized much of the land without payment and, in 1755, deported the French. Between 1725 and 1779, the Míkmaq 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 Míkmaq also settled Newfoundland as the unrelated Beothuk tribe became extinct. Míkmaq representatives also concluded the first international treaty with the United States after its declaration of independence, the Treaty of Watertown.

The Míkmaw 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 Míkmaq 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 Míkmaq 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 Míkmaq Nation.

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	PE	Scotchfort, Rocky Point, Morell	396	Epekwitk
Acadia	NS	Yarmouth	996	Malikiaq
Annapolis Valley	NS	Cambridge Station	219	Kampalijek
Aroostook Band of Micmac	ME	Presque Isle	920	Ulustuk
Bear River First Nation	NS	Bear River	272	Lsetkuk
Buctouche First Nation	NB	Buctouche	80	Puktusk
Burnt Church First Nation	NB	Burnt Church 14	1,488	Eskinuopitijk
Chapel Island First Nation	NS	Chapel Island	576	Potlotek
Eel Ground First Nation	NB	Eel Ground	844	Natuaqanek
Eel River Bar First Nation	NB	Eel River Bar	589	Oqpíkanjik
Elsipogtog First Nation	NB	Big Cove	3000+	Lsipuktuk
Eskasoni First Nation	NS	Eskasoni	3,800+	Wékistoqnik
Fort Folly First Nation	NB	Dorchester	105	Amlamkuk Kwesawék
Micmacs of Gesgapegiag	QC	Maria	1,174	Keskapekiaq
Nation Micmac de Gespeg	QC	Fontenelle	490	Kespék
Glooscap First Nation	NS	Hantsport	360	Pesikitk
Indian Island First Nation	NB	Indian Island	145	Lnui Menikuk
Lennox Island First Nation	PE	Lennox Island	700	Lnui Mnikuk
Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation	QC	Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation	3,166	Listikujk
Membertou First Nation	NS	Sydney	1,051	Maupeltuk
Metepenagiag Míkmaq Nation	NB	Red Bank	527	Metepnákiaq
Miawpukek First Nation	NL	Conne River	2,366	Miawpukwek
Millbrook First Nation	NS	Truro	1400	Wékopekwitk
Pabineau First Nation	NB	Pabineau	214	Kékwapskuk
Paq’tnkek First Nation	NS	Afton	1	Paqtnkek
Pictou Landing First Nation	NS	Trenton	547	Puksaqtéknékatik
Indian Brook First Nation	NS	Indian Brook (Shubenacadie)	2,120	Sipekníkatik
Wagmatcook First Nation	NS	Wagmatcook	623	Waqmitkuk
Waycobah First Nation	NS	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	9,800	Census
2000	20,000	Estimation

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%.

Notable Míkmaq

Kevin Cloud
Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, activist (1946-1976)
Henri Membertou, kji-saqmaw/puowin (c.1525-1611)
Rita Joe, poet
Donald Marshall Jr.
Chad Denny, ice hockey player for the Lewiston MAINEiacs and Atlanta Thrashers draftee
Lionel Little Eagle Pinn, Kitpoviosee, Writer
Sandy McCarthy, played for the Calgary Flames ice hockey team
Everett Sanipass, played for the Quebec Nordiques ice hockey team
Ciara Loyer, played for the kickboxing team in British Columbia
Lee (Harvey) Cremo, musician (1938-1999)
Chief Noel Doucette (1938-1996)

Other

The 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.

Notes

References

Bock, Philip K. 1978. "Micmac." Pp. 109-122. In Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 15. Northeast. Bruce G. Trigger, editor. Smithsonian Institution Press.
Davis, Stephen A. 1998. Míkmaq: Peoples of the Maritimes, Nimbus Publishing.
Paul, Daniel N. 2000. We Were Not the Savages: A Míkmaq Perspective on the Collision Between European and Native American Civilizations, Fernwood Pub.
Prins, Harald E. L. 1996. The Míkmaq: Resistance, Accommodation, and Cultural Survival (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology), Wadsworth.
Rita Joe, Lesley Choyce. 2005. The Míkmaq Anthology, Nimbus Publishing (CN), 2005, ISBN 1-895900-04-2
Robinson, Angela 2005. Tán Teli-Ktlamsitasit (Ways of Believing): Míkmaw Religion in Eskasoni, Nova Scotia. Pearson Education, ISBN 0-13-177067-5.
Whitehead, Ruth Holmes. 2004. The Old Man Told Us: Excerpts from Míkmaq History 1500-1950, Nimbus Pub Ltd, 2004, ISBN 0-921054-83-1
Wicken, William C. 2002. Míkmaq Treaties on Trial: History, Land, and Donald Marshall Junior, University of Toronto Press.