P - S
Pahoja - Dusty Ones
Pakiutlema - People Of The Gap
Pamunkey - Rising Upland
Pantch-Pinunkansh - Men Altogether Red
Papagos - Desert People, Bean People
Papinashuash - The Ones Who Like To Laugh
Pascagoula - Bread People
Passamaquoddy - Plenty Of Pollock
Paugusset - Where The Narrows Open Out
Pawnee - Horn People, Men Of Men, Look Like Wolves
Penateka - Honey Eaters
Pennacook - Down Hill
Penobscot - It Forks On The White Rocks Or The Descending Ledge Place, At The Stone Place
Pensacola - Hair People, People Of The Lakes, Tribes Near The Great Lakes
Peoria - Carrying A Pack On His Back
Pequot - Fox People Or Destroyers
Piegan - Scabby Robes
Piekuakamit - The Ones From The Flat Lake
Piikani - Poor Robe
Pilthlako - Big Swamp
Pima - River People, (Papago Word For "I Don't Know")
Pojoaque - Drinking Place
Potawatomi - People Of The Place Of The Fire, Keepers Of The Fire, (Fire Nation, Fire People)
Powhatan - Falls In A Current Of Water
Pshwanwapam - Stony Ground
Puyallup - Shadow
Quahadi - Antelope
Quapaw - Downstream People
Quinnipiac - Long Water Country
Sac - People Of The Yellow Earth Or People Of The Outlet
Salish - Flatheads
Sans Arc - Without Bows
Schaghticoke - At The River Forks
Sekani - Dwellers On The Rocks
Seminole - Separatist, Runaway or Breakaway, Peninsula People
Seminole - Run Away People
Seneca - Place Of Stone, People Of The Standing Rock, Great Hill People
Shawnee - South Or Southerners
Shoshone - Sheep Eaters
Sihasapa Sioux - Blackfeet
Siksika - Blackfeet Or Black Foot
Sioux - Snake (French version Of Other Tribe's Name)
Sioux - French for "Cut-Throats"
Sisitonwan - Dwellers Of The Fish Ground
Skokomish - River People
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T - Z
Taino - We The Good People
Takelma - Those Living Along The River
Tanima - Liver Eaters
Tangipahoa - Corn Gatherers
Tantawats - Southern Men
Tatsanottine - People Of The Copper Water
Tawakoni - River Bend Among Red Hills
Tejas - Friendly
Tenawa - Down Stream
Tennuth-Ketchin - Middle People
Teton - Dwellers Of The Prairie
Tewa - Moccasins
Thlingchadinne - Dog-Flank People
Tinde - People Of The Mountains
Titonwan - Dwellers Of The Plains
Tonawanda - Confluent Stream
Tonkawa - They All Stay Together Or Most Human Of People
Tsattine - Lives Among The Beavers
Tsetsaut - People Of The Interior (Niska Word)
Tsimshian - People Of The River
Tsuu t'ina - Great Number Of People
Tubatulabal - Pinenut Eaters (Shoshone Word)
Tuscarora - Hemp Gatherers, The Shirt Wearing People
Two kettle - Two Boilings
Unalachtgo - Tidewater People
Ute - Dark Skinned
Vunta-Ketchin - Those Who Live Among The Lakes
Wahpekute - Shooters Among The Leaves
Wahpetonwan - Dwellers Among The Leaves
Wailaki - North Language (Wintun Word)
Wakokai - Blue Heron Breeding Place
Walapai - Pine Tree People
Wallawalla - Little River
Wampanoag - Eastern People
Wappo - Brave
Waptailmin - People Of The Narrow River
Wasco - Cup, Those Who Have The Cup
Wichita - Big Arbor (Choctaw Word)
Wichita - Raccoon Eyes
Winnebago - Filthy Water People
Wiwohka - Roaring Water
Wyandot - People Of The Peninsula, Islanders
Yakima - Runaway, Pregnant People, People Of The Narrows
Yamparika - Rooteaters Or Yapeaters
Yavapai - People Of The Sun, Crooked Mouth People
Yoncalla - Those Living At Ayankeld
Yuchi - Situated Yonder
Yuki - Stranger (Wintun Word)
Yurok - Downstream (Karok Word)

Mi'kma'ki ('meeg mah gee', the traditional territory of the Mi'kmaq) included all of what is now Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec, the north shore of New Brunswick and inland to the Saint John River watershed, eastern Maine, and part of Newfoundland, including the islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence as well as St. Pierre and Miquelon. Within this area, the Mi'kmaq lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle, hunting, fishing, and enjoying being together.

The Mi'kmaq were hunter-gatherers, and were semi-nomadic in that they routinely moved between summer fishing villages near the coast to winter camps inland. The single-family winter hunting camps were scattered, but during the spring and summer, Mi'kmaq families joined others to form villages. They would travel between the same areas for a few years, until their knowledge of the land told them that resources were becoming less abundant. At this time they would seek another area, to allow the land they had been using to recover. By spreading out the impact in this way, no one area became seriously depleted.

Even though there was a certain amount of definition of roles by gender, the Mi'kmaw lifestyle was marked by cooperation between the members of the community. The primary role of the men was to hunt and fish, and to be the protectors of the group. The women gathered plant resources and maintained the camps, and were the lifegivers and caregivers. However, there was a great deal of sharing of these tasks that crossed gender lines. For example, if a family was camped by a river, and the men were away from camp for several days on a hunt, the women were quite capable of fishing to support the families until the men returned. Petroglyphs at Kejimkujik show men and women fishing together.

MAKING A LIVING

In the spring the Mi'kmaq gathered their belongings and moved to the coastal areas, relying on the resources of the sea, rivers, and streams for their livelihood. In addition to the abundant resources of the sea, the encampments were also more visible, so that they could be found more easily by family and friends who would be traveling the shores and getting together for the summer months. The increased visibility also allowed them to keep watch for passers-by, and for possible raids by neighbouring tribes. Also, by staying at the seashores the Mi'kmaq enjoyed relief from the mosquitoes and blackflies, which were kept away by the sea winds.


Returning to the shore in spring

The summer was a time of plenty. The Mi'kmaq gathered clams and shellfish at the shore, and fished for salmon and other fish in the rivers and streams. They would also use their canoes to hunt porpoises and small whales, and were adept at hunting fowl. For this reason, the Mi'kmaq were famous for their skill with a canoe. Constructed from birch bark, their distinctive design incorporated a square-rigged sail and high gunwales, making it capable of crossing open water.

During the summer the Mi'kmaq also harvested wild fruits, berries, roots and other plant materials. These were used for food, for medicines, and as materials for weaving, cordage, and other uses. Some food plants were enjoyed fresh, and some were dried and set aside for the winter.

In late summer and early fall, the people would begin to make their way inland along the waterways, seeking the shelter of the forests for the winter months. As they journeyed, they would take advantage of the spawning runs of fish by building complex weirs across the rivers, which enabled them to catch large amounts of eels and other fish.


Winter move

As winter came on, the Mi'kmaq established their winter camps and turned to hunting large mammals such as bear, moose and caribou. While these large animals were their primary food source, smaller animals were also harvested. They hunted with bows and arrows and lances, or trapped animals with snares or various deadfall traps. In deep snow the Mi'kmaw hunters had an advantage, since the heavy animals were slowed down by snowdrifts, while the hunters were able to move about easily using snowshoes, sleds, and toboggans. The English word "toboggan" is borrowed directly from the Mi'kmaw word topa'kun.

TELLING TIME

By observing the natural changes around them, the Mi’kmaq were able to determine periods of time. A year was the major cycle, divided into days, moons and seasons. Solstices and equinoxes were recognized, with the winter solstice marking the end of one year and the beginning of the next.

There were four seasons in a year:

siwkw (Spring) - when the leaves began to sprout, the wild geese appeared, the fawns of moose reached a certain size within the mother, and seals bore their young;

nipk (Summer) - when the salmon spawned and the wild geese moulted;

toqa’q (Autumn) - when the birds migrated; and

kesik (Winter) - when the weather became very cold, the snow fell and the bears began to hibernate.


Mi’kmaw Lunar Calendar

Season English Mi’kmawi'simk Translation
Siwkw April Penatemuiku’s Egg laying moon
Nipk May Etqoljewiku’s Frog-croaking moon
June Nipniku’s Summer moon
July Peskewiku’s Feather-shedding moon
August Kisikwekewiku’s Fruit and berry-ripening moon
September Wikumkewiku’s Moose-calling moon
Toqa’q October Wikewiku’s Animal-fattening moon
Kesik November Keptekewiku’s River-freezing moon
December Kjiku’s The great month
January Punamujuiku’s Frost fish (tom cod) moon
February Apiknajit The snow blinder
March Siwkewiku’s Spawning moon

Politically, the Mi'kmaq were a loose confederacy bound together through a common system of matrilineal clans. For the most part, clans (or bands) were independent with their own chiefs and ceremonies, a system which has been remained largely in place to the present day.

The Mi'kmaq had a matriarchal society, where the eldest women in the group had the greatest influence. As lifegivers, women were deeply respected, and their wisdom was recognized as being of highest importance when vital decisions were to be made. Thus, the Grandmothers, with their vast experience and knowledge, were listened to with great respect by all members of the family, clan, or district. In the end, the decision was made by the entire group, but never without consulting the matriarchs.

However, it was the men in their role of protector who interacted with other groups. The most respected warriors and providers (as determined by the Grandmothers) became a chief, or saqamaw, and this was generally passed on in a hereditary manner from father to son. Other elder males became members of the chief's council. The chief and council were the final authority regarding routine decisions about hunting and fishing territories and other such matters, but referred to the Grandmothers for council regarding decisions that affected the course of the nations. When the Europeans arrived, since they always dealt with the men, they understandably mis-interpreted this to mean that the Mi'kmaq were patriarchal.

Mi'kmaki, or the Mi’kmaw territory, was divided into seven districts: Kespukwitk (Land's End), Sikepne'katik (Wild Potato Area), Eski'kewaq (Skin Dresser's Area), Unama'kik (Land of Fog), Epekwitk aqq Piktuk (Lying in the Water and Explosive Area), Sikniktewaq (Drainage Area), and Kespe'kewaq (Last Land). Each of these districts had its own matriarch, generally the eldest and most-respected Grandmother, who would also often be a medicine woman. It also had its own district Grand Chief, or kji' saqamaw, selected from the chiefs within the area. Periodically, all of the district Grand Chiefs would convene in a Grand Council to make important decisions, such as the assignment of hunting and fishing territories or matters of peace and war. They would achieve a consensus and determine how relations with other nations would be managed. In all cases, the best interests of all of the people was the guiding principle. Once again the advice of the Grandmothers was listened to with greatest respect.

The Mi’kmaq were also members of the Wabanaki Confederacy, a loose coalition that included the Maliseets, the Pasamaquoddy, the Penobscots, and the Eastern and Western Abenakis of present-day Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. At its peak, the Wabanaki Confederacy influenced life throughout the Maritimes and northern New England.




Hunting


A bear is taken in a deadfall trap

Moose was a valuable staple in the Mi'kmaw diet. Hunters were generally excellent trackers, and could determine the sex and approximate age of their quarry based on tracks and dung. They would position themselves for attacks downwind of the moose, and would often call the moose closer by imitating their own calls. Deadfall traps and head snares were also occasionally used. Using snowshoes in the winter gave the hunters a distinct advantage, as the moose generally stuck to circular paths called ‘yards’, where they were easy prey to the hunters’ spears.

Smaller mammals such as muskrats, otter, mink, marten, fisher and lynx, were often taken using deadfall traps and snares. Beavers were frequently taken by damaging the dam around their pond, and picking off the beaver as they were exposed by the falling water level. Beaver were also fairly easy game in the winter, when they could be caught at their breathing holes in the ice.

Ruffed grouse are easily detected because at mating time the male thumps its breast with its wings, causing a loud drumming sound. Hunters would use a leather noose attached to a pole to snare the bird at close range.

Geese and ducks were often hunted at night, while they slept on the water. The hunters would allow their canoes to drift into the flock, then light birchbark torches. The startled fowl would take flight, circling the canoes in confusion, and the hunters would simply knock them down with sticks, or wait until the birds were exhausted and catch them by hand.

Fishing


Preparing to go fishing

The Mi’kmaq relied heavily upon the sea and its products, for it supplied about 90% of his available food. Hunting for game required more skill than fishing (fish were extremely plentiful) and Mi'kmaw man prided himself on being a good provider for his family and the village.

Early in the year, the Mi’kmaq lived on shallow-water fish, such as the flounder, which lives on mudflats in the low-tide zone and in the mouths of rivers and estuaries where it can be speared, caught on hooked lines or trapped in weirs.

In the middle of March, fish would begin to spawn, often so abundantly that everything swarmed with them. First smelt, then herring, then sturgeon and salmon would make their spawning runs, so that the people were assured of food from March through until September, when the Mi'kmaq's favourite fish, the eel, would begin to run.


A fish weir

The Mi'kmaq would construct fish weirs to trap the spawning fish in great numbers. The weirs were simply V-shaped lines of obstacles (wood, rocks, etc) that were constructed across the streams, which forced the fish to pass through a narrow opening, where a basket or net was used to capture them.

For large fish like the sturgeon and the salmon, the Mi'kmaq used a spear. At night, birchbark torches were used to attract sturgeon. Being a curious fish, it would circle around the canoe and when harpooned would swim furiously, dragging the canoe until it became exhausted.

SHELTER

The most common shelter used by the Mi’kmaq was the wigwam*. There were basically two types: the smaller cone-shaped style, which could hold 10-12 people, and the larger oval variety, which could hold as many as 24 occupants. In both cases, the structure is based on a pole frame, covered with birch bark or, more rarely, hides. Because of the effort required to harvest birchbark, the coverings were usually carried from location to location.


A Mi'kmaw wikuom at Kejimkujik

To construct a conical wigwam, the women would cut 4 or 5 long spruce poles, which were lashed at the top to form the basic frame. A flexible sapling, often striped maple, was then bent into a hoop, which was lashed inside the frame for extra support at the top. Shorter poles were then lashed to the hoop to provide greater strength and support for the covering. The frame was made so that the planned doorway faced away from prevailing winds of the area.

Once the frame was completed, it was covered with pieces of birch bark. The bark was soaked in warm water to make it flexible and resistant to tearing, and holes were punched using an awl made from bone or an animal’s tooth. The bark was sewn into place using spruce root, which is very flexible and tremendously strong. They would start at the bottom of the wigwam, at both edges of the doorway, and overlap the pieces as they worked around to the back. They would then begin the next row. In this way, the bark overlapped like shingles to shed both rain and wind. An opening was left at the top for smoke to escape, but a separate collar of bark was made to close up this opening in the event of a storm. Finally, additional short poles were laid against the bark to help keep it in place, and the doorway was covered with a hide.

Inside the wigwam, a rock fireplace stood in the center to provide heat and light. The floor was generally covered with fir boughs, which provided a springy surface for sleeping. In the winter, there would be time enough for the women to decorate the wigwam with various designs of birds, moose, otters and beavers. If additional ventilation was required, short poles would be wedged under the pieces of bark, creating openings to capture the breeze.

Besides the wigwam, other more make-shift structures included lean-tos and snow shelters consisting of hollows covered with fir branches and containing a central fire.

TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS

The Mi'kmaq worked stone into various tools, including scrapers, points, knife blades, axes and adzes. Stone was either knapped (flaked by controlled pressure) or was pecked (struck with a harder stone and chipped) and ground into the desired shape. Some examples of stone implements are shown below, from various timeframes. They also made extensive use of bone, which is more easily shaped, but does not hold an edge as long.




Paleo tools recovered at Debert
(ca 10,000 years old) Archaic period stone axe
(ca 2500-5000 years old) Woodland period points
(ca 500-2500 years old)

The Mi'kmaq were also expert basket weavers. They used wood splints pounded from ash logs, which they wove into sturdy but light-weight containers. These baskets, which could be very highly ornamented, were in high demand by Europeans in the 1800s. They also used birchbark and wove rushes to make containers of various types, and even experimented with pottery, which was not easily transported and soon fell out of use. Examples of recent basketry, and some recovered potsherds, are shown below.




Modern examples of Mi'kmaq basketry Potsherds recovered from various sites




*The dwelling used by the Mi'kmaq was properly called a wigwam, from the Mi'kmaw word 'wikuom.' However, today in common usage the words wigwam and tepee are used interchangeably, even though the two structures are quite distinct:

A wigwam is a dwelling which has a framework made of poles, which may or not be conical (the Mi'kmaq had an oval wigwam for larger families,) and which is covered with bark, or perhaps brush, thatch or woven reeds. The structure is common to the First Nations peoples of the Eastern Woodland region. The structures were generally fairly small, since they were constructed within forest clearings and other restricted spaces, and since the materials were carried from one seasonal site to the next by canoe or by hand.

A tepee is a dwelling constructed by the people of the Plains areas. These were similar to conical wigwams, but generally were much larger, since the plains were quite open, and tepees were covered with hides rather than plant materials.

In some accounts, explorers like Cartier and Champlain described the Indians as almost "stark naked." This description fits the Mi'kmaq male because his basic garment was the breechcloth, made of very supple leather. This was passed through a leather strap around his waist, between his legs covering his genitals, and through the strap behind him. The ends of the breechcloth were folded over the strap and left to hang down, providing extra coverage. The leather was made by brain-tanning the hide, and kept pliable as required by rubbing it occasionally with extra fat. The leather was also smoked, which allows it to retain its pliability after it has gotten wet.

Buckskin leggings, made from a single piece of leather with outside fringed seams, were also held up by the waist strap. The leggings were worn in cooler weather, and also for protection against brambles and underbrush. Even the women wore these leggings on occasion.

A jacket was made from the hide covering the legs of moose. The hide from each leg, including the hip, was carefully removed in one piece. These would form the arms of the jacket, and the two pieces would be laced together in front and behind, looking something like a bolero jacket.

For colder weather, cloaks were made from the brain-tanned hides of moose, beaver, marten, bear, and seal. These were wrapped over the shoulders and interlaced with leather strips under the chin, or worn over one shoulder and under the opposite arm if more freedom was required.

The moccasins were made from old moosehide robes, now more pliable and moisture-resistant with added grease. The English word moccasin probably comes from the Mi'kmaw word mkisn ('my shoes'.)

For special occasions like weddings and feasts, more elaborate garments were worn. Robes of white moosehide decorated in various ways were common. According to the whim of the designer, two inch strips of ornamented leather appeared in vertical or horizontal patterns or both. Colors were obtained from red and yellow ochres, white from powdered or burned shell, black either from bog manganese or charcoal, and many other colours were obtained from various plant-based dyes.


Peaked hat
For different feasts, ceremonies, and rites, the Mi'kmaq man painted his body. For feasts, he painted himself with a single color, or with several, in a pattern distinctive to each person. In mourning, the whole face was painted black. In war, red was used.

In aboriginal times, the Mi'kmaq wore no hats. However, in the 1700s, Mi'kmaw women observed that women with influence wore a particular style of hat. They adapted this hat to become the distinctive pointed or peaked cap, which was unique to the Mi'kmaq. They also pierced their ears, from which they hung many decorations of wampum, shell or quill-work, and wore arm and leg bracelets.

Waltes is a kind of dice game thought to be of pre-Columbian origin. Although it is still played today, skilled players are increasingly rare.

The game is played on a circular wooden dish called a waltestaqn ('wall tess stah ahn') which is about twelve inches in diameter, hollowed to three-quarters of an inch at its centre. It is usually made from a hardwood burl, whose non-directional wood grain provides strength to withstand enthusiastic play. There are six disk-shaped dice made of bone, each with one side plain and the other side marked with a dotted cross design. There are also a number of scoring sticks: one shaped like the forward half of an arrow, three more shaped like the back half with fletching, and fifty-one plain sticks. The king pin was also referred to as kesegoo ('gis ee goo', the old man) and the notched sticks as his three wives and the plain sticks as his children.


A waltestaqn (note the hole in the center)
Waltes scoring sticks


To play, two players sit opposite each other with the dish between them, usually on a pad of leather or cloth. The six dice are placed on the waltestaqn with marked faces downward. One player takes the dish in both hands, raises it and brings it down with enough force to flip the dice. If all but one of the upturned faces are marked or unmarked, he scores a point and continues to play as long as one of such combinations result. When he fails to score, the amount of his winnings is withdrawn from the pile of sticks and forms his private pile. The other player repeats the dice throwing until he, too, fails to score. Scoring and counting are carried out according to very complicated rules, and game play can continue indefinitely.


Playing waltes

The waltestaqn itself was considered to be important in Mi'kmaw spirituality. When filled with water and left overnight, its appearance the next morning could be read to reveal knowledge of the past, present, and future. Because of this belief, French missionaries drilled holes in the bottoms of all waltestaqnk that they found, so that they could not hold water.



MI'KMAW SPIRITUALITY 101

Like most Native American beliefs, the Mi'kmaq traditional spirituality is animistic. This does NOT mean that we worship animals - the term 'animism' means that we recognize and acknowledge the living spirit within all things. As one would expect, this encompasses the entire animal kingdom, but we also acknowledge the spirit within plants, and within the rocks and waters of our world. We also do not 'worship' these things. Instead, we recognize that their spirits and our own are akin to each other, and we treat these spirits with the same respect we wish for ourselves. As in many Native American traditions, this respect is expressed verbally with the phrase "All My Relations," which acknowledges our connection with all things around us. In Mi'kmawi'simk, this translates as Msit No'kmaq ("Mm-sit Noh-goh-mah") which is one of the most meaningful phrases in the language.

In practice, the respect is expressed in the way we deal with the world around us. We will not kill an animal unless we are in danger, or require it for food, and then we give humble thanks and an offering (usually tobacco) to its spirit for giving its life for us. In exactly the same way, we will not kill a plant unless we have need of it for some purpose, and again we will make an offering in recognition of its sacrifice. In fact, we will make an offering to Mother Earth if we dig a hole, in recognition of the fact that we are disturbing her skin. Native spirituality demands that we recognize our place in the world around us, and never forget that we are surrounded by other beings who were created by the same supreme being that created us, and are just as deserving of life as we are. Stated simply, we take nothing we don't need, we waste nothing, and we offer thanks for everything we do take.

THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

In many Native American beliefs, the supreme being is referred to as Creator or as the Great Spirit. In the Mi'kmaw language, these translate respectively as Kisu'lk ("gee-soolg") and Kji Niskam ("jee nis-gam"). Kisu'lk created the world for us to come to, in order to grow and to heal as spirits through the experiences we have as humans. Each of us has a particular purpose or goal when we come here, and our lives will be steered in such a way that the experiences we require will be made to happen. We will meet certain people, or be present at a particular place and time to witness a certain event. However, we always have free will, so we can choose to benefit from our experiences or not, and we can resist the urges that try to steer us in the right direction. If we make it through an entire lifetime without accomplishing the things we need to accomplish, we simply come back in a new body to try again. In most cases, the return is virtually immediate.

For each of us, the human experience will be different, because our spiritual needs are different, as are the tasks that are required of us. For some, destiny may require that they be a Chief, while others will be an ordinary member of the village. In either case, these are the best possible destinies for these spirits, and to turn aside from their paths means that they will not be doing what is required to accomplish whatever it is they need. However, in almost all cases it is possible to find that preferred road again. If a person realizes that they are off-track and wishes to return to their path, help is provided by the spirits to make that happen. Once again, the right person will show up, or another opportunity will arise to have a particular learning experience that was missed previously. Once you are walking your intended path, you find that all things you need (but not necessarily those you want!) are made available to you.

Once we have progressed in whatever manner we required, we return to our spirit form forever. At that point, we may take up tasks that help the people on Earth in some way. It takes some time to completely cross over to the spirit realm, because we need time to mourn the loss of our earthly life, just as those we leave behind must mourn us. In addition, we need to re-learn what it is to be a spirit. The time required for this is slightly different for each person, but tradition requires a waiting period of one year. At this time the Death Feast is held for the spirit of the person who has left.

It is possible, however, for a spirit to mess up so badly on Earth that it is beyond redemption. This usually involves doing drastic harm of some sort to the beings around you. However, like most Native American beliefs, Mi'kmaw spiritual tradition does not include a concept equivalent to the Christian Hell. If the spirits believe that a person is totally beyond hope, that person's spirit simply ceases to exist upon their death.

TRADITIONS AND CEREMONIES:

Medicines

ORIGIN OF THE TERM 'MEDICINE'

The term 'medicine', as it applies to Native American traditions, tends to sound a bit misleading. Its origin is actually a corruption of the word 'Midewiwin' (mih-day-i-win), the name for the Grand Medicine Society of the Anishinabe. From this corruption, we derive the word 'medicine', which refers to traditional healing herbs and to many aspects of spiritual practices. We also get the term 'Medicine Man', which in popular use has become a catch-all term for someone who is knowledgeable about traditional herbal remedies, or who carries out certain spiritual ceremonies.

CEREMONIAL MEDICINES

There are a number of sacred medicines that are used commonly for ceremonial purposes by Native American peoples, including the Mi'kmaq. In general, these are used for purification prior to participating in a ceremony, or for daily spiritual cleansing. This process is referred to as 'smudging', and simply involves burning the medicine to produce smoke, and using the smoke to cleanse. According to teachings, the smoke attaches itself to negativity within us, and carries it away; when the smoke vanishes, so does the negativity. In addition, these medicines can be used as offerings when desired.

SWEETGRASS

Sweetgrass (hierochloe odorata, or vanilla grass) is often used for smudging. Sweetgrass grows wild all across North America, and is one of the most commonly-used medicines among the First Nations. When it is burned, it produces a sweet-scented smoke similar to some incenses. This scent is attractive to spirits of all types. Sweetgrass is most often available in braids, as shown, and is thought of as the hair of Mother Earth. Mi'kmaq tradition names sweetgrass as the sacred medicine of the East direction.

SAGE

Sage is another very common smudging herb. While any sage will do the job, white sage (salvia apiana) is generally preferred. This sage is known by a number of different names regionally. Its thick leaves and tendency to smolder well and produce a very pungent smoke are what make it perfect for smudging. Sage smoke is attractive to spirits of good intent, but is repellent to spirits that intend harm. For this reason, sage is particularly useful for smudging and purifying people, objects, areas or structures. Placing crumbled sage leaves with an object is considered to be protective as well. For the Mi'kmaq, sage is the sacred medicine of the South direction

CEDAR

Cedar is the sacred medicine of the West direction, and is used for cleansing and energizing. We frequently use cedar to line the floor of our sweat lodge, and have prepared a number of combinations of different cedars for smudging. Cedar smoke has a fresh, invigorating scent. Since cedar is not common throughout the Maritimes area of Canada, the Mi'kmaq frequently used juniper, a close relative, for the same purposes.

FUNGUS

Fungus is the traditional Mi'kmaw medicine of the North direction, but it has been largely ignored today and replaced by tobacco. Fungus can be used by women to protect men from the draining effects of moon-time. A particular favourite is locally called deer-foot fungus, and is a subspecies of hoof fungus (polyporus fomes fomentarius) that grows on birch trees.

TOBACCO

Tobacco is very commonly used for offerings by most First Nations, and is often an ingredient used in smoking preparations for the sacred pipe. The familiar tobacco plant did not grow in the Maritimes area; instead, the Mi'kmaq used a plant called "Indian tobacco" (lobelia inflata.) This was frequently used in a smoking mixture called 'kinnikinnik' which also usually included alder and red willow bark and bear berry leaves, among other herbs.


TRADITIONAL HEALING

Many plants were used in traditional healing. In some cases, the plants were well-known folk remedies, such as willow bark, which contains salicylic acid and was self-prescribed as required as a pain reliever. However, in more serious illnesses a spiritual element is required in addition to the botanical element, and the combination of medicines for one person may not be the same as for another person with the same condition. A true Healer or Medicine Person will receive guidance from the spirits regarding what combination will work in a particular case. For this reason, it is generally ineffective (and possibly dangerous!) to try to use Native American healing preparations that have not been given specifically to you for your condition.


The Medicine Wheel is a very powerful symbol of Native American spirituality. Because it is a circle, it represents the many cycles that appear in the natural world: the cycle of night and day, of the seasons, and of birth, life, and death. However, it is important to note that each Nation has been given its own understanding of the Medicine Wheel, and the colours, order, and other details may differ. This does not mean that any one understanding is right or wrong; each Nation received teachings that work best for them. The description that follows is for the Mi'kmaw Medicine Wheel.

THE FOUR DIRECTIONS

As is true of many Native American traditions, the Mi'kmaw Medicine Wheel contains four colours: red, white, yellow and black. These colours represent the four races of man, of which Native Americans were aware long before the arrival of the Europeans. Also, each direction has an associated spirit helper, an element, and a sacred medicine.



DIRECTION
COLOUR
GUIDE
MEDICINE
ELEMENT SEASON
LIFE STAGE

East
White
Eagle
Sweet
Grass
Water
Spring
Infant

South
Yellow
Thunder
Bird
Sage
Fire
Summer
Adult
Woman

West
Red
Black
Bear
Cedar
Earth
Fall
Elder

North
Black
White
Bear
Fungus
Air
Winter
Adult
Man




Because the circle represents the passage of the sun and the seasons, discussion of the Wheel usually starts in the East direction, where the sun rises, and travels in a clockwise direction*. This also applies to moving around any circle during a ceremony.

The East, then, is seen as a direction of beginnings, including infancy (the beginning of life) and spring (the beginning of a new year.) The West is seen as a direction of endings, and is the direction the spirit travels when it leaves this Earth.

THE SEVEN DIRECTIONS

The medicine wheel is the basis of the four directions, and to honour each of these directions is to honour all mankind. However, in some cases we go further, and honour seven directions. The additional directions are:

UP - the direction of Creator, the sky, Grandfather Sun and Grandmother Moon.

DOWN - the direction of Mother Earth

INWARD - to honour ourselves, and the spirit that exists within each of us.

When we have acknowledged each of the seven directions, we have acknowledged all that is.


*Obviously, the ancient Mi'kmaq had no clocks. Why, then, do we move clockwise around a circle? Consider the sundial: the shadow follows the motion of the sun, and describes a semi-circle during the day. Because people were used to sundials and the motion of the shadow, clocks were designed so the hands turned in the same direction - which we now call clockwise! In some cases, you may find this direction referred to as "sun-wise".

The talking circle is a traditional way for Native American people to solve problems. It is a very effective way to remove barriers and to allow people to express themselves with complete freedom. For this reason, it is becoming more and more popular in mainstream society. The talking circle is making its appearance in schools, corporate board rooms and team dressing rooms around the world, for the simple reason that the technique works very well. The symbolism of the circle, with no beginning and with nobody in a position of prominence, serves to encourage people to speak freely and honestly about things that are on their minds.

HOW A TALKING CIRCLE WORKS

Everyone sits in a circle, generally with men to the North and women to the South. The conductor of the circle will generally sit in the East. A token, such as a feather or a special talking stick, is passed clockwise around the circle. As each person receives the token, they may speak for as long as they wish, including addressing a topic brought up by another in the circle. When they have finished, they pass the token along. If someone does not wish to speak, they simply pass the token. The token may go around several times; when everyone has had the opportunity to speak as many times as they wish, the conductor ends the circle.

TYPES OF TALKING CIRCLES

The most common type of circle is a simple sharing circle, where people just share whatever they have to say. There is no particular purpose or theme, and many fascinating side-trips often happen. The sharing circle is also an excellent introduction to ceremonies, and is a great learning tool for those who are just discovering traditional Aboriginal ways. We frequently incorporate such circles in our gatherings, and find that the circles generate a feeling of harmony and kinship in those who participate.

Another common circle, and perhaps the most powerful, is the healing circle. This is generally guided by the conductor, and will be convened to deal with issues that are bothering people. These issues may be specific, or the circle may be called to simply allow everyone to get any problems off their chests. Very often, a simple chance to have a voice, and to have a problem heard in a sympathetic and supportive environment, is all that a person requires for healing. In addition, sharing amongst a group allows everyone to take a piece of the burden from the person with the problem, who then leaves the circle with a lighter load. However, since the problem does not belong to the other participants, they are able to lay down the piece of the burden they accepted and walk away without having increased their own loads.

Another type of circle is used to mediate problems between people, either individuals or groups. Again, very often all that is required for a solution to such problems is the opportunity to hear and speak in complete honesty, so that both sides of the problem become aware of the impact of the problem on the other party. In these circles, the conductor guides the participants toward finding their own equitable solution to their problem, since a solution that is created by the participants is the most likely to work over the long term.

GUIDELINES

There are a few very simple guidelines that allow a talking circle to function:

1) Only one person speaks at a time - only the person holding the feather or talking stick may speak. Dialogues are not part of the circle, as they can become confrontational.

2) Introduce yourself - it is polite to introduce yourself in the first round. Use your spirit name, if you have one; otherwise, use your given name.

3) Speak from the heart - the speaker should address the circle from the heart, and may speak for as long as they need to, with respect for the time of others.

4) Listen with respect - all people except the speaker listen attentively and give support to the speaker. Listening with the heart allows you to hear the true intent beneath what the speaker is saying. Listen in the way you expect others to hear you.

5) What is said in the circle stays in the circle - never repeat anything that is said within the circle, unless you have the permission of the speaker.

When convening a circle, smudging the participants with sage will help dispel any negativity they may be carrying with them. In a way, it's like 'wiping' your spiritual 'feet' before entering the circle. As well, keeping a sage smudge burning during the circle, particularly when emotions are intense, will help keep negativity from entering.





The sweat lodge ceremony is one of the most common ceremonies practiced by Native American people. Sweats may be conducted as a preliminary to other activities, such as a fast. Sweats may also be done for healing. The purpose behind all of these, however, is simple spiritual cleansing. The lodge is designed to provide a safe, sacred place where the participants can concentrate on the spirits that are invited to the ceremony. These spirits are brought in with the 'grandfathers', which are the stones that are heated in the fire. Splashing water on the grandfathers creates steam, and we then have all four elements present in the lodge: earth below, air around, fire in the grandfathers and water in the steam.

CONSTRUCTING THE LODGE

A private place is preferred for a sweat lodge, to ensure that there will be no interruptions or distractions. A natural area is best, as it enhances the connection between the lodge and the Earth. A positive frame of mind should be maintained at all times while constructing the lodge.


Typical sweat lodge frame

The lodge is constructed of flexible saplings, and is made in a dome shape. For maximum flexibility, collect the saplings right after a good rain. The lodge can be any size, but larger lodges are harder to heat thoroughly - we make ours about 4 meters in diameter, and limit the number of people if required.

The butts of the saplings are embedded in the ground, and bend towards each other from opposite sides of the structure. They are secured by weaving them into the structure, and by braiding the branches at the ends around the sapling opposite. If anything else is required, we use a natural material, such as spruce roots, cotton cloth or sisal twine.

In the center is a pit, into which the grandfathers will be placed by the Firekeeper. The entrance is made facing east, toward the sacred fire. The entire structure is covered with layers of heavy but breathable fabric, like canvas - we use military surplus tents. Be very thorough in ensuring that no light leaks into the lodge.

THE SACRED FIRE


The Sacred Fire

A few meters to the east, we make the sacred fire in which the grandfathers are heated. We first create a small platform of pieces of firewood, on which the grandfathers are carefully stacked in a pyramidal pile. Kindling and more firewood are then stacked around the grandfathers, building into a tepee shape that is sometimes called the Lodge of the Sacred Fire. An opening is left facing the sweat lodge, and is used for lighting the fire, after which it is quickly closed. By the way, it is not the size of the fire that matters - it is our prayers that heat the grandfathers. From personal experience, we can vouch for that, having seen red-hot grandfathers coming from a smallish fire made with wet wood. By preference, we will use birch and maple for firewood.

The best type of stones for a sweat are igneous. Above all, do NOT use sedimentary stones that come from a wet area, as they will explode when heated. In our area, we collect quartzite and basalt cobbles from the sea shore, which are perfect for the task. The stones should be somewhere between eight and fourteen inches in girth; larger ones hold heat longer.

The grandfathers can be re-used, if you desire, but we usually collect new grandfathers for each sweat. When we collect, we make our intentions known, then we pay attention: some stones will volunteer to be taken home, and others will not. Of course, don't forget your offering!

THE CEREMONY

There are many different sweat lodge ceremonies, each with somewhat different proceedings. In many cases the sweat will be done in four rounds, in other cases it is done as a single round. The number of grandfathers varies from one type to the next. In general, however, here's how it happens:

The lodge is thoroughly smudged before use, and cedar may be placed on the floor. The pit is cleared of any grandfathers from the previous sweat.


The first grandfather represents the Creator, and is brought into the lodge by itself. The Conductor then enters the lodge to greet and smudge the grandfather.


NOTE: once the first grandfather has entered the lodge, a sort of pathway or umbilical cord exists between the sacred fire and the lodge, along which spirits will enter the lodge; other than the Fire Keeper, nobody should ever cross this line.


When told, the Fire Keeper then brings in the remaining grandfathers for the round, one at a time, placing them where the Conductor directs. The Conductor again welcomes and smudges each one.


When all grandfathers have been brought in, the participants may enter the lodge. Generally, men enter first, and move clockwise around the pit to their positions in the north. Women follow, and sit in the south. As each person enters, they say "Msit No'kmaq" or "All my relations."


When everyone has entered, and the water container has been passed into the lodge, the Conductor will call for the door to be closed. This may be the task of a separate Door Keeper, but generally the Fire Keeper does this.


Each round of the sweat is dedicated to one of the sacred directions, and the spirits and elements of that direction are honoured in a prayer by the Conductor. Each participant may then be offered a chance to pray or speak as well. The Conductor splashes water on the grandfathers to create steam and fill the lodge with heat; as we sweat, impurities are taken from our bodies. The Conductor is also responsible for controlling the energies within the lodge, and for keeping the participants safe while they are spiritually open and vulnerable. This can take quite a toll on the Conductor.


When the round is complete, the Conductor will call for the door to open. Participants may be offered a chance to leave the lodge to stretch, and water may be passed around for a drink. Finally, when directed by the Conductor, the Fire Keeper will bring in the next round of grandfathers, and the process is repeated.

Depending on the Conductor, the sweat may or may not be very hot. Since we frequently do sweats for beginners, we tend to keep ours moderate, allowing participants to concentrate on the spirits and the ceremony rather than on breathing and staying conscious. However, sometimes the spirits have other ideas!

We also make it known that anyone can leave the lodge at any time, simply by asking for the door to be opened. Sometimes, people enter the lodge for the wrong reasons, and if the spirits want that person to leave, we will not keep him/her in. In other cases, the person may simply be claustrophobic. However, they can still be part of the sweat lodge by sitting outside the lodge and adding prayers and energy to the circle within.

When the sweat is over, the participants emerge from the sweat lodge spiritually and physically cleansed. Many feel that they are being reborn as they emerge, since the lodge has a womb-like feeling. Generally everyone gathers for a small feast afterwards, so that the good feelings continue for a time, and a bond can be formed between the participants.



In simplest terms, a fast is a period of time during which a person goes without food and, usually, water. However, as with most spiritual matters, the actual conditions of the fast will vary from person to person, and from fast to fast, depending on the reason for the fast and the requirements of the person. Because of this variability, the following are only some very general descriptive guidelines. In all cases, specific instructions may be given by the spirits that will over-ride anything you read here.

TYPES OF FAST

There are a number of different types of fasts, each with their own purpose:

CLEANSING FASTS
A cleansing fast is done on a regular basis by men, who do not have the gift of a woman's ability to cleanse herself monthly. The purpose of a cleansing fast is to allow the body to cleanse itself of impurities, which it does as a normal physical result of not eating for an extended period. At the same time, the man should be concentrating on prayer and meditation, to aid in spiritual cleansing. In olden times, a man would have done a cleansing fast once each season.

VISION QUESTS

A vision quest fast can be done by men or women. The purpose of the vision quest is to seek guidance from the spirits in the form of visions or dreams. The seeker concentrates strongly on prayer and meditation, including use of a personal pipe if they have one, and requests that the spirits provide him or her with the guidance they need. These fasts tend to be longer in duration than cleansing fasts.

FASTING FOR CEREMONIES

In some cases, people will fast in honour of certain ceremonies. For example, before the spring or fall Bear Feast, people who have the Bear as their Spirit Guide, or who are part of the Bear clan, can fast in honour of the Bear and his long winter fast. This is generally a short fast, perhaps a day or two, and can often be done in the home or while going about your daily life, since the point of this fast is simply to do without food in honour of the Bear. While a personal commitment is required, the fast is done pretty much without ceremony. People who fast in this manner are often requested to speak during the ceremony, if they were given anything to share.

OTHER PURPOSES

There may be other circumstances when someone will be required to fast. Since these circumstances can vary greatly, we can offer little in the way of information about them, except that each fast would be unique to the circumstance, and would come with explicit instructions from the spirits regarding what is required of the person fasting.

FASTING 101

Fasts can be of almost any length, but are generally four days or less. While there seems to be a popular rule of thumb that fasts must be four days, this is not the case; each of us has our own unique requirements, and must do what we need to do to meet those requirements. If you have no specified duration, given from a trusted spiritual advisor, then you simply trust your heart to tell you when your fast is done. Of course, since we usually must schedule our fasts around real life, planning around a four-day period will generally give you whatever time you need, plus perhaps some extra time for recovery. Forcing a fast beyond the required time is simply ego and machismo speaking, and does no spiritual good whatsoever.

You will usually require an assistant, who will check on you periodically to ensure that you come to no harm during the fast, and who will provide any other support that the spirits may have specified. The assistant will visit you several times each day, and if they believe that you are in physical trouble, they can call an end to your fast. At that point, the fast is over, regardless of how you may feel about it. Obviously, the assistant needs to be someone you trust, and they should be as experienced as possible.

Apart from considering the purpose of your fast, and preparing yourself mentally for the solitude, there is little in the way of personal preparation required. You should be looking ahead to the fast calmly. Some people recommend that you cram yourself full of food to prepare yourself for fasting; others recommend various special dishes. We recommend that you simply eat healthy meals, and perhaps reduce your consumption somewhat as you approach the beginning of your fast. In particular, limiting snacks will prepare your body for the long evenings, when we often start to munch on things at home. We especially recommend against trying to gorge on food, as you will simply be putting a needless strain on your system that will make you uncomfortable during the first days of your fast. If your commitment is sincere, and you have prepared yourself mentally and spiritually, you should find that going without food and water will be surprisingly easy.

Generally speaking, a fast should start with a sweat lodge ceremony. The lodge's conductor will call upon the spirits on your behalf, so that they can assist with the fast. Specific instructions to be followed during the fast will sometimes be given during the sweat. There should also be a sweat following the fast, to allow an opportunity to thank the spirits for their help, and to let them know the fast is over. In both cases, the sweat is usually brief, preventing dehydration and heat stress. Note, however, that a sweat is not an absolute necessity.

You will then depart directly to wherever you are going to fast. In some cases, a specific location may be given, but generally a peaceful and somewhat isolated place is required where you can concentrate on the fast without distraction. If possible, any shelter should be set up in advance, so that you are ready to begin a spiritual experience when you get there, rather than having to set up camp. Another important (if mundane) consideration is toilet facilities: your body will be purging itself of impurities as you fast, and you need to be adequately prepared.

A fire can be a great comfort, particularly during the early hours of the morning, and makes a great focus for meditation and prayer. In most cases, sleeping is not allowed during the fast, and making a commitment to maintain a Sacred Fire for the entire period of the fast helps you to stay warm and awake. However, if you prefer the fire can also just be a simple campfire.

Now that you are on your fast, it is time to concentrate on your purpose, if you have one, or simply to focus on meditation and prayer. As time passes, your body will begin to weaken as it purges itself, and it is at this point that your spirit begins to strengthen. Pay attention to the things that go on around you, as you never know when or how you may be given a message, even if you are not seeking one. You fast will be a unique experience, tailored to your needs, so do your best to appreciate the details of the things that are done for you by the spirits. If the day is quite hot, know that the spirits are helping to weaken your body so that your fast can progress. If the day is cool, know that the spirits are helping to prevent harm by not pushing you faster than your body can handle. You should also savour the opportunity to simply be alone and to reflect on your spirituality.

When your fast is over, remember to reflect from time to time on the things you were given, or the things you learned about yourself. If possible, you may wish to discuss these things with a knowledgeable Elder, to get full understanding and benefit from them.

I DON'T FEEL SO GOOD...

If you are having a great deal of trouble on your fast, it may be that you did not prepare properly, or that you misread signs that you thought indicated that you needed a fast when, in fact, you do not. If that is the case, you may find that you are feeling ill, or are otherwise unable to complete your fast. If this happens, you need to consider carefully whether you are meant to be there. There is no shame in coming down from a fast early; there is only shame in pushing on to keep your ego happy. If you are not intended to fast, you will not have a spiritual experience - you will simply be hungry and miserable for a few days for no reason. You have an opportunity to learn a lesson about yourself; do so without ego and without shame, and promise yourself that you'll prepare better next time.



The sacred pipe, often referred to mistakenly as the 'peace pipe,' is one of the most powerful and sacred objects for Native Americans. By using the pipe, we may communicate with the spirits and make our needs known, asking for the things we need in our lives.

In its most basic form, a pipe is simply a bowl and a stem, which together can be used to smoke an herbal preparation. Generally the bowl is made of stone, while the stem is made of wood. There is no need for fancy decorations, as they are not what makes the pipe special or powerful.

It should also be made very clear that true followers of the Mi'kmaw spiritual ways NEVER smoke so-called 'recreational drugs' in the pipe. While some nations were given such drugs as part of their sacred medicines (for example, the use of peyote in the south-west) the Mi'kmaq were not given these medicines, and so for us to use them is an insult both to the Creator, who gave us what we need, and to the nations for whom these medicines are truly sacred.

THE ORIGIN OF THE PIPE

According to Lakota legend, the pipe was brought to earth 19 generations ago by White Buffalo Calf Woman, at a time when the seven tribes of the Lakota nation had gathered in council, and were starving because they were having no luck hunting. White Buffalo Calf Woman came to the people and instructed them about living in balance with nature, and about the sacred directions. She also taught them all the things they needed to know about making, handling and caring for the pipe, and about how it is to be used for praying. When the pipe was used properly to ask the buffalo to sacrifice himself so that the people could eat, the buffalo returned and the people were able to eat well.

PIPE CARRIERS

There are two types of pipes. A personal pipe can be owned by anyone, and be used to pray on their own behalf. It should not, however, be shared. Pipe Carriers, on the other hand, carry a pipe on behalf of the people. If there is need, the Pipe Carrier will use the pipe to pray for the people, to call in the spirits for a gathering or ceremony, or perhaps for healing or teaching.

In the Mi'kmaw tradition, a Pipe Carrier is born to the task. There is no way to earn this privilege - it is something you were given before you arrived on this Earth. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of confusion today about the role of the Pipe Carrier, caused mostly by people who are learning about the traditions of other Nations and trying to apply them to ALL Nations. In addition, because First Nations traditions are now seen as 'cool', it seems that everyone wants to be a Pipe Carrier, but again, it is not a task you can assume simply because you want it. Acting as a Pipe Carrier when it is not your true calling is not only disrespectful, it is dangerous, both to you and to anyone who shares your pipe.

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE PIPE

The bowl of the pipe, with its hole for accepting the pipe stem, represents the woman; the stem, then, represents the man. Joining the pipe symbolizes a union and a balance between male and female aspects of the world. At the same time, the stone of the bowl represents the spirits of the inorganic things of our world, while the wooden stem represents the organic beings. While other symbols may be added through carvings or decorations, these are very powerful, and are present in all pipes.

THE PIPE CEREMONY

An entire ceremony surrounds the use of the personal pipe for praying, which allows you to adopt the correct frame of mind for the prayer.

Prior to handling the pipe, ensure that you have smudged. Also, when the pipe is removed from its container, it must be smudged as well. When you join the pipe, be aware that you are creating a sacred moment in time. As you handle the pipe, use your left hand to hold the bowl, and your right to hold the stem.

Loading the pipe is done in four steps, each honouring the four directions. During each step, offer a pinch of tobacco to that direction, and address the spirits of the direction, asking them to hear you when you pray. Place the tobacco into the pipe bowl and repeat for the next direction.

When the pipe is loaded, it should be lit from something besides your trusty Zippo. If you are near a sacred fire, use it to light a small twig, or better yet a sweetgrass braid, and use that to light your pipe.

As you smoke the pipe, again acknowledge each direction as you take a puff. Release the smoke deliberately; as it rises toward the sky, it takes your prayers with it. If you wish, smudge yourself by guiding the smoke over your head with your free hand. Between each direction, turn the pipe stem in a circle clockwise to honour the four cardinal directions.

Finally, when the tobacco has been consumed, separating the pipe is a way of telling the spirits that you are finished. Clean the ashes out of your pipe, and dispose of them in a thoughtful way: for example, in a sacred fire, or at the roots of a tree. Carefully wrap your pipe and put it away. As you do all this, be aware that your prayers have been heard, and offer your thanks for the attention of the spirits.

Should you be involved in a pipe ceremony conducted by a Pipe Carrier, the pipe may be passed around. If so, you accept the pipe stem with your right hand and the bowl with your left. Take a puff, and again release it thoughtfully as a prayer. Turn the pipe stem clockwise through a full circle, then pass the pipe to the next person stem first. If for some reason you do not wish to smoke the pipe, or if the tobacco has been exhausted, then you can simply touch your shoulders with the pipe stem and pass it along.

WOMAN AS LIFE-GIVER

In Mi'kmaw tradition, women are accorded the highest respect and regard, for they are the portals through which a spirit comes to earth. Obviously, without this portal, it would not be possible for our spirits to come here for the growth and healing that we need. The man's role is therefore a supportive one, protecting the woman and family from harm, and providing those things that require strength.

Historical proof of this respect can be seen in the petroglyphs at Kejimkujik National Park / National Historic Site. Of all the images scribed into the slate, the most common are representations of the traditional woman's peaked hat, indicating the importance of the woman in traditional society.

WOMAN AS MATRIARCH

The Mi'kmaq had a matriarchal society. This means that the woman's voice was heard very clearly when important decisions were being made. This, again, is attributable to their role as life-giver: when decisions that affect the future of the people are being made, the ones who gave birth to those people should have the controlling input to the decision. For example, if war was being considered, the woman's point of view would not only take into account the reasons that war seemed to be required, it would also take into account the cost in human lives and suffering that would follow. For this reason, a woman's viewpoint provides a balance that a man is not equipped to provide. While the major leaders of the Mi'kmaq were males, they always listened carefully and respectfully to the voices of the female elders.

WOMEN AND CEREMONIES

A woman's roles and participation in ceremonies is governed in some ways by her unique gift. So long as a woman is capable of bringing life into the world, she also experiences her menses, or 'moon time.' During this time, her connection with the earth is extremely strong, as her body purifies itself and prepares itself to receive life. Energies are flowing through her into Mother Earth. This flow is so strong that she should never touch anyone's sacred objects, because she would drain the energies from those objects and render them neutral, and therefore no longer sacred. In addition, she may even be capable of draining life energies from those around her, which is why women would go to a Moon Lodge that was separated from the regular living area. There she would be tended by female Elders, who are not affected by her purification.

During a woman's moon time, she should not sit in ceremonial circles. Instead, women on their moon time should sit in a separate circle, outside the main circle. This is not because they are seen as unclean! Instead, because of the powerful earth connection and energy flow mentioned above, they offer very powerful spiritual shielding to the people within their protective circle.

Traditionally, women did not regularly go to the Sweat Lodge, nor did they fast. Again, this is not because they are seen as inferior in any way. Rather, because of their gift of the ability to cleanse themselves spiritually, they do not require the ceremonies that a man requires to perform that cleansing. However, if conditions required, a woman could certainly attend a healing Sweat, or go on a fast for a vision.

Women who do participate in ceremonies should wear skirts or dresses, because it honours their gender and allows them an opportunity to acknowledge their special role in life. In addition, they should sit with their legs crossed to one side, rather than open in front of them.



THE PERSONAL LEVEL OF SPIRITUALITY

Each of us has a number of spiritual attributes, such as our spirit name and spirit guide, that are part of our being whether we are aware of them or not. Learning of these things allows us to properly acknowledge their roles in our lives, and helps us to use the attributes to find and stay on our paths. there are a number of different ways to determine your attributes, including asking a knowledgeable spiritual leader for a Naming Ceremony. However, with prayer and with careful attention to signs, we are often able to determine these for ourselves, if we can listen patiently with our hearts for the answers.

SPIRIT NAMES

According to the teachings, we each have a spirit name from the moment our spirit first comes into existence, and the name follows us from life to life, and back into the spirit world afterwards. For this reason, we are not 'given' a spirit name by someone, we can only be reminded of the name we already carry. It is possible, however, that a person's spirit name will be added to, depending on the roles and experiences that are given to that person. If you ask for your name, be prepared to accept it as it is given to you, even if it is not something you may have hoped for. remember, this name has been yours for much longer than you might think, and its importance reflects into many levels of existence. There is generally a connection between your spirit name and your Spirit Guide, but it may not be obvious.

SPIRIT GUIDES

One of the most important beings in our lives is our Spirit Guide. Whether we are aware of it or not, each of us has a Spirit Guide, and it is that entity's responsibility to guide us on our path, and to provide answers (or connect us with those who can provide answers) when we have questions. Spirit Guides are animal spirits, such as the Bear (Muin) or the Moose (Tiam) or perhaps a bird like the Eagle (Kitpu) or the Owl (Kokokwes). Each has associated with it certain traits and strengths, and those of your particular Guide are the best for your needs while you are here. Once you have learned to acknowledge and heed your Spirit Guide, it is much easier to stay on your path.

DIRECTION

Each of us has one (or occasionally more) of the four directions that is important for us, because it allows us to make our best connection with spiritual energies and knowledge. If we address our prayers to this direction, or face this way when we sleep or meditate, we are at our most receptive for spiritual guidance. You may be able to determine your own direction simply by closing your eyes and facing each of the cardinal points of the compass, and waiting for a slight surge of energy or a feeling of connection. However, because the sensation can be subtle, it is important to do this without preconceptions or a desired direction, so that your head does not deceive your heart.

COLOUR

The attribute that we refer to as our spiritual colour is actually the colour of our aura. While our aura may vary slightly depending on conditions, overall it will have a particular identifying colour, which is referred to as our spiritual colour. Do not be surprised if your colour is not one of the colours of the four directions, because our auras can be any colour, even multi-coloured, sparkly, or crystal clear!

CLAN

In Mi'kmaw tradition, our clan has nothing to do with our spirit guide. Instead, it is a way of determining our family lineage. Clans are identified by animals, like the turtle or moose, and we each inherit our clan from our mothers. In Mi'kmaw tradition a person's clan can be very important, since you are not allowed to marry anyone from within your own clan.

THE COMMITMENTS

In every Naming Ceremony we have performed or attended, the participants have been asked to agree to several commitments. Generally, each has been required to abstain from recreational drugs, and to limit or abstain from alcohol consumption. Each was also required to promise to do everything within their power to guide people away from having abortions. The strictness of these commitments may vary from person to person, and a given individual may have additional commitments to make as well. In each case, in our experience, the nature of the commitments was uniquely suited to each individual.

PERSONAL SACRED ITEMS

As you walk the Red Road, you may find that certain special objects come to you, which seem to have spiritual meaning and importance to you personally. Obvious examples include things like eagle feathers or whistles, buffalo teeth, bear claws, and so forth. However, other items may also come your way, such as items you are given as part of a ceremony, or even things that you find that have some undefined but undeniable connection with your spirit. These things become part of your collection of personal sacred items, and should be treated with utmost respect. They are generally kept in a medicine bundle, and should be wrapped in red cloth for protection. They should be brought out periodically to refresh your connection with them and to remind you of how they came to you. Also, in some cases you may find that a particular object has no further connection to you, or has to go to another person. In cases like this, follow your heart.

MEDICINE POUCHES

Many traditional people carry a personal medicine pouch. This is a small pouch, generally worn around the neck, which contains medicines and tiny objects that will provide personal protection to the wearer. The contents of such pouches are totally unique to the individual, and should be determined by a person who is knowledgeable in the ways of medicines. If you have such a pouch, you should keep it with you at all times, but keep it concealed and do not allow people to touch it, because the protections offered by a properly-prepared pouch can be powerful enough to kill. If you are in the hospital for an illness or operation, most doctors today are sensitive enough to allow you to retain the pouch, although they may ask to cover it with a surgical dressing or tape to keep it sterile and out of harm's way. Also, when passing through airport security, you will find that most security personnel have been told about such things and will let you pass after simply checking your pouch with the metal-detecting wand.

BALANCE


One of the hardest things to master can be the art of finding a balance between the things we must do in daily life, and the things we must do for spiritual reasons. It is not always appropriate, or even possible, to do all the spiritual things we would like to do. Smudging in public, for example, can attract unwanted attention that will ruin the effect of calm that we are trying to achieve. We may also have to delay fasts or other ceremonies, because it is necessary to do some work-related task instead. Perhaps the toughest conflict comes from our modern lifestyle, which inevitably causes harm to the Earth that we also wish to protect. Always remember that we must live in both worlds, the spiritual and the mundane, just as our Ancestors did, and sometimes we must make compromises. As in all things, we simply do the best we can, and incorporate our spirituality as much as possible in our daily lives while still living in the modern world.

MI'KMAW CULTURE
- ORAL TRADITION

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The storyteller

THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL TRADITION

People have told stories for a long time. As long as there has been language and words, people have told stories. Even before language and words, people told stories through images, signs, and sounds. They drew images on cave walls, on stone, and wood. They carved out meanings. They created songs and rhythms that were passed from one person to the next, and from one generation to the next.

Histories and stories of a people that come to us in a form that is spoken or sung are part of what is called an oral tradition. Oral tradition means that the information, the stories, are spoken aloud rather than written down. Sometimes, like the Mi'kmaq, a people may have both a written and an oral tradition. Because people hold the story in their memory, and because sometimes the story changes with the telling, oral histories can be more fluid, more dynamic, more alive, than written histories. This doesn't make them less true than written history, just different.

Oral traditions are one way that people make sense of the world in which they live. The stories explain how things came to be the way they are in the world, or in some cases, explain how things are supposed to be. The traditions also help to teach the young the things they need to know to fit in with their society. Because these traditions developed over generations within the boundaries of a society, they are often unique to that society, and help to define who they are and what they believe in as a people. Thus, the oral traditions of the Mi'kmaq differ from those of any other people in the world, and help to keep the Mi'kmaq unique.

MYTHS, LEGENDS AND FOLKLORE

Oral traditions can be loosely placed in three types: myths, legends, and folklore.

Myths are those accounts which portray the earliest possible time, including creation stories. Other myths account for the organization of the world and society, for instance how men and women were created and why they are different from one another. Because of their power to describe how things should be, myths can be very powerful in shaping and carrying on traditions in a society. This Creation Story is an example from Mi'kmaw society, as is the story of how Muin became Keeper of Medicines.

Legends are oral traditions related to particular places, and often involve cultural heroes, witches, ghosts, or some other characters related to that place. They can involve the recent or distant past, but are most important in linking people and the land. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is an example from contemporary literature; "Muin, the Bear's Child" is an example of a Mi'kmaw legend.

In contrast to other types of oral traditions, folktales are stories that everyone knows are fictional, but are useful stories for providing moral or social lessons, or even just for amusement. During long winter nights around the fire in a wigwam, a good storyteller was highly prized by the Mi'kmaq. Grimm's Fairy Tales are examples of contemporary folktales; "The Invisible One" is an example of a Mi'kmaw folktale.

CULTURAL HEROES

Within oral traditions, a culture hero is a human or superhuman who figures prominently in the traditions of that society and whose life, deeds, and adventures are important to shaping the way things are. For many Native American societies, the culture hero was often both the source of good things in life (who brought agriculture, taught hunting, etc.) and a trickster or fool who delighted in showing people that they were not as important or as smart as they thought they were.

Many Mi'kmaw stories feature Glooscap, who brought man into being and who traveled about having amazing adventures, and righting the wrongs that he found along the way. He is also a trickster, as he proves in many legends that speak of people seeking him out to be granted a selfish wish, only to have the wish turned back on them in some way. Glooscap appears in both the Creation Story and in "Muin, the Bear's Child."

LOST TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Because of our recent dependence on written records, modern society often fails to respect oral traditions. We know how a verbal message can get changed in the telling, and find it hard to believe that oral histories can be accurate. We tend to place a great deal of trust in the idea that once a fact has been written down, it will never change. In this belief, we somehow manage to overlook the masses of conflicting information that have been written down over the years. One need look no further than any Internet search engine for thousands of examples of contradictory data being presented as absolute fact.

However, when oral traditions were passed from person to person, the importance of the tradition was always understood by the teller, and the message was passed with great care. While the fine details of the message may vary from one storyteller to the next, as the story was heard many times from different tellers in a person's life, the varying details got filtered out, and the underlying truth was always passed correctly. Ideas about truth, ethics, morality, beliefs, and ways of knowing the world were kept pure within the context of each society, and the oral traditions are therefore entirely valid within that context, and must be respected as such.

In Aboriginal communities, including those of the Mi'kmaq, more and more of the children's education comes from books rather than from elders. Because there is a need to fit in with the modern world, children need to go to school to learn skills such as reading, writing and using computers, because these will help them get a job or earn the money they need to do other things.

However, over time less and less of their knowledge will come from the oral tradition of their own culture. The elders do not have as important a role as they used to in passing along their knowledge to younger people. In some communities the children do not speak the language of their elders, which makes it difficult for elders to teach them. These changes mean that much important traditional knowledge is being lost.

This is a crisis for many reasons. The knowledge that is being lost can provide people with a sense of identity. Knowing who you are can give you pride in your culture. Elders have knowledge that is needed for survival. They know a lot about the land they live in. They know where to find animals to hunt or trap because they know of places where animals will go to find food. They know how to find their way around the land because they know the landmarks. Traditional knowledge still has many uses in our world today.

The stories told by the storytellers, the drums, the dancers, and the singers are all part of our world. The stories may come from a specific people, but that also makes them part of the stories of all people on the Earth. We help to keep the story alive when we hear it. We have our place in the story. And in turn we all have our story to tell.

MI'KMAW CREATION STORY

Kisu'lk

Kisu'lk (gee-soolg) is the one who made everything. Sometimes Kisu'lk is referred to as Kji Niskam (Jee nis-gam), or the Great Spirit. Neither word implies gender, because it is not important whether the Great Spirit is a he or a she.

The Mi'kmaq people do not explain how the Great Spirit came into existence, only that Creator is responsible for everything being where it is today. Creator made everything.

Naku'set

Naku'set (nah-goo-set) is the sun which travels in a circle and owes its existence to Creator. Naku'set is the giver of life. It is also a giver of light and heat. The power of Naku'set is held with much respect among the Mi'kmaq and other aboriginal peoples.

The Creation of Wsitqamu'k

Wsitqamu'k (oo-sit-gah-moo) is the Earth, or the area of land upon which the Mi'kmaq people walk and share its abundant resources with the animals and plants. Wsitqamu'k refers to the Mi'kmaq world which encompasses all the area where the Mi'kmaq people can travel or have traveled upon.

Wsitqamu'k was created by Creator and was placed in the centre of the circular path of Naku'set, the sun. Naku'set was given the responsibility of watching over the Mi'kmaq world. Naku'set shines bright light upon Wsitqamu'k as it passes around its path, and this brought the days and nights.

The Creation of Kluskap

After the Mi'kmaq world was created and after the animals, birds and plants were placed on the surface, Creator caused a bolt of lightning to hit the surface of Wsitqamu'k. This bolt of lightning caused the formation of an image of a human body. It was Kluskap (gloos-cap), first shaped out of the basic element of the Mi'kmaq world, sand.

Creator unleashed another bolt of lightning which gave life to Kluskap, but he could not yet move. He was stuck to the ground, watching the world go by and Naku'set travel across the sky everyday. His head was facing the direction of the rising sun, his feet were in the direction of the setting sun, his right hand was pointed North, and his left hand was in the South direction.

Kluskap watched the animals, the birds and the plants grow and pass around him. He asked Kisu'lk to give him freedom to move about the Mi'kmaq world. So it was that a third blast of lightning came, and that caused Kluskap to become free and to be able to stand on the surface of the Earth.

After Kluskap stood up on his feet, he turned around in a full circle seven times. He then looked toward the sky and gave thanks to Creator for giving him life. He looked down and gave thanks to Wsitqamu'k for offering its sand for his creation. He looked within himself and gave thanks to Kisu'lk for giving him his soul and spirit. Kluskap then gave thanks to the four directions, starting in the direction of sunrise, and following the sun: East, South, West and North. In all he gave his heartfelt thanks to the seven directions.

Kluskap then went out to explore Wsitqamu'k, to see what he might earn about where he lived. He traveled in the direction of the setting sun, until he came to an ocean. He then went South until the land narrowed, and he could see two oceans on either side. He journeyed back to where he started from, and then continued towards the North, to the land of ice and snow. Finally, he came back to the East, where he decided to stay, because it was where he came into existence. He again watched the animals, the birds and the plants. He watched the water and the sky. Creator taught him to watch and learn about the world. Kluskap watched but he did not disturb the world around him. He finally asked Creator to tell him the purpose of his existence. He was told that he would meet someone soon.

The Coming of Nukumi

One day when Kluskap was traveling in the East he came upon a very old woman. The old woman introduced herself as Nukumi (noo-goo-mee). She said to Kluskap, "I am your grandmother." Kluskap asked the old woman how she arrived in the Mi'kmaq world. Nukumi said that she owed her existence to the rock, the dew and Naku'set, the Sun. She went on to explain that on one chilly morning a rock became covered with dew because it was sitting in a low valley. By midday, when the sun was most powerful, the rock got warm and then hot. With the power of Naku'set, the rock was given a body of an old woman. This old woman was Nukumi, who came into being already very wise and knowledgeable. She told Kluskap that he would gain spiritual strength by listening to and having great respect for his grandmother.

Kluskap was so glad for his grandmother's arrival to the Mi'kmaq world he called upon Apistne'wj (ah-bis-ti-nay-ooj), a marten swimming in the river, to come ashore. Apistne'wj came to the shore where Kluskap and Nukumi were standing, and Kluskap asked him to give up his life so that he and his grandmother could live. Apistne'wj agreed. Nukumi then took Apistne'wj and quickly snapped his neck, then placed him on the ground. Kluskap for the first time asked Creator to use his power to give life back to Apistne'wj, because he did not want to be in disfavor with the animals. Apistne'wj went back to the river and in his place lay another marten. Kluskap and Apistne'wj became friends and brothers forever. Because of marten's sacrifice, Kluskap referred to all the animals as his brothers and sisters from that point on.

Nukumi cleaned the animal to get it ready for eating. She gathered the still-hot sparks from the lightning which had hit the ground to give Kluskap life. She placed dry wood over the coals to make a fire. This fire became the Great Spirit Fire, and later came to be known as the Great Council Fire. Thus, the first feast of meat was cooked over the Great Fire.

Kluskap relied on his grandmother for her knowledge, and, since Nukumi was old and wise, Kluskap also came to respect her for her wisdom. They learned to respect each other for their continued interdependence and continued existence.

The Coming of Netawansum

One day when Kluskap and Nukumi were walking along in the woods, they came upon a young man. This young man was tall and physically very strong, and had grey-coloured eyes. Kluskap asked the young man his name and how he arrived to the Mi'kmaq world. The young man told Kluskap that his name was Netawansum (neh-dah-wan-sum) and that he was Kluskap's nephew. He told Kluskap that he was strong and that he could run after the moose and caribou to bring them down with his bare hands, so they could all live comfortably.

When Kluskap asked Netawansum where he came from, Netawansum said that while the East wind was blowing hard it had caused the waters of the ocean to become rough and foamy. This foam got blown to the shore on the sandy beach, and finally rested on the tall grass. This tall grass happened to be sweetgrass, and it held onto the foam until Naku'set was high in the midday sky. At that time, Naku'set gave Netawansum spiritual and physical strength in a human body. Creator told Kluskap that if he relied on the strength and power of his nephew he would gain strength and understanding of the world around him.

Kluskap was so glad for his nephew's arrival to the Mi'kmaq world, he called upon the salmon of the rivers and seas to come to shore and give up their lives. The reason for this is that Kluskap, Netawansum and Nukumi did not want to kill all the animals for their survival, so in celebration of his nephew's arrival, they all had a feast of fish. They all gave thanks for their existence. They continued to rely on their brothers and sisters of the woods and waters, and on each other, for their survival.

The Coming of Ni'kanaptekewi'skw

One day, Kluskap was sitting near a fire, Nukumi was making clothing out of animal hides, and Netawansum was in the woods getting food. Then, a woman came to the fire and sat beside Kluskap. She put her arms around him and asked "Are you cold my son?" Kluskap was surprised, and he stood up and asked the woman who she was and where she came from. She explained that she was his mother, and her name was Ni'kanaptekewi'skw (nee-gah-nap-de-gay-weeskw).

Kluskap waited until his grandmother and nephew returned to the fire, then he asked his mother to explain how she arrived to the Mi'kmaq world. Ni'kanaptekewi'skw said that she was a leaf on a tree which fell to the ground. Morning dew formed on the leaf and glistened while the sun began its journey towards the midday sky. It was at midday when Naku'set gave life and a human form to Kluskap's mother.

Kluskap's mother said that she was bringing all the colours of the world to her children. She was also bringing strength and understanding; strength to withstand Earth's natural forces, and understanding of the Mi'kmaq world, its animals, and her children, the Mi'kmaq. She told them that they will need understanding and co-operation, so they all can live in peace with one another.

Kluskap was very happy that his mother came into the world, and since she came from a leaf, he called upon his nephew to gather nuts, seeds and fruits of the plants while Nukumi prepared a feast. Kluskap gave thanks to Creator, Naku'set, Wsitqamu'k, Nukumi, Netawansum and Ni'kanaptekewi'skw. They all had a feast in honor of Kluskap's mother's arrival to the world of the Mi'kmaq.

Kluskap's Life

Kluskap continued to live with his family for a very long time. He gained spiritual strength by having respect for each member of the family. He listened to his grandmother's wisdom. He relied on his nephew' s strength and spiritual power. His mother's love and understanding gave him dignity and respect. Kluskap' s brothers and sisters of the wood and waters gave him the will and the food to survive. Kluskap learned that mutual respect of his family and the world around him was a key ingredient for basic survival. Kluskap's task was to pass this knowledge to his fellow Mi'kmaq people, so that they too could survive in the Mi'kmaq world. This is why Kluskap became a central figure in Mi'kmaq story telling.

Kluskap's Departure, and Final Teachings

One day when Kluskap was talking to Nukumi he told her that soon they would soon leave his mother and nephew. He told her that they should prepare for that occasion. Nukumi began to get all the necessary things ready for a long journey to the North. When everyone was sitting around the Great Fire one evening, Kluskap told his mother and nephew that he and Nukumi were going to travel in the direction of the North, to return only if the Mi'kmaq people were in danger.

Kluskap told his mother and nephew to look after the Great Fire and never to let it go out. He told the that, after the passing of seven winters, seven sparks will fly from the fire, and when they land on the ground seven men will come to life. Seven more sparks will land on the ground and seven women will come into existence. They will form seven families, which would disperse into seven different directions from the area of the Great Fire.

Kluskap said that once the seven families reached their destinations, they would further divide into seven groups. Each group would have their own area for their subsistence, so they would not disturb the other groups. He instructed his mother that the smaller groups would share the Earth's abundance of resources which included animals, plants and fellow humans.

Kluskap also told his mother that after the passing of seven winters, each of the seven groups would return to the place of the Great Fire. There all the people would dance, sing and drum in celebration of their continued existence in the Mi'kmaq world. Kluskap continued by saying that the Great Fire signified the power of the Great Spirit, and also the power and strength of the light and heat of Naku'set, the sun. The Great Fire also held the strength of Wsitqamu'k, the Earth. Finally the fire represented the bolt of lightning which hit the Earth from which Kluskap was created. The fire is very sacred to the Mi'kmaq - it is the most powerful spirit on Earth.

In honor of Nukumi's arrival to the Mi'kmaq world, Kluskap instructed his mother that seven, fourteen and twenty-one rocks would have to be heated over the Great Fire. These heated rocks, or Grandfathers, will be placed inside a wigwam covered with hides of moose and caribou, or with mud. The door must face the direction of the rising sun. There should be room for seven men to sit comfortably around a pit dug in the centre of the lodge, where up to twenty-one rocks could be placed. Seven alders, seven wild willows and seven beech saplings will be used to make the frame of the lodge.

Seven men representing the seven original families will enter into the lodge. They will give thanks and honor to the seven directions, and will pray to continue to live in good health. The men will pour water over the Grandfathers, causing steam to rise and the lodge to become very hot. The men will begin to sweat up to point that it will become almost unbearable. Only those who believe in the spiritual strength will be able to withstand the heat. Then they will all come out of the lodge full of steam and shining like new born babies. This is the way they will clean their spirits and honor Nukumi's arrival. Before entering the sweat the seven men will burn sweetgrass, to honor the seven directions but also to honour Netawansom's arrival to the Mi'kmaq world. The sweet grass must be lit from the Great Fire.

Kluskap's mother came into the world from the leaf of a tree, so in honor of her arrival tobacco or tomawey (doo-mah-way) would be made from bark and leaves and would be smoked. The tomawey would be smoked in a pipe made from stone, with a stem made from the branch of a tree. The pipe will be lit from the sweetgrass which was lit from the Great Fire. The tomawey represents Kluskap's grandmother, nephew and mother, and the smoke will be blown in seven directions.

After honoring Nukumi's arrival the Mi'kmaq shall have a feast or meal. In honor of Netawansom they will eat fish. The fruits and roots of the trees and plants will be eaten to honor Ni'kanaptekewi'skw.


THE INVISIBLE ONE AND THE ROUGH-FACED GIRL

There was once a large village situated on the border of a lake. At one end of the village was a lodge in which lived a being who was always invisible. He was a mighty hunter, whose Spirit Guide was Ti'am, the Moose. He had a sister who attended to all his wants, and it was known that any girl who could see him might marry him. There were few who did not try, but it was a long time before one succeeded.

Towards evening, when the Invisible One was supposed to be returning home, his sister would walk down to the lakeshore with any girls who had come to visit. She could see her brother returning home, since to her he was always visible, and when she saw him, she would say to her companions, "Do you see my brother?"

As it happens, none of these girls could ever see him. However, while some honest girls would say "no," most would answer that they could indeed see him.

Then the sister would ask "Of what is his shoulder strap made?" Or, as some tell the tale, she would inquire about other things, like his sled harness or his bowstring.

They would reply, "A strip of rawhide," or "A green sapling," or something of that kind, and each was a likely guess. But the sister always knew they had not told the truth, and she would turn her face away, and reply quietly, "Very well, let us return to the wigwam."

When they entered the wigwam, she would ask them not to take a certain seat, for it was the seat of the Invisible One. After they had helped to cook supper, they would wait with great curiosity to see him eat. Each would get proof that he was a real person, for as he took off his moccasins they became visible, and his sister would hang them up. They would also see food leaving his birchbark dish and disappear in mid-air, but beyond that they would see nothing.

~*~

Elsewhere in the village there lived an old man, a widower with three daughters. The youngest of those was very small, weak, and often ill, but this did not prevent her sisters from treating her with great cruelty. The second daughter was somewhat kinder, and sometimes stood up for her younger sister. But the eldest sister would hack off her hair with a knife, and burn her hands and face with hot coals. Eventually her whole body was scarred with the marks, so that people called her Oochigeaskw, the Rough-Skin Girl.

When her father returned home from the day, he would ask why the child was so disfigured, and her sister would promptly say that it was the fault of the girl herself, for even though the father had forbidden her from going close to the fire, she had done so anyway, and had fallen in. The father would shake his head, and wonder what would become of his youngest daughter.

~*~

One day, it occurred to the two older sisters that they should go and try their luck at seeing the Invisible One. They wore their finest clothing, and took great effort to look their best. That evening they walked to the end of the village, and finding his sister at home went with her to walk down to the water. Then when the Invisible One came, and his sister asked if they saw him, they said, "Certainly," and also replied to the question of the shoulder strap or sled harness saying "A piece of rawhide." Of course, they could not actually see him, and they got nothing for their lies, and eventually went home disappointed.

When their father returned home that evening he brought with him many of the pretty little shells from which wampum was made, and the next day the two older sisters were engaged in stringing the shell beads. Oochigeaskw, of course, was not included in their activity - and she decided that it was time for her to see whether she might catch sight of the Invisible One.

Having no clothes beyond a few rags, and knowing that she would get nothing from her sisters, Oochigeaskw went to the woods and got herself a few sheets of birch bark. She made herself a dress and leggings of this, and decorated it by scraping figures on the bark. Then she found a pair of her father's old moccasins, stiff with age, and soaked them in water so that they would become flexible enough to wear. Finally she begged her sisters for a few wampum shells; while the eldest only called her names, the middle sister felt sorry for her, and gave her a few of the beads.

So poor Oochigeaskw, dressed in birchbark and wampum, and wearing her father's great old moccasins (which came nearly up to her knees,) started across the village to try her luck. And if her sisters' scorn was not bad enough, little Oochigeaskw's courage was tested further, for the entire village erupted in laughter and ridicule as she passed by. Her sisters tried to shame her into returning home, but she would not obey, and carried on to the door of the Invisible One's lodge despite all the teasing from the village. Some say that a spirit had inspired her, and walked with her to give her strength, and this may indeed be so.

~*~

The Invisible One's sister regarded her young visitor with surprise, but she told Oochigeaskw, "You are welcome," and treated her with kindness. As usual, Oochigeaskw helped prepare the evening meal, and when the sun was nearly down, the Invisible One's sister led her to the lake.

"My brother comes," she said, "Do you see him?"

Little Oochigeaskw gazed along the shore. "I'm not sure..."

Then her eyes lit in wonder. "Yes, I see him! But how can there be such a one?"

The sister looked at her curiously. "What is his shoulder strap made from?"

"His shoulder strap is...is a Rainbow!"

The sister's eyes grew wide. "And his bowstring?"

"His bowstring is...the Milky Way!"

His sister smiled. "Let us return to the wigwam."

When they reached the wigwam, the Invisible One's sister took the strange clothes off Oochigeaskw, and washed her with water from a special jar. Under her gentle hands, the young woman's scars disappeared, leaving her skin shining and smooth. She also combed Oochigeaskw's hair, and as she did, it grew to her waist, black and gleaming as a raven's wing and ready for braiding. Oochigeaskw had not been treated with such kindness since her mother had passed on, and the joy in her face transformed it into one of surpassing beauty.

Then the sister opened a chest and took out a beautiful wedding outfit, and asked Oochigeaskw to wear it. She had just put it on when a deep voice said, "Greetings, my sister."

Oochigeaskw turned to the entrance and stared at the magnificent young hunter. She saw surprise light his face when their eyes met.

"Greetings, my brother," said the sister. "You are discovered at last!"

The Invisible One walked over to Oochigeaskw and took her hands in his. "For years I have waited to find a woman of pure heart and brave spirit. Only such a one could see me. And now that I have found you, you shall be my bride."

~*~

And so they were married. And from then on, Oochigeaskw had a new name: the Lovely One. Like her husband, she too had kept herself hidden, waiting for the right person to find her, and now that she had that person's love, she was hidden no more.

- story adapted from "The Algonquin Legends of New England," collected by Charles Leyland, published 1884
Muin, the Bear's Child >>>




MUIN, THE BEAR'S CHILD

Many years ago, there lived a boy called Sigo, whose father had died when he was only a baby. His mother married again, for she needed somebody to provide food for her family. However, her second husband was a jealous spiteful man, who soon came to dislike his small stepson, for he thought the mother cared more for the child than for himself.

Finally, after much thought, the stepfather made a plan to get rid of his stepson. He told his wife that it was time for Sigo to learn the ways of the woods, and that he was going to take him hunting. His wife feared the worst, and tried to keep Sigo at home, saying he was too young to hunt. But the husband ignored her and took the child into the forest. His mother cried, because she feared that she would never see her young son again.

The stepfather knew of a cave in a far-off part of the forest. It was a very deep cave that led far back into a rocky hill. He led his stepson to the entrance to the cave, and told him to go inside and hunt for rabbit tracks. Young Sigo was afraid, because the cave was very dark and mysterious. He begged not to have to go in, but his stepfather only scolded him and pushed him roughly into the mouth of the cave.

When Sigo had moved further into the cave, the stepfather got a pole that lay nearby, and pushed it under a huge boulder so that it rolled over and blocked the mouth of the cave. He knew that there was no other way out of the cave, and that his stepson would soon die of starvation. He planned to tell his wife that Sigo had disobeyed him, and had run off and got lost. He would say that he had looked everywhere, but could not find him. He would even spend some time on the beach at Blomidon, so it would seem like he had spent time looking for his stepson, and where he could collect amethyst as a peace gift for his wife. He knew she might suspect what really happened, but she would never be able to prove it. The man started off for Blomidon, feeling very pleased with his clever plan.

However, there was someone who knew what the evil man had done. Glooscap knew what was in the man's heart, and had seen what had happened, and he was very angry. As the stepfather wandered on the beach, Glooscap struck his great spear into the red stone of Blomidon. When he did, the ground split, sending earth and stones tumbling down to the beach, killing the man instantly and burying him. So great was Glooscap's anger, and so mighty was his blow, that the cape at Blomidon is still split to this day.

Then Glooscap called upon a faithful servant, Matues (mah-doo-wess) the porcupine, and told him what he was to do.

~*~

Meanwhile, deep in the dark cave in the hillside, Sigo cried in his loneliness and fear. He didn't understand why his stepfather had done this to him. He was very young after all, and he just wanted to escape from this trap and be with his mother.

Suddenly he heard a voice: "Sigo! Come this way."

He saw two glowing eyes, and he was very afraid, but he went towards them, trembling. As he came closer, those eyes grew bigger and brighter until finally he could see they belonged to an old porcupine.

"Don't cry any more, my son," said Matues in a gentle voice, "I am here to help you."

Sigo heard the gentleness in Matues' voice, and he was no longer afraid. He followed Matues to the cave entrance, and together they tried to push away the stone, but it was far too heavy. Matues went to a tiny crack of light between the boulder and the wall of the cave and called out: "Friends of Glooscap! Please come to us, we need your help!"

The animals and birds heard him calling, and all who heard him came to help. Large and small, they gathered at the mouth of the cave.

"A man-child has been trapped here and left here to die," called Matues from inside the cave. "We are not strong enough to move the rock. Help us, or we are lost."

The animals called back that they would try. First Amaljikwej (ah-mal-jeeg-wej) the raccoon tried to wrap his arms around the stone, but he was much too small. Then Wowkwis (whoa-kwis) the fox came and bit and scratched at the boulder, but he only made his lips bleed. Paqtism (bah-tism) the wolf tried digging around the stone, but the ground was too stony. Even when Ti'am (dee-ahm) the moose tried to move the stone with his mighty antlers, it would not budge. It was no use; none of the animals could move the stone.

Then a new voice spoke: "What is going on?" They turned and saw Muin'iskw (moo-in-eeskw) , the she-bear, who had come quietly out of the woods when she heard the noise. Some of the smaller animals were frightened and hid, but the others told Muin'iskw what had happened. She did not want to see a child die, so she grabbed the boulder in the cave's mouth and shoved with all her great strength. Finally, with a great rumble, the stone rolled away, and out came Sigo and Matues, who were very happy to see the light of day.

Matues thanked the animals for their help and said, "Now we have to find someone who will take care of this man-child and bring him up. The boy is hungry, and my food will not suit him. Perhaps there is someone here whose diet will suit him better. Who will bring him food?"

Everyone scattered in all directions in search of food. Sisip the bird was the first to return, and he brought worms for the boy, but Sigo could not eat them. Kopit the beaver returned next with poplar bark, but the boy shook his head. Others brought seeds and insects, but Sigo, hungry as he was, could not touch any of them. At last came Muin'iskw, who held out a flat cake made of blueberries. The boy took it from her, and thanked her politely, and then he eagerly ate it. Matues knew what his decision had to be.

"From now on," he said, "Muin'iskw will be this boy's foster mother."

So Sigo went to live with the bears. Besides the mother bear, there were three cubs: two boys and a girl. All were pleased to have a new brother and they soon taught Sigo all their tricks and all the secrets of the forest. Sigo was very happy with his new-found family, and he gradually forgot his old life. Even the memory of his mother's face grew distant. He almost began to think he was a bear, and often even walked on all fours as his brothers and sister did.

~*~

One spring when Sigo was ten, the bears went fishing for smelts. Muin'iskw walked into the water, seated herself on her haunches and seized smelts in her paws and tossed them out on the bank to the children. They were having a wonderful time, when suddenly Muin'iskw leaped to her feet and scrambled to the shore, crying, "Come children, hurry!" She had caught the scent of man. "Run for your lives!"

As they ran, she stayed behind them, guarding them, until at last they were safe at home.

"What animal was that, Mother?" asked Sigo.

"That was a hunter," said his foster-mother, "He is a human like yourself, but he kills bears for food." And she warned them all to be very watchful from now on. "You must always run from the sight or scent of a hunter."

~*~

So the days passed, and as they got closer to winter, the days grew shorter. At last the mother bear led her family to their winter quarters in a large hollow tree. For half the winter they were happy and safe, with plenty of blueberry cakes to keep them from being hungry.

Then one day some hunters passed by their tree, and they saw the scratches on its trunk, and they guessed that there were bears inside. They prepared to smoke them out into the open.

Muin'iskw knew what was about to happen, and she knew that not all of them would escape. She knew what she had to do.

"I must go out first," she said, "and attract the man's attention, while you two cubs jump out and run away. Then you, Sigo, show yourself and plead for your little sister. Perhaps they will spare her for your sake."

And it happened just as the brave and loving mother bear had said. Smoke began to fill the tree trunk, and she went out first. As soon as she climbed down from the tree, the hunters surrounded her and killed her, but the two male cubs had time to escape. Then Sigo rushed out, crying: "I am a human, like you! Please spare my adopted sister, the she-cub!"

The amazed hunters put down their arrows and spears and, when they had heard Sigo's story, they were happy to spare the little cub. They were very sorry they had killed Muin'iskw, who had been so good to a Mi'kmaw child, and they made an offering of tobacco to her spirit. The hunters were not bad people, and they felt badly about the orphaned bear-children.

Sigo wept over the body of his foster mother and made a solemn vow. "I shall be called Muin, the bear's son, from this day on," he said. "And when I have grown up, and have become a hunter, I will never kill a mother bear, or bear children!"

With his foster sister, he returned to his old village, to the great joy of his Mi'kmaw mother, who cared tenderly for the she-cub until she was old enough to care for herself. And years later Muin did indeed become a great hunter, but he never forgot his promise, and he never killed a mother bear or her cubs.

~*~

Sometimes, when you wander in the forest, you may see smoke coming from a hollow tree. Since the time of Muin, when the Mi'kmaq see such smoke, they know a mother bear is in there cooking food for her children, and they leave that tree alone.

HOW MUIN BECAME KEEPER OF THE MEDICINES

In the beginning of time, people lived in harmony with the land. They lived in harmony with their brothers and sisters, the plants, trees, animals insects, snakes, the fish and the birds. The people realized that the plants and animals were of spirit, and were placed here on Mother Earth to help them. The people were grateful for the help of the animals, the plants the trees and for that they wanted to honour them. One day they heard a beautiful song from a bird, and they became aware how this tiny creature made them feel. They wanted to sing in return, to make the spirit of the animals feel as they did when they heard the songs of the birds. And so they asked for songs from the spirits to sing to their brothers and sisters, the animals, plants, fish. Songs came to the people: songs to be sung to the spirit of the eagle, the spirit of the tree, the spirit of the water - songs for all of their relations.

One day Muin was in the forest and he heard one of these songs being sung by the people. The song was being sung in his honour, and their voices were carried by the wind into the forest. When Muin heard this beautiful song he felt honoured and respected. He went to the edge of a clearing in the forest, and saw that the people were in ceremony. As he watched and listened, he saw the people making offerings to his spirit, and he heard the kind words that the people spoke of him. They referred to him as Brother. Then he heard the people ask him for medicines to help them.

At that moment, Muin realized that he must make a journey for the people and bring back medicines for them. All summer long he ate and ate, preparing for his task. Finally when Fall came, he knew it was time. He sought out a lodge where his physical form would be safe while his spirit travelled. As he approached his lodge he looked back on the world, as he knew he would be gone for several moons. Finally, with the words “All My Relations,” he entered his lodge.

And so the spirit of Muin began its quest into the spirit world. As he journeyed, he collected the medicines which the people had asked for. He sat in council with the spirits of the Plant people and requested from them the medicines for the people. The plants agreed to give their medicines, as long as Muin would cultivate and fertilize the land for them, so that they would continue to come back year after year. Muin agreed to do this.

Finally, after many moons, Muin’s journey was coming to an end. He wanted to let the people know that he would soon be returning, so his spirit found a woman of the Bear Clan, who was praying in the sweat lodge. Muin came to that woman and spoke to her: “From this day forward, you will be known as Muiniskw, the Bear Woman. I have a request for you. I am soon returning to my physical form, as I have completed my spirit journey. Would you be so kind as to prepare a Feast for me, as I am weak.”

The woman knew that when a spirit requested something from a human it was to be done. Muiniskw listened to Muin’s request as to how the Feast would be prepared and what ceremonies would be involved, then she took the request to the people. She told them of her vision in the lodge, and shared with the people the details of Muin’s request. The people were happy and immediately began preparations for the Feast. Muiniskw told of the berries which Muin asked for. She said that Muin wanted the berries which he feasted on throughout the year, and he wanted to honour the spirit of the plants which provided him this food, as they also provided the food for the people.

And so it was. People brought berries which were dried and stored over the winter. Strawberries, which were the first berry in the Spring, blueberries, fruit of Summer, blackberries from the Fall, and Cranberries gathered in early winter. Then, the men went out to their weirs and gathered fish to be included in the Feast.

Four days after the Bear Spirit spoke to Muiniskw the appointed day for the Feast for the Bear arrived. The berries and the fish were all prepared by Muiniskw, and more food was prepared by the women. As the people sit in a Sacred Circle, the ceremony began with the lighting of the Sacred Pipe, and as the pipe was shared with the people a story was told. The story told of why we must always honour the Bear Spirit. In the Fall of the year we honour him for his long fast, and the journey he is about to make into the spirit world for medicines for the people. In the Spring we honour the Bear for the medicines he brings back from his long journey. In both ceremonies a woman of the Bear Clan prepares the Feast for the Bear, and in both ceremonies a song is sung to honour Muin.

And so it continues to this day. Muin tills and fertilizes the ground to help plants grow, and during the long cold winter he journeys to the spirit realm to seek medicines for the people. And each year, in the Fall and the Spring, native people gather together for a feast in his honour.



- story as given to Jean Augustine-McIsaac




ABOUT MI'KMAW 'HIEROGLYPHICS'

Right at the start, let's talk about the term 'hieroglyphics,' which is used so commonly to refer to the Mi'kmaw written symbology. The word is defined as 'figure of an object standing for a word, syllable or sound, as used in ancient Egyptian and other writing..." (Concise Oxford Dictionary, Seventh Edition.) The term hieroglyph is therefore inappropriate, since it refers to a one-to-one correlation between a glyph and a word, syllable or sound. More importantly, the word's association with Egyptian writing leads to a misinterpretation of what Mi'kmaw symbols represent. A more appropriate term is 'ideogram', defined as a "...character symbolizing idea of a thing without expressing the sequence of sounds in its name." With ideograms, each character represents a concept, which may be orally expressed with one or many words.

So where did these ideograms come from? Some argue that European missionaries must have invented the system in its entirety, because pre-contact Aboriginal people are perceived as being illiterate. In most cases, though, the missionaries created a phonetic representation of an aboriginal language using the Roman characters they are familiar with, as did Silas Rand. Why, then, in cases where the people have a tradition of a written language, did the missionaries 'invent' a system of odd symbols that are not based on anything European?

In fact, the existence of the Mi'kmaw ideograms and their development as a teaching tool was documented by the missionaries of the day. The timeline goes something like this:

In 1652, Father Gabriel Druillettes, a Jesuit missionary to the Abenaki, reports seeing the Mi'kmaq use ideograms to record lessons in the "Jesuit Relations" of that year:

"Some of them wrote out their lessons in their own manner. They made use of a small piece of charcoal instead of a pen, and a piece of bark instead of paper. Their characters are novel, and so individual that one could not know or understand the writing of the other; that is to say, that they made use of certain marks according to their own ideas as of a local memory to preserve the points and the articles and the maxims which they had remembered. They carried away this paper with them to study in the repose of the night."

In 1677 Father Chrétien Le Clercq, a Franciscan Récollet, made note in his journals of observing Mi'kmaq children taking notes using charcoal and birch bark as he was teaching them prayers. Seeing this as an opportunity for more effective teaching, Father Le Clercq, an accomplished linguist, learned the ideogrammatic system, and expanded it with Mi'kmaw-esque symbols to express Judeo-Christian concepts that had no representation in the Mi'kmaw symbology. In 1691 he published "Nouvelle relation de la Gaspésie" in Paris, wherein he discusses his development of this writing system:

"... our Lord inspired me with the idea of them the second year of my mission, when being much embarrassed as to the method by which I should teach the Indians to pray to God, I notice that some children were making marks with charcoal upon birch-bark, and were counting these with the finger very accurately at each word of prayers which they pronounced. This made me believe that by giving them some formulary, which would aid their memory by definite characters, I should advance much more quickly than by teaching them through the method of making them repeat a number of times that which I said to them. They preserve these instructive papers with so much care, and they have for them so particular an esteem, that they keep them very neatly in little cases of birch-bark bedecked with wampum, with beadwork, and with porcupine quills."

In 1738, l'Abbé Pierre-Antoine-Simon Maillard (French Seminary of Foreign Missions) also worked out the Mi'kmaw symbols, and published a grammar of the language. It appears that his work was independent of Le Clercq's, and Maillard devoted 8 years to the task.

In 1791, Midshipman John Thomson of HMS Fly collected a copy of the Lord's Prayer and The Apostle's Creed in Mi'kmaw ideograms, done on birch bark, from Mi'kmaw people in Newfoundland. He sent these items to Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London, and they are now held by the British Museum. His cover letter read:

His Majesty's Sloop Fly, Plymouth Sound, 13th November '91

Sir-

I beg leave herewith enclosed to send you the Lord's Prair & Creed, written by the Native Indians of Newfoundland, which they did it with a stick made in the shape of a pen. The Creed marked Number One, the Prair No. 2. I beg leave, Sir, to observe it the Roman Catholic Prair & Creed, as the Frenchmen have intermarried with those Indians.

I have the honor to be Sir,
Your very humble servant
John Thomson, Midshipman



HMS Fly
[To] Sir Joseph Banks

Sir-

I this day had the Honor of your favour, and beg leave in reply to Acquaint you that it was wright by those Indians; and Sir they have amongst them a Schoolmaster to instruct their children in Wright and read, and on my making a Penn for them they prefer'd the Stick. There is in every family a large Book made out of the Bark of the Birch tree written I should suppose Century back. If these informations is of any Service, it will give much Pleasure. I beg to observe, I offered any price for one of these Books, but they would not part with them upon any account... I have the Honor to be Sir,

Your most obedient
John Thomson

Source: British Library, Add. ms. 11038, fo. 13-16.



Midshipman John Thomson's ideogrammatic prayers (click for larger views)

In 1857, Father Eugene Vetromile (Society of Jesuits), well-versed in the languages, publishes his "Indian Good Book." (1) In 1866, he also publishes "The Abenakis", wherein he discusses existence of written manuscripts held by medicine people:

"Several Indians possessed (in the time of the first French missions) in their wigwams, a kind of library, composed of stones and of pieces of bark, and the medicine men had large manuscripts of these peculiar characters, which they read over the sick persons... The Indians assert that by these signs they could express any idea with every modification, just as we do with our writings."

Also in 1866, Father Vetromile persuades seminary friend and missionary neighbor Rev. Christian Kauder, a Redemptorist, to publish a collection of prayers, songs and catechisms in the Mi'kmaw ideograms, entitled "Buch das gute." (2) The publication of Rev. Kauder was in three parts: Catechism, 144 pages; religious reflections, 109 pages; and hymnal, 208 pages. On careful examination of the symbols, one can distinguish between some of the original Mi'kmaw symbols, each of which represented mnemonically a whole sentence or verse, and a large number of arbitrary designs that have been added to express ideas and words which were not Native American. For example, the symbol for Niskam (God) is a triangle, representing the holy trinity, and three other ideograms incorporating the triangle are used to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Many odd curlicues were incorporated with the symbols, intended to represent the peculiarities of the Mi'kmaw grammar as understood by Rev. Kauder. An example from this document is reproduced below.

Finally, in 1921, Father Pacifique (Henri Buisson d’Valigny,) a Capuchin missionary who was extremely well-respected by the Mi'kmaq, publishes "Manual of Prayers, Introductions, Problems, and Hymns in Micmac Ideograms" in Restigouche, Quebec. While this document has earned Father Pacifique the reputation of having invented the writing system, it is in fact a re-issue of Kauder's book in French. Pacifique was apparently taught to read the symbols in 1900 by Peter Paul Denny Sr. at Chapel Island, NS. However, to his credit it should be noted that Father Pacifique did develop his own orthography, which is still in use in New Brunswick, and he also published many books for the Mi'kmaq, including an extensive grammar in 1939.

So what happened to the ideograms? Apparently, a written language was not that useful to the Mi'kmaq, being a primarily oral culture. Various sources have said that the Mi'kmaq would occasionally leave notes in a marker beside a trail for followers, or record information for future reference. However, the ideograms were not a major part of their life, and consequently the knowledge of their use has been lost with assimilation.

And finally, an apology to certain over-credulous individuals out there on the World Wide Web: Mi'kmaw ideograms were not learned from Egyptians, Mayans, Incas, or any other race (or vice versa), nor were they given to the Mi'kmaq by aliens. The Mi'kmaq did this all by themselves. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Mi'kmaq Orthographies

Orthography literally means 'correct writing'. An orthography is the representation of the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols, according to a standard usage. The Mi'kmaq language has several different orthographies, which begs the question: is there only one way (or indeed any way?) to 'correctly write' a language that was almost exclusively oral?



Rand Orthography

The Rand Orthography was developed by the Reverend Silas Tertius Rand in 1875. Rand was an exceptional linguist, and published the first dictionaries of the Mi'kmaw language. His orthography appears in several 19th century publications, but it is no longer used.

A
a
Sounds like A in Father
H
h
Sounds like H in Hat
Ŏ
ŏ
Sounds like O in Not

Â
â
Sounds like A in Abaft
I
i
Sounds like I in Bit
P
p
Sounds like P in Peter

Ā
ā
Sounds like A in Fate
Ĭ
ĭ
Sounds like I in Bit
S
s
Sounds like S in Snake

Ă
ă
Sounds like A in Fat
J
j
Sounds like J in Job
T
t
Sounds like T in Toy

B
b
Sounds like B in Boat
K
k
Sounds like K in Kilo
U
u
Sounds like U in Bugle

C
c
Sounds like C in Cat
L
l
Sounds like L in Lemon
Ŭ
ŭ
Sounds like U in Tub

D
d
Sounds like D in Dog
M
m
Sounds like M in Mom
W
w
Sounds like W in Water

E
e
Sounds like E in Me
N
n
Sounds like N in Night
Y
y
Sounds like Y in Yes

Ĕ
ĕ
Sounds like E in Met
O
o
Sounds like O in Note

G
g
Sounds like G in Goat
Ō
ō
Sounds like O in Also




Pacifique Orthography

The Pacifique Orthography was developed by Father Pacifique (Henri Buisson d'Valigny) in 1894, and appears in his books. It is used by people in New Brunswick.

A
a
Sounds like AW in Saw
G
g
Sounds like G in Big
S
s
Sounds like S in Was

E
e
Sounds like E in Beth
L
l
Sounds like L in Bell
T
t
Sounds like D in Loud

I
i
Sounds like E in Seen
M
m
Sounds like M in Sam
TJ
tj
Sounds like CH in Chow

Ô
ô
Sounds like O in Stove
N
n
Sounds like N in Man

O
o
Sounds like OO in Loon
P
p
Sounds like P in Skip




CONTEMPORARY ORTHOGRAPHIES

The following are more contemporary orthographies, and differ mainly in how they represent different pronunciation marks. For example, A' (Listuguj), A: (Lexicon) and Á (Francis-Smith) all represent the same sound, the A as in Palm. In addition, the pronunciations of certain characters are in some cases positional, depending on the adjacent characters. We also see the introduction of the schwa ( I ), which is a character representing an indistinct, almost unvocalized sound, as in the second syllable of the word "common".



Listuguj Orthography

The Listuguj Orthography is used by people in Quebec. Listuguj is located on the southwestern shore of the Gaspé peninsula.

A
a
Sounds like A in Amen
O'
o'
Sounds like O in Go
S
s
Sounds like S in Sit, Was

E
e
Sounds like E in Met
u'
u'
Sounds like U in Sue
L
l
Sounds like L in Like, Feel

I
i
Sounds like I in Bit
I
i
(schwa) Indistinct, like second O in Common
M
m
Sounds like M in Me, Him

O
o
Sounds like O in Also
P
p
B as in Ball, P as in Put*
N
n
Sounds like N in New, Can

U
u
Sounds like U in Put
T
t
D as in Dog, T as in Toy*
W
w
Sounds like W in Will, How

A'
a'
Sounds like A in Palm
G
g
G as in Go, K as in Cake*
Y
y
Sounds like Y in Yes, Grey

E'
e'
Sounds like E in Where
Q
q
A guttural sound as in the German word Bach

I'
i'
Sounds like I in Ski
J
j
J as in Jim, Ch as in Church


* where more than one pronunciation is given, the pronunciation depends on the character's position:
the first pronunciation applies when the character is between vowels or follows l, m or n;
the second pronunciation applies when the character is next to a consonant, except for l, m or n.



Francis-Smith Orthography

The Francis-Smith Orthography was developed by Bernard Francis and Douglas Smith in 1974. In 1980 it became the official orthography of the Míkmaq Nation as declared by the Grand Council.

A
a
Sounds like A in Amen
Ó
ó
Sounds like O in Go
S
s
Sounds like S in Sit, Was

E
e
Sounds like E in Met
Ú
ú
Sounds like U in Sue
L
l
Sounds like L in Like, Feel

I
i
Sounds like I in Bit
I i
(schwa) Indistinct, like second O in Common
M
m
Sounds like M in Me, Him

O
o
Sounds like O in Also
P
p
B as in Ball, P as in Put*
N
n
Sounds like N in New, Can

U
u
Sounds like U in Put
T
t
D as in Dog, T as in Toy*
W
w
Sounds like W in Will, How

Á
á
Sounds like A in Palm
K
k
G as in Go, K as in Cake*
Y
y
Sounds like Y in Yes, Grey

É
é
Sounds like E in Where
Q
q
A guttural sound as in the German word Bach

Í
í
Sounds like I in Ski
J
j
J as in Jim, Ch as in Church*


*where more than one pronunciation is given, the pronunciation depends on the character's position:
the first pronunciation applies when the character is between vowels or follows l, m or n;
the second pronunciation applies when the character is next to a consonant, except for l, m or n.



Lexicon Orthography

The Lexicon Orthography was developed by Albert D. DeBlois and Alphonse Metallic in 1984.

A
a
Sounds like A in Amen
O:
o:
Sounds like O in Go
S
s
Sounds like S in Sit, Was

E
e
Sounds like E in Met
U:
u:
Sounds like U in Sue
L
l
Sounds like L in Like, Feel

I
i
Sounds like I in Bit
I
i
(schwa) Indistinct, like second O in Common
M
m
Sounds like M in Me, Him

O
o
Sounds like O in Also
P
p
B as in Ball, P as in Put*
N
n
Sounds like N in New, Can

U
u
Sounds like U in Put
T
t
D as in Dog, T as in Toy*
W
w
Sounds like W in Will, How

A:
a:
Sounds like A in Palm
K
k
G as in Go, K as in Cake*
Y
y
Sounds like Y in Yes, Grey

E:
e:
Sounds like E in Where
Q
q
A guttural sound as in the German word Bach

I:
i:
Sounds like I in Ski
J
j
J as in Jim, Ch as in Church


* where more than one pronunciation is given, the pronunciation depends on the character's position:
the first pronunciation applies when the character is between vowels or follows l, m or n;
the second pronunciation applies when the character is next to a consonant, except for l, m or n.



For many thousands of years, The Mi'kmaq people made their home in Mi'kma'ki. The earliest traces of their culture have been found at Debert, Nova Scotia, where a site is being excavated that dates back some 10,000 years. Following the disappearance of the great ice sheets of the Wisconsonian Ice Age, the forefathers of the Mi'kmaq moved into this area and made it their home, living their semi-nomadic lives in harmony with nature, and according to Creator's plan. Here they lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle, moving from place to place in a regular pattern as they followed the cycle of the seasons in search of food and resources. As they did so, they developed their own distinct customs and language, and eventually became the culture known as the Mi'kmaq. Eventually they created the seven districts, which became the Mi'kmaw nation.

Contact with Europeans did not surprise the Mi’kmaq, nor did it alter their concept of the world. An old legend in which one of their spiritual beings traveled across the Atlantic to "discover" Europe taught that blue-eyed people would arrive from the east to disrupt their lives. The people also knew the story of a Mi’kmaq woman who had a vision of an island floating toward their lands; the island was covered with tall trees on which were living beings that she thought were bears. Thus the Mi’kmaq recognized the validation of her vision when the first ships appeared, and were prepared to greet the newcomers as friends.

European contact came first through Portuguese, Basque, English and French fishermen who came to the New World. A casual trade in furs gave the Mi'kmaq metal axes and knives. The French, who in the 1600s claimed Nova Scotia as part of Acadia, used trade and Roman Catholic missionaries to develop fairly amicable relations with the Mi'kmaq, who became their allies against the British until the 1760s.

Relations with outsiders grew more complex when the Mi’kmaq began converting to Catholicism. This process occurred over a seventy-year period, beginning with the conversion of Grand Chief Membertou in 1610. The Mi’kmaw nation's first treaty with a European nation was an agreement with the Vatican and the Holy See. This treaty was recorded on a wampum belt, whose symbols represented the incorporation of Mi’kmaw spirituality within the context of Roman Catholicism.

But the growing rivalry between France and England meant increasing trouble for the Mi'kmaw population, which in 1746 was devastated by epidemic disease brought by European ships. The lowest point in Mi'kmaw-British relations was the 1749 scalp bounty that the governor placed on Mi'kmaq "rebels."

Finally, after a long period of conflict as the British battled the French and their Mi’kmaw allies, the Mi’kmaq eventually established a series of treaties with the British Crown that gave Britain an alliance with the Wabanaki Confederacy and security across the region. It was during this time that the eight-pointed star design was created; seven of the points represented the seven districts of Mi'kma'ki, with the eighth point standing for Great Britain and the Crown.




Few people really realize just how far back Mi'kmaw history actually extends, predating the pyramids, Stonehenge, and most other events and periods that we generally accept as being extremely ancient. This timeline seeks to put Mi'kmaw history into perspective against world history. The timeline makes use of documented evidence provided by European science - the Mi'kmaq, of course, have been here since time began. Bear in mind, as well, that many of these dates are the subject of much debate; however, we hope you can get a feel for where the Mi'kmaq fit into the overall picture of history.



ERA WORLD HISTORY
YEAR NORTH AMERICA and the MI'KMAQ
ERA
1600 Hudson (1610)
Champlain (1604) W
O
O
D
L
A
N
D

M
E
D
I
E
V
A
L 1500 Cartier (1534)
Inca Empire founded in Peru (1438) 1400 Cabot (1497)
Columbus (1492)
Aztec capital Tenochtitlan built in Mexico (1325) 1300 Basque fishing off Cape Breton (1372?)
1200 Earliest identifiable Mi'kmaw petroglyphs at Kejimkujik
Crusades 1100
1000 Norse settlement in L'anse Aux Meadows NF
900
800 Celtic monks from Greenland may have reached
Cape Breton Island and started a colony, only to be
absorbed into Mi'kmaq.
700
Death of Muhammad (632)
Beginnings of Islam 600
500
400
C
L
A
S
S
I
C
A
L Mayan Old Empire established (350) 300
200
100
Death of Jesus Christ (36) 0 CE
---------------------------------
BCE
100
200
300
Hellenic Greek period starts (479)
Death of Gautama Buddha (486) 400
Time of King Arthur
Roman Republic starts (500) 500 Augustine Mound built near Red Bank NB L
A
T
E

A
R
C
H
A
I
C
600
700
King David crowned (869) 800
Greek civilization starts 900
1000
1100
Death of Moses (1273) 1200
1300
Iron worked in Middle East 1400
Olmec civilization in Mesoamerica 1500
1600
1700
Life of Abraham 1800
1900
Construction of Stonehenge begins 2000 Mi'kmaq building stone eel weirs in Kejimkujik
2100
2200
2300
2400
Bronze developed in Mesopotamia 2500
Great Pyramid of Cheops (2680) 2600
2700
2800
Beginnings of Greek civilization 2900
C
O
P
P
E
R

A
G
E
3000 Earliest identifiable Mi'kmaw campsites in Kejimkujik M
I
D
D
L
E

A
R
C
H
A
I
C
Beginnings of Egyptian civilization 3100
3200
First Sumerian cities 3300
3400
Phonetic writing (cuneiform)
Invention of wheel 3500
3600
3700
3800
3900
Earliest camps in Britain (Devon, Henbury) 4000
4100
4200
4300
4400
4500
4600
4700
4800
4900
Beginnings of Mesopotamia
Rice cultivation starts in China 5000
5100
5200
5300
5400
5500
5600
5700
5800
5900
N
E
O
L
I
T
H
I
C Copper artifacts in Middle East; city of Jericho
Village of Ban Po in China 6000 E
A
R
L
Y

A
R
C
H
A
I
C
6100
6200
6300
6400
6500
6600
6700
6800
6900
7000
7100
7200
7300
7400
7500
7600
7700
7800
7900
P
A
L
E
O
L
I
T
H
I
C
8000 P
A
L
E
O

I
N
D
I
A
N

8100
8200
8300
8400 Mi'kmaw encampment site at Debert NS
Foundation of Jericho as village 8500
8600 Wisconsonian Ice Age ending
8700
8800
8900

YEAR HISTORICAL EVENT

1398 According to Scottish legend, Earl Henry Sinclair journeys across the Atlantic to Nova Scotia, anchors in Guysborough Harbour, stays for a year, then returns home. There is a great deal of controversy about this claim.
1490 Fishermen from Bristol are frequenting the Maritimes
1493 Pope Alexander VI’s "Inter caetera" Bull divides the new world between Spain and Portugal
1497 Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) claims Cape Breton Island (Newfoundland? Labrador?) for England. He brings back evidence of inhabitants, but claimed to meet none.
1498 Caboto and 4 ships lost enroute to North America
1500 Gaspar Corte Real (Portugal) explores east coast, and takes native (possibly Mi'kmaq) slaves; ship is lost at sea
1521 João Álvares Fagundes (Portugal) attempts a settlement in the Maritimes - the final outcome is not known for certain.
1524 Giovanni da Verrazano (Florence) and Esteban Gómez (Portugal) explore Acadia - Gómez reportedly takes 58 natives from Maine or NS, and Verrazano takes one.
1534 Jacques Cartier explores Gulf of St. Lawrence - briefly trades with Mi'kmaq in Bay of Chaleur
1537 Papal bull "Sublimis Deus Sic Dilexit" of Pope Paul III states Native peoples were "veritable men capable of reasoning and receiving divine grace", that they were not to be annihilated as adversaries or reduced to slavery, "like poor beasts of burden."
1540 French Bretons fishing off coast of Acadia, due to crowding on Grand Banks
1566 Italian cartographer Paolo Forlani produces a map of North America which first shows L'arcadia (Acadia) and includes the name "Canada". (The map is sometimes inaccurately accredited to Bolognini Zaltieri.)
1581 Organized fur trade begins, a private venture of Breton and Norman merchants.
1588 Henry III of France grants North American fur trade monopoly to consortium of French merchants to secure his hold on the French throne.

1603 Sieur de Monts obtains charter to all the land lying between 40th-46th degree north latitude. Samuel de Champlain publishes 'Les Sauvages', about the natives he met during his explorations
1604 The French over-winter on an island in the St. Croix River, Maine; many die of scurvy and frostbite.
1605 The French move to what will become Nova Scotia, and Port Royal, the first permanent French settlement in North America, is founded.
1606 Marc Lescarbot's first contact with the Mi'kmaq. He writes the earliest detailed records of Mi'kmaw life.
1607 Fur trade rivalry leads to Tarrateen War between the Mi'kmaq and the Abenaki - it will last 8 years.
1608 French abandon most of their posts in Acadia and Maine in favour of lucrative fur trading opportunities in Québec.
1610 The Concordat Wampum Belt with the Vatican is created, affirming the Mi'kmaw right to choose Catholicism, Mi'kmaw tradition, or both.
Kjikeptin Pesamoet spends a year in France and realizes that good relations with a large number of French settlers would mean accepting and protecting the Catholic religion.

Kjisaqmaw Maupeltuk is credited with being the first Indigenous North American to be baptized as a sign of alliance and friendship. He takes the name Henri Membertou, and claims to be 100 years old at this time.

1611 Kjisaqmaw Maupeltuk (Membertou) dies. On his deathbed he refuses to go to the Christian heaven, because he wants to be with the rest of his relatives.
1615 Mi'kmaw warriors sweep south through the Abenaki villages in Maine, kill leader Onemechin, and end the Tarrateen War.
1617 Mi'kmaw warriors returning from Maine bring plagues that kill almost three-quarters of the Mi'kmaw population.
1620 Census puts Mi'kmaw population at about 4000, from pre-contact population estimated at 35,000.
1621 James I of England grants Acadia to Sir William Alexander, who renames it New Scotland (Nova Scotia)
1627 Compagnie des Cent-Associés (Company of One Hundred Associates) is founded to establish a French Empire in North America
1629 St. Anne's Chapel established by Jesuit missionary Barthélemy Vimont at Vieux Point. St. Anne is adopted by the Mi'kmaq as their patron saint.
1631 Charles de la Tour builds Fort La Tour (a.k.a. Fort Saint Marie) at the mouth of the Saint John River
1632 British lose control of Acadia due to the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Isaac de Razilly sails from France with 300 people hoping to establish a permanent French settlement in Acadia

Capuchins establish a school at LeHave for Mi'kmaw children.

1667 France, England and the Netherlands sign the Breda Treaty, and with this, England gives Acadia to France
1675 Abenaki drawn into the King Philip's War with the New England colonists.
1676 Father Chrétien Le Clercq began his work in Gaspesia. He was the first to use ideographic (so-called 'hieroglyphic') characters to teach the Mi'kmaq.

Maritime Indigenous Nations re-organized into the Waponahkiyik (Wabanaki Confederacy). Its major members included the Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, and Abenaki.

In Dover, New Hampshire, Major-General Richard Waldron invites 400 Wabanaki delegates to a peace conference. Once there, the delegates are captured, 8 are hanged and many more are sold into slavery.

1689 The Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, and Maliseet attack the frontier towns in Maine and New Hampshire; Maj-Gen Waldron killed. Sixteen other English forts in New England are also destroyed.
The English declare war on all "Eastern Indians" and offer a bounty on scalps. The English, with the help of the Kanien'kehá:ha (Mohawk), attack the Wabanaki settlements on the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers, and the Wabanaki retaliate by attacking New York and Falmouth, Maine. The French encourage the Wabanaki to continue their fight with the English, but provide little support.

1697 Treaty of Ryswick restores the status quo between France & England; Acadia is returned to the French
1699 Treaty executed at Mare's Point in Casco Bay Maine.
1700 Population of Acadia is 1,400
1702 The Queen Anne's War breaks out.
1703 200 Mi'kmaq and 30 Frenchmen attack squatter-settlements along the St. Croix River and the coast of Maine. The English declare war on all Wabanaki nations and offer bounties for their scalps. The Indigenous village of Pigwacket is attacked and destroyed.
1704 An Abenaki raid from Canada destroys Deerfield, Massachusetts.
1705 The French and their Wabanaki allies attack Deerfield, Massachusetts. The English retaliate by attacking and destroying the Indigenous settlement of Norridgewock, Maine. The English raid Mi'kmaq and French settlements along the coast of Nova Scotia.
1710 Port Royal surrendered to General Francis Nicholson; renamed Annapolis Royal. The British use Mohawk warriors to track Mi'kmaw and Abenaki raiders.
1711 First Battle of Bloody Creek, near Annapolis Royal: a small detachment of British soldiers, sent to harass an encampment of Mi'kmaq, find themselves badly outnumbered by recently-arrived Acadian and Penobscot allies, and are beaten.
1713 Treaty of Utrecht cedes French Acadia to England; Mi'kmaw land claims are ignored.
Treaty of Portsmouth signed with the St. John River Maliseet, Mi'kmaw and Abenaki Nations. This includes a clause which recognizes that the aboriginal Nations were not to be molested in their lands and were "to enjoy free liberty for hunting, fishing, fowling, and all other lawful liberties and privileges." The Wabanaki regard the Treaty of Portsmouth as the reaffirmation of the Treaty of 1699 at Mare's Point, limiting English settlements to west of the Kennebec River, while the English keep Port Royal (Annapolis Royal). The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet state that Acadia belongs to them, and the French King cannot give it to the English, since he does not own it. The English make efforts to win over the Wabanaki by using superior goods and ceremonial presents for the fur trade. They also try to get the Wabanaki to expel French soldiers and Priests from their villages without much success. The Mi'kmaq don't sign the Treaty of Portsmouth. The English see the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and the Treaty of Portsmouth as an opportunity to regain the settlements of Saco, Scarborough, and Falmouth, and a new chance to exploit the Wabanaki territories between the Kennebec and St. Croix rivers, in violation of the treaty.

1716 Antoine Gaulin, priest of the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères in Quebec, establishes a mission at Antigonish in order to induce the Mi'kmaq to settle and farm the land.
1717 A church is approved for the Mi'kmaq of Antigonish.
Settlement from New England begins to expand northward into Abenaki lands. The French fight back with their Jesuit missionaries (most notably Father Sebastian Rasles), who encourage the Abenaki and Mi'kmaq to resist the encroachment with violence if necessary. Conferences between New England and Abenaki representatives fail to reach any agreement.

1719 The English build Fort George, claiming that the land was deeded to them in 1963 by Penobscot leader Madokawando. The Penobscot deny that the land was ever signed away.
The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet refuse to conduct any trade with the British at Annapolis Royal.

1720 The British establish more settlements east of the Kennebec River. The Mi'kmaq respond by harassing settlers and traders all along the frontier, and pillage the fishing settlement of Canso, as well as plundering a number of English trading vessels. The Kennebecs also kill farm animals in the new settlements. In November, the English demand 200 pelts as a payment for damages, as well as 4 Indigenous hostages as a guarantee for future good behaviour by the Kennebecs. Against the advise of their allies, the Kennebecs send 4 hostages to the English, with the understanding that they would be released upon payment of 200 pounds of beaver pelts. When payment is made, the English refuse to release their 4 prisoners because they feel the payment was not a sufficient show of good faith.
French settlers from Newfoundland build the massive fortress at Louisbourg, which dominated the entire area, and the Acadian French refuse to sign an oath of loyalty to Great Britain.

1721 Trying to keep the Mi'kmaq at peace, Richard Phillips, the British governor of Nova Scotia, calls a meeting with the Mi'kmaq at Annapolis Royal. Promises are made for increased trade and larger annual presents. The Mi'kmaq, however, are not satisfied with promises and remain restless, keeping the British garrisons in Nova Scotia on constant alert. The Mi'kmaq, Abenaki, Penobscot, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Innu, Algonquin, and Wendat (Huron) send a letter of ultimatum to the Governor-General of New England demanding the release of the 4 prisoners and a withdrawal of the English from their new settlements along the Kennebec River. The English respond by kidnapping Father Rasles.
1722 The Wabanaki respond to the kidnapping of Rasles by declaring war. A Kennebec war-party captures 9 families at Merrymeeting Bay, but release them all except for 5 men, who are retained as compensation for the 4 hostages held by the English. More than 18 trading vessels around the Bay of Fundy are captured, Brunswick settlement is destroyed, and Georgetown is attacked.
Massachusetts declares war on the Wabanaki after several violent confrontations on the New England frontier. Dummer's War, also known as English-Indian War, Räle War or Father Rasles War. Bounties are offered for every Wabanaki scalp brought in, man, woman, or child.

22 Mi'kmaq, while visiting around Annapolis Royal, are taken hostage to the fort.

1723 The Wabanaki surround Annapolis Royal and control most of Maine, and Massachusetts itself is in danger of being taken. That same year, the English attack and destroy the Penobscot village of Old Town, Maine. The English lose a battle at Pigwacket.
1724 A colonial army attacks and burns Kennebec village of Norridgewock on Maine's upper Kennebec River. The British kill and mutilate Father Rasles in this battle, leading to open rebellion in Acadia despite threats of deportation. 50 Mi'kmaq warriors retaliate by attacking the British garrison at Annapolis Royal.
1725 The Abenaki suffer another defeat at the hands of New England during the spring, after which resistance ends.
April: Massachusetts sends 3 peace emissaries to Montreal to discuss land issues in return for Peace. The Indigenous people demand that the English abandon the Country from the Saco River to Annapolis Royal. Lt. Governor William Dummer sends peace ambassadors to the Penobscot. The Penobscot Loron and Ahanquid are appointed as spokesmen for the Peace-Treaty by the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet, and a cease-fire is established.

July: The Penobscot drop their insistence that the English abandon all settlements as far south as Boston, in return for a comprehensive proposal on Land-Rights for both English and Penobscot.

August: The Governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia agree to participate in the Boston Peace Conference.

November: Four Penobscot leaders, representing the Penobscot, Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Kennebec, come to Boston to negotiate a Peace settlement, while William Dummer represents all the British interests.

In December, Major Paul Mascarene of Annapolis Royal brings his articles of submission and agreement to the Penobscot delegates. The Penobscot refuse to acknowledge King George's dominion over their territory, for they consider themselves a free people and not bound to any King. Mascarene includes this article in the final agreement anyway. The English recognize Mi'kmaq and Maliseet rights to hunting, fishing, fowling, and planting crops. On December 15, Dummer's Treaty is signed by Dummer and the 4 Penobscot delegates.

1726 Several groups of Mi'kmaq sign the Mascarene's Articles, as do the Maliseet, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy leaders. The Penobscot ratify Dummer's Treaty at Falmouth, Casco Bay, Maine, and promise to bring delegates from other Indigenous Nations to sign. After returning home, the Penobscot dispute the article that implies the Penobscot would join the English to fight other Indigenous Nations if they broke the Peace. The Kennebec and Arresaguntacook sign the Dummer Treaty and agree to fight with the English to keep the Peace.
1727 Because of encroachment, the Mi'kmaq attack the English settlement of Placentia, Newfoundland, as well as a number of ships.
1728 The Maliseet ratify Dummer's Treaty and other Mi'kmaq agree to Peace.
1729 The Government of England orders the rebuilding of the Fort at Pemaquid, and the survey of the lands between the Penobscot and St. Croix rivers for future settlement, in direct violation of Dummer's Treaty. Nova Scotia also claims jurisdiction over lands as far west as the Kennebec River, Maine.
1730 Britain revokes its survey project in order to keep the Peace. The Mi'kmaq prevent the English from building a supply house at Minas, Nova Scotia, saying that King George has no rights there. The Mi'kmaq also burn down a coal-mining operation and settlement at Chignecto.
1735 Abbé Maillard arrives at Louisbourg and begins work on a Mi'kmaw grammar book. Lt. Governor Armstrong of Nova Scotia writes a letter of conciliation to the Maliseet when violence erupts over the issue of land surveyors in the area. A British ship is ransacked by the Cape Sable Mi'kmaq for violations of the Treaty.
1735 The Arrasaguntacook complain to Belcher that the English were not limiting their settlements to the seacoasts as they had agreed in the Peace Treaty. Belcher evades the issue by saying that he can't answer any general complaints, but needs specific examples.
1744 Britain and France go to war again (King George's War.) The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet attack British outposts.
May: 300 French soldiers and 200 Wabanaki attack and capture the English fort at Canso, Nova Scotia, capturing 80 English soldiers and burning the fort to the ground.

July - September: 300 Mi'kmaw and Maliseet warriors attack Fort Annapolis. The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet succeed in capturing some English soldiers and burning down part of the town of Annapolis, but can't capture the fort.

The Government of Massachusetts declares war against the Mi'kmaq and the Maliseet, and offers a bounty for their scalps.

1745 The Massachusetts scalp bounty is extended to include the Penobscot, Kennebec and Passamaquoddy. A 4000 man combined British and colonial army captures Louisbourg in June.
1746 The French Acadians are officially neutral but so open in their sympathy for the Mi'kmaq that Governor Shirley of Massachusetts demands their removal from Nova Scotia.
July: Boston sends a raiding party to Prince Edward Island, but is ambushed near York River by 200 Mi'kmaq.

The Mi'kmaq suffer an epidemic, which kills 1/3 of their population. The French accuse the British of deliberate infection.

1747 400 French and Mi'kmaw troops attack the English at Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. The English surrender and are permitted to retreat to Fort Annapolis. France loses Fortress Louisburg to the English.
1748 The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle returns Cape Breton Island to France. The French end their support for the Mi'kmaq on Cape Breton Island, which ends most of the fighting in that vicinity.
1749 Colonel Edward Cornwallis arrives as the new governor of Nova Scotia, and establishes a strongly fortified settlement in Halifax. The English also occupy Minas with troops and a small fort. The Mi'kmaq retaliate by attacking the fort, as well as ships at Canso and Chignecto. Cornwallis offers £10 for every Mi'kmaw scalp or prisoner and dispatches an expedition under Silvanus Cobb to hunt down and kill Mi'kmaq.

August: the Maliseet and the Chignecto Mi'kmaq come to Halifax to renew the Dummer's Treaty and Mascarene's Articles.

September 29: Treaty of 1749 (Dummer's Treaty and Mascarene's Articles)

1750 Governor Cornwallis sends several hundred men to Chignecto to erect Fort Lawrence, in the middle of Mi'kmaw country. The French allies of the Mi'kmaq respond by building Fort Beausejour on higher ground north of the English fort. The Mi'kmaq also raid Dartmouth. The price of scalps is raised to £50.
1751 The fighting continues across the Chigneto Isthmus, but by summer Cornwallis orders ranger companies to disband, as too many questionable scalps have been turned in for payment, including several which are unmistakably European.
1752 Realizing that they cannot stop the Mi'kmaw raids against the settlements, the English propose a new Peace Treaty.
1753 Thomas Wood and SPG Missionary start work on a Mi'kmaw grammar dictionary and bible.
1754 Governor Cornwallis is replaced by Charles Lawrence.
Abbé Le Loutre, Vicar-General of Acadia, writes to Governor Lawrence to inform him that the Mi'kmaq and Malecites had held a council at Fort Beausejour and wished to submit a peace proposal. The Governor's Council rejects it as 'insolent and absurd.'

1754 French and Indian War begins, and will last nine years
1755 Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, who had been agitating for a campaign to drive the French from Nova Scotia, is given permission to do so by the Secretary of State, Sir Thomas Robinson. The Secretary also orders Shirley to collaborate on this effort with Governor Lawrence, who had advocated the same policy. The two governors correspond and jointly plan for an expedition to be sent to Chignecto in the spring of 1755. The expedition, consisting of 2,000 New England militia and 250 British regulars from Fort Lawrence, lays siege to Fort Beausejour on 12 June 1755. The French capitulate four days later. This successful action by the British effectively removes French influence from Nova Scotia.
Mi'kmaq raid isolated settlements in Nova Scotia, with British fishing boats as a main target. The Penobscot raid frontier settlements in Maine.

Expulsion of Acadians begins. The Mi'kmaq hide many Acadians to save them from being deported. Many Acadians flee into the forests and fight a guerilla war beside the Mi'kmaq.

1756 British once again offer bounties for Mi'kmaw scalps. Governor Duquesne of Canada sends secret instructions to Abbé Le Loutre, urging him to keep the Mi'kmaq at war with the British.
1757 Second Battle of Bloody Creek near Annapolis Royal.
1758 British Army sweeps through remaining Acadian settlements, and also takes Louisburg. An amphibious English attack destroys the Mi'kmaw village of Eskinuopitijk and burns the local church, which is how the village became known as Burnt Church.
1760 An attempt by the French fleet to reinforce Québec ends in defeat at a naval battle fought near Listuguj, which involved Mi'kmaq and Acadians. Several groups of Mi'kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet sign treaties with the British during this year.
1761 The majority of the Mi'kmaq follow the previous groups in signing peace treaties with the British. The "Burying of the Hatchet Ceremony" celebrates the successful conclusion of the treaties.
1762 Despite the peace treaties, when the British first try to settle at the lower St. John, the Maliseet warn survey crews to remain well down the river.
Lieutenant-Governor Belcher of Nova Scotia issues a proclamation forbidding the settlement or trespass of certain lands claimed by natives.

1763 End of French and Indian War - Treaty of Paris gives Canada (New France and Acadia) to England.
1764 A plan for future management of Indian affairs is created.
1769 Prince Edward Island becomes a separate colony
1770 The Maliseet sign peace treaties with the British.
1776 Treaty is signed between the Americans and delegates of the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet, stating that the Mi'kmaw Nation and America would help one another against any enemy. Most of the Mi'kmaw people do not agree with this arrangement, therefore this treaty does not last.
1779 The final treaty between the Mi'kmaq and the British is signed. The Mi'kmaq cease to be a military threat.
1782 Loyalist refugees from New York flee to Maritimes. The Mi'kmaw population is now outnumbered and no longer considered to be a threat to the British. They are placed on reservations.
1783 The Colonial Government of Nova Scotia grant licenses of occupation to several Mi'kmaq Bands, which are merely confirmation of the existence of settlements already established.
1786 Charles Morris is commissioned to carry out an extensive survey of lands assigned to the Mi'kmaq.
1789 Schools for Mi'kmaw children are established.
1794 The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain allows the Mi'kmaq to cross the international border without hindrance.
1800 The Joint Committee for Indians is struck to study the plight of the Mi'kmaq.
1801 The Nova Scotia government creates ten Mi'kmaq Reserves.
1804 Jean-Mandé Sigogne compiles a book of Mi'kmaq translations.
1807 Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Wentworth orders a census be taken of the Mi'kmaq population.
1812 War of 1812 - Mi'kmaq remain neutral at their own request.
1820 Charles Morris is ordered to submit a plan for tracts of land, which were to be returned to the Mi'kmaq.
1822 The Mi'kmaq of St. George's Bay, Newfoundland build their own schooner.
1829 The last known Beothuk, Nancy Shanawdithit, dies of tuberculosis.
1840 Silas T. Rand, a Baptist Minister, compiles a Mi'kmaq Dictionary.
1841 John Denny Jr. was born. Denny is to become the last Mi'kmaq Kjisaqmaw to acquire his title by succeeding his father.
1848 Abraham Gesner, the Indian Commissioner, settles 14 Mi'kmaq families at Shubenacadie.
1850 An Act for Lower Canada defines the term "Indian" and establishes the criteria for eligibility for Indian Status.
1851 The criteria for Indian Status in 1850 is revised to state that Indian ancestry was through the male line. If a Native woman married a Non-Native man, her child could not claim Indian Status.
1855 The Nova Scotia government enacts legislation for the purpose of taking title to all lands reserved for the exclusive use of the Mi'kmaq and to hold it in trust for them.
1857 An Act for the enfranchisement of Indian tribes is introduced, offering 20 hectares of land as an incentive. Natives reject the Act.
1859 An Act is passed which allows squatters to buy the land on which they are trespassing, allowing settlers to obtain land set aside for the Mi'kmaq.
1866 Samuel P. Fairbanks, Commissioner of Crown Lands and Indian Affairs, prepares a schedule of lands to be set apart for the Mi'kmaq. Kauders' religious books in Mi'kmaw ideograms are published in Vienna.
1867 The Dominion of Canada is established. At confederation the control of Native issues is given to the Federal Government.
1868 The Indian Act is created.
1869 The Gradual Enfranchisement Act is passed to lure Indigenous citizens into giving up their special status and to give them Canadian-style property rights, thereby encouraging their assimilation into the new Canada.
1876 The Indian Act establishes the Department of Indian Affairs. In order to become a Canadian, Mi'kmaq must relinquish their Indian Status.
1888 George Creed, a postmaster in Hants County, traces some 350 Mi'kmaw petroglyphs at Kejimkujik.
1894 Father Pacifique translates prayers into Mi'kmaq.
1900 The Mi'kmaw flag is first raised in Listuguj on October 4 and in Halifax in 1901.
1914 Over 150 Mi'kmaw men sign up during World War I.
1918 Gabriel J. Sylliboy becomes the first elected Kjisaqmaw at a ceremony in Potlotek (Chapel Island).
1925 Sydney Band of Mi'kmaq is relocated from its traditional meeting location along the waterfront of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Reasons given by both the judiciary and politicians are that the presence of the Indians is affecting the property values of their neighbours.
1929 Rex. v. Sylliboy becomes an important precedent-setting case in which the Treaty of 1752 is held not to give the Mi'kmaq of Cape Breton Island immunity from the Lands and Forests Act. This was over-ruled in 1985 by R. v. Simon case.
1930 The Indian Residential School in Shubenacadie opens.
1939 World War II begins - over 250 Mi'kmaq volunteer.
1942 The Indian Affairs Branch introduces centralization programs in Nova Scotia, to relocate the Mi'kmaq to reserves located at Eskasoni and Shubenacadie.
1945 The Veterans Land Act grant is used to buy houses for veterans returning from World War II.
1949 The government loses interest in Centralization and, because of resistance, only half of the Nova Scotian Mi'kmaw population was relocated.
1950 Korean War - over 60 Mi'kmaq enlist.
1951 Revisions are made to the Indian Act, removing the ban against performing traditional ceremonies as well as a clause forbidding aboriginals from entering public bars.
1956 The Canadian Government grants citizenship to aboriginals.
1958 8 of 11 Mi'kmaw bands in Nova Scotia take over control of their own affairs, including the management of band funds.
1960 The Canadian Government permits aboriginals to vote in federal and provincial elections without any loss of their Status under the Indian Act.
1967 Residential school at Shubenacadie closes
1969 Pierre Trudeau introduces the White Paper Policy entitled "Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian policy" in an attempt to make aboriginal people adopt the values and culture of Canadians of European descent. It would eliminate special status for aboriginal people and repeal the Indian Act.
1970 The federal government begins funding native groups and associations to conduct research into treaties and aboriginal rights.
1971 Trudeau's White Paper Policy is withdrawn. Donald Marshall Junior is wrongly imprisoned for murder.
1973 The Acadia Band becomes the twelfth band in Nova Scotia.
1976 Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, activist and American Indian Movement member, is killed in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota.
1977 The Mi'kmaq Sante' Mawio'mi and UNSI present their Aboriginal Rights position paper to the Minister of Indian Affairs.
1980 Mi'kmaq adopt the Francis-Smith writing system.
1981 The Constitution Act recognizes existing aboriginal and treaty rights.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee finds that Canada’s Indian act is in violation of international law based on its discriminatory provisions towards women, based on the case of Sandra Lovelace and her loss of Indian status when she married a non-aboriginal man.

1982 Treaty and Aboriginal Rights are recognized under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Donald Marshal Junior cleared of murder charge and freed.
1983 Mi'kmaw petroglyphs are found in Bedford, Nova Scotia.
1984 Conne River Indian Reserve (now Miawpukek) is recognized as a status First Nations Community as defined by the Indian Act of Canada.
1985 Supreme Court ruling "James Matthew Simon vs. The Queen" holds that the 1752 Treaty was still valid and enforceable. Bill C-31 goes into effect permitting the re-instatement of 8,000 individuals to Indian Status.
1986 The Sante' Mawio'mi announces that October 1st would be known as "Treaty Day" to commemorate the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and Her Majesty. The Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. Prosecution is established by the Executive Council of Nova Scotia.
1990 Donald Marshall Junior receives apology from province and $270,000 compensation. The Marshall Inquiry Report highlights the inadequacies of the Nova Scotia justice system in regards to the Mi'kmaq people.
The Supreme Court of Canada "R. vs. Sparrow" decision holds that the Crown must honour its obligations and respect existing treaty and Aboriginal rights.

1991 The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is established to examine Aboriginal issues in detail and to come up with recommendations for solutions to creating improved relations with the government and Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
1993 A Policing Agreement is signed by the Nova Scotia and federal government with the Union of Nova Scotia Indians.
1994 The Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia and the Minister of Indian Affairs sign an accord which would allow Mi'kmaw jurisdiction over education.
1995 The Canadian Government launches plans for negotiating Aboriginal self-government. The Minister of Indian Affairs issues department policy, which recognized an inherent right to self-government.
1996 On April 23, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples' 5-volume report is released following a 5 year study. June 21 is designated National Aboriginal Day.
1997 December 11, the Supreme Court of Canada rules that the concept of Aboriginal title is affirmed and also recognized in law. Delgamuukw decision states inter alia that Indian title cannot be sold, surrendered or extinguished without the consent of First Nations and can only be alienated to the Federal Crown.
Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia, the Province of Nova Scotia, and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Tripartite Forum.

Bill C-30 "Mi'kmaq Education Act" becomes the first agreement in Canada to transfer jurisdiction for education from the Canadian federal government to Indigenous communities.

1998 Federal Court of Appeal upholds the Mitchell case. It affirms the 1794 Jay Treaty, Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between Great Britain and the United States, which allows the Mohawks to freely cross the Canada/US border unmolested.
1999 The Supreme Court of Canada rules that the Treaty of 1760-61 between the Mi'kmaq Nation and the Crown is valid. In the Marshall Decision, it re-affirms the Nation-to-Nation relationship existing between the Mi'kmaq and Canada by striking down those provisions of the Federal Fisheries Act that limit the Mi'kmaq ability to fish for commercial purposes.
Chief Mise'l Joe and crew from Miawpukek cross the straight from Newfoundland to Cape Breton Island in Spirit Wind, a Mi'kmaw-pattern birchbark canoe.

2000 Violence at Burnt Church as DFO confronts Mi'kmaw fisherman who are trying to exercise their rights under the Marshall Decision.
2001 Mi'kmaw traditional marriages recognized under N.S. Solemnization of Marriages Act.
2002 Kejimkujik National Park officially designated National Historic Site in recognition of millenia of Mi'kmaw history and citing 'cultural landscape'
2003 Suspect arrested in the murder of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash.
Unveiling of commemorative monument (designed by Mi'kmaq artist Jean Augustine-McIsaac) at Kejimkujik NP/NHS.

CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

The particular part of Nova Scotia where Kejimkujik has been set apart as a National Park was for many centuries a place of encampments, fish weirs, hunting territories, portages, trails and burial grounds.

A cultural landscape is a geographic area that includes both cultural and natural resources, associated with a historic event or group of people. The cultural landscape at Kejimkujik attests to the presence of the Mi'kmaq since time immemorial, and the presence of the ancient petroglyphs lends a silent voice to the lives of those who made their home in this area.

The earliest known traces of the ancestors of today’s Mi’kmaq date back more than ten thousand years. They came into the Maritimes around the end of the last great ice age, as retreating glaciers revealed an inviting and fertile land. These early people, referred to as the Archaic culture, arrived in the southwestern area of Nova Scotia about 5000 years ago.

THE STOPPING PLACE

With its abundance of caribou, moose, freshwater fish and other staple foods, the Kejimkujik area made an ideal living site for part of the year. The Mi’kmaq used the complex system of rivers and lakes as they traveled between the south and north coasts, with Kejimkujik a regular stop at the center of the network.


Artifacts from Kejimkujik area

Because the Mi’kmaq lived in harmony with nature, they left very little imprint on the land. However, careful research has uncovered the remains of seasonal camps, burial grounds, fish weirs, portages and trails, whose traces are still present throughout the Park. In all, over 60 sites have been identified in this area, dating between the Late Archaic and Colonial periods. Numerous artifacts have also been recovered from within the Park. All of these provided vital clues to the nature of the cultural landscape of the area.




The most noticeable traces left by the early Mi’kmaq are the engravings they created in the glacially polished slate outcrops found at several locations around the lakeshores. Referred to as ‘petroglyphs’ (‘carvings in stone’,) these images are an invaluable resource for understanding the history and lives of the Mi’kmaw ancestors. There are over 500 individual petroglyphs within Kejimkujik National Historic Site, making it the largest collection of such images in eastern North America. These petroglyphs are arguably the most unique and important component in the cultural landscape. They are, literally, history written in stone.
Petroglyph group


Perhaps some of the most important images portray men and women wearing the traditional clothing of the time. In some cases, these images show highly detailed double-curve designs decorating the clothing. Foremost among these images is the unique peaked hat traditionally worn by Mi’kmaw women. Over 60 petroglyphs depict these peaked hats, suggesting the importance of women in the matriarchal Mi’kmaw society. Since none of this clothing remains today, these images provide the only examples of the motifs used by the early Mi’kmaq, before they were influenced by the arrival of Europeans.
Peaked Hat


Another culturally-unique image depicts the distinctive Mi’kmaw ocean-going canoe. Built with raised sides, and sometimes rigged with a small sail, this type of canoe was designed for use at sea, and it is seen in several petroglyphs in pursuit of porpoises or small whales. Another remarkable group of images bear the signatures of the artists written in Mi’kmaw script. While theirs was primarily an oral culture, Mi’kmaw Elders tell of a seldom-used written language, and the Kejimkujik petroglyphs provide some of the only surviving examples.
Canoe with Mi'kmaw script










Spiritual images are also common. In earlier petroglyphs, we see images of mythical creatures, mixed with symbols of the spirit world. One can imagine a storyteller of old, attended by a young audience, patiently carving an illustration as he retells the legend of the Kulloo bird, which would grant magical powers to the hunter who caught him. Also present is Jipijka’m, the great horned serpent believed to inhabit the lakes. Appropriately, as water levels rise during the winter, these images return to their home beneath the waves. Many Christian symbols are also present, marking the transitional time when the Mi’kmaw people were converted to Christianity by missionaries.
Kulloo and hunter




All locations within Kejimkujik that bear witness to the presence of the Mi’kmaq are special places. They are a source of pride and identity for today’s Mi’kmaw people, and are sacred to them. Collectively, they are also the reason why Kejimkujik has the distinction of being the only National Park in Canada to become a National Historic Site in its entirety. These sites, therefore, are monitored on an ongoing basis by a dedicated Aboriginal patrol staff, to ensure that the sites are not disturbed by visitors. However, by special arrangement, they are accessible by Mi'kmaw people, so that they are able to go to these sacred locations for ceremonies, or to make a connection with the Ancestors.

Of particular concern are the petroglyphs. Exposed to the elements, these treasures are slowly fading away, and efforts are being made to preserve and record them. However, accidental damage and deliberate vandalism have completely obliterated some of these irreplaceable artifacts long before their time. The areas around these sites are therefore restricted areas, so that they can be protected for future generations.

However, the Mi'kmaw Elders that have been consulted on this issue do not believe that anyone should take drastic measures to preserve these images for all time. They were put here by the Ancestors to speak to the future, and to create a link to a past and a heritage that many of today's generation have forgotten. When their task is completed, they will pass into history. They were never meant to last for eternity, and to interfere with their existence would be inappropriate.


Jean (center) giving a petroglyph tour

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Jean is the supervisor of Aboriginal History and Culture Interpretation section of the park, which offers several ways to discover more about the culture and history of the Mi’kmaw people. Regular programs, in the form of guided walks and multi-media presentations, deal with topics such as the Mi’kmaw lifestyle, traditional medicines, and spirituality. Throughout the summer, visitors can walk through a recreation of a traditional encampment, and regular guided tours of the petroglyphs are also offered, so that they have the opportunity to see, touch and learn more about these ancient reminders of times long ago. Not only are these programs of benefit to other peoples, they are also of benefit to those Mi'kmaq people who are trying to learn about themselves and their home.

THE CHACO


Who Built Chaco Canyon's Great Houses?

New archaeological evidence shows that human migrations across the Bering Straits may have begun as early as 38,000 BCE, but certainly no later than 11,000 years ago. At the end of the Pleistocene Age these Paleo Indians followed herds of mammoths and long-horned bison southward along an ice-free corridor in western Canada.

Between about 9500 and 9000 BCE, an increase in moisture nourished the spread of now extinct prehistoric mammals such as the mammoth, bison, horse, camel and sloth. Following these food sources, Paleo Indians arrived in the Southwest, wandering from campsite to campsite, stopping at kill sites to slaughter and process the large animals they hunted. Early sites contain the fluted Clovis points used to hunt mammoths. Folsom points are found at later sites because the Folsom hunters' chief source of food was the bison which required different weapons. To date, no Paleo-Indian sites have been discovered on the Chaco Plateau, although evidence of Folsom hunters has been found.

Anthropologists don't believe that these Paleo Indians were the direct ancestors of the peoples who settled northwestern New Mexico. They are thought to have continued on east, while new groups filled the gaps left behind. This event begins a significant period in the prehistory of the American Indians called The Archaic Stage. The Archaic Stage extends from about 8000 to 500 BCE. During this time the lifestyle of the people was dependent on a broad range of food processed with unelaborated tools. In northwestern New Mexico this lifestyle emerged about 5500 BCE, later than in other parts of the Southwest, and this variation of the food collecting pattern is termed The Desert Culture.

Campsites of these new wanderers were similar to those of the Paleo Indians; they are marked by hearths and fire cracked rocks as well as by the presence of stone tools for daily tasks including those for killing and processing small game, and for grinding and crushing plant foods. Some time between 3400 and 1000 BCE a variety of small ear corn native to Mexico was introduced to the Southwest. At first it had little impact on the diet of these early Anasazi, but between 1000 BCE and 1CE nomadism began to give way to a more sedentary lifestyle based in the cultivation of corn and squash. As the domestication of emmer wheat and six-rowed barley led to the rise of great sedentary civilizations in the Near East, so corn contributed to the development of what is called Anasazi culture.

Early Anasazi culture is termed the Basket Maker II period, a time when major storage containers were still woven baskets. People began living in a type of house made by embedding short logs horizontally in mud plaster covered with a flat pole and adobe roof. One Basket Maker II site has been identified in Chaco Canyon.

Between 150 and 700 CE what archaeologists define as Chaco culture began. Many small settlements of pit houses were built around the Chaco Plateau, each settlement probably a group of related families.

What is a pit house and what does it have to do with the great houses? In his article "The Mesa Verde Region: Chaco's Northern Neighbor," William D. Lipe defines a pit house as a semi-subterranean structure of wood, stone and mud, a "protokiva" used for cooking, sleeping and rituals, with a small cluster of adjacent surface rooms for storage and perhaps extra living space.

At first it was believed that the pit house was the forerunner of the great house and the great kivas, but tree ring dating has shown that at the height of Chaco culture, pit houses and great houses existed side by side.

During the Basket Maker III period some of the larger pit house settlements had sacred chambers built like large pit houses-protokivas. In the Chaco Plateau area, the need for irrigating crops led to the exploitation of water held in natural tanks on the canyon rims. Water for home use was collected at natural seeps and springs and carried home in clay pots. During this period most crops were planted along the edges of dry washes or similar areas and watered by natural precipitation.

The bow and arrow replaced the atlatl and spear as primary hunting weapons, the first true Anasazi pottery emerged, usually either crude gray pots for cooking or pots painted white and black using basket designs made for other purposes. Evidence of increased trade is shown by the present of some pottery coming from the south and north. Dogs were domesticated during this time; a sipapu appeared in pit house floors and utensils were placed in graves, indicating a belief in the supernatural, a religion.

Between about 700 and 850 CE (Pueblo I period) a major change in architecture occurred. Jacal type buildings were constructed on the surface; pit structures were smaller and appear to have been used largely for religious purposes. Jacal is a small structure having walls made of rows of thin, vertical poles filled in and plastered with mud. By 800 CE small multi-room houses or villages with walls of posts, adobe and a few stones were being constructed on shallow foundations lined with stone slabs. Also during this period, arc shaped groups of storage rooms with housing in front came into use. Archaeologists note the gradual elimination of timber from wall construction and its replacement with rocks cemented in a mud mortar.

About 850 CE Pueblo I gave way to the Early Pueblo II period when groups of small pueblos grew up around patches of farming land. Now the population began to concentrate in a smaller number of communities. Fewer crescent shaped villages were built, more rectangular or linear villages built of elementary coursed masonry set in mud appeared. These villages had kivas near the front and the features of these kivas were more or less standardized.

Early Pueblo II kivas are partially lined with masonry and include a bench going all the way round the perimeter wall, a ventilator, a slab deflector between the ventilator and the fire pit and sipapu, a cribbed log roof supported by four or more posts, with a smoke hole in the center of the building.

It is believed that during this period the Chaco Plateau may have reached its carrying capacity insofar as population was concerned, and that during times of drought or food shortage food sources outside the plateau had to be found.

In most other Anasazi areas, the high point of Anasazi civilization was reached about 1020 CE, but in Chaco Canyon this point arrived 50 years or so earlier. This Late Pueblo II phase (which due to various naming systems is also known as the Early Bonito phase and the Hosta Butte phase) is the beginning of what the late Cynthia Irwin Williams, who excavated the Salmon great house ruins, called the "Chaco Phenomenon." In his preface to In Search of Chaco, New Approaches to an Archaeological Enigma, editor David Grant Noble asks, popular appeal aside, why this phrase, the Chaco Phenomenon, was so quickly adopted. And answers, because of the skilled craftsmanship and the monumental scale of the buildings in the central portion of Chaco Canyon, with their linear roads and "built" landscape that make "Downtown Chaco" seem urban compared to the surrounding areas. This unique construction was to set the Chaco Anasazi apart from the others.

There is speculation that population pressure and putting more land under irrigation for agricultural purposes, plus the resulting need for more food storage units, may have caused the beginning of what we see today in Chaco Canyon. In any case, between 920 and 1020 CE construction of six major great houses began (Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, Una Vida, Peñasco Blanco, Hungo Pavi, Kin Bineola) along with work on more small villages housing just a few families. Early masons used irregular sandstone slabs laid horizontally so that their inner edges almost interlocked, cemented by copious adobe mortar. For example, at Pueblo Bonito this construction took the form of some 25 one-story houses built in a crescent-shaped group.

The great kiva, reintroduced from the Basketmaker II Period, is found set apart from the pueblos but central to them. Archaeologists note variations in style of clothing, utensils and footwear, but they believe one of the most important developments in this period was the complexity of many aspects of Chaco society which began to function as a cohesive economic system.

Between approximately 1020 and 1120 CE the Chacoans reached a level of excellence in architecture and in many other arts far beyond their peers. An estimated 5000 to 6000 people lived in about 400 settlements scattered in the vicinity of Chaco Canyon. In this century 10 more great houses were built while the six earlier great houses saw extensive building. The new great houses include Casa Chiquita, Kin Kletso, Kin Klizhin, Kin 'Ya'a, New Alto, Pueblo Alto, Pueblo del Arroyo, Pueblo Pintado, Tsin Kletzin and Wijiji.

One of Chaco's fascinating anomalies appears during this same time period. Side by side with the core and veneer construction seen in many of the great houses are many small villages--seldom larger than 25 rooms--built in the older, uncored style sometimes called the Hosta Butte style. And, of the 16 great houses built between 920 and 1120 CE, 12 show the Classic Bonito construction, but four others were built in the McElmo style (examples: Kin Kletso and Pueblo del Arroyo). It is believed that different groups of Anasazis built these structures and apparently lived side by side in relative harmony.

Tree ring dating has shown that most of the building took place during this Early Pueblo III phase and that construction was on a magnificent scale. Great houses or towns of four and even five stories sprang up around open plazas. Kivas were built both in the plazas and enclosed within room blocks. The tower kivas, whose purpose is still debated, appear in some of the great houses.


To meet the needs of a growing population, the water system was expanded and more of the canyon bottom put under irrigation. Nevertheless, the canyon couldn't feed itself and food and many everyday utensils were imported. In his "Artifacts in Chaco: Where They Came From and What They Mean," H. Wolcott Toll used chemical analysis to determine the source of much Chaco Canyon pottery. Gray ware for everyday cooking came from the eastern slopes of the Chuska Mountains, some 40 miles to the west. Fine black on white pottery was imported from Red Mesa Valley south of Chaco Canyon, from northeastern Arizona and north of the San Juan River, as well as from the eastern Chuska area. A smaller amount of red and brown ware pottery was brought from Mogollan areas of east-central Arizona and western New Mexico, or from southeastern Utah. He noted that a quantity of hard rock for edged tools was also imported.

After reading the above, it's no surprise to learn that trees used in building the Chaco great houses came from the Chuska Mountains and the Mt. Taylor area, both about 40 miles distant.

All of which demonstrates that whatever form it took, Chaco society during the Classic Bonito phase was complex with far flung associations and interrelationships.

In the 100 years after 1120 (called the Late Pueblo III Phase) little new construction was undertaken. New great houses along the San Juan River-Salmon and Aztec-saw population growth and building as Chacoan people began to migrate away from the Chaco Plateau. There is speculation as to the reasons for this decline; the cause most often cited is a severe drought between 1130 and 1190 which made the Chaco Canyon area uninhabitable. Other theories include lowering of the water table due to extensive deforestation and over farming resulting in a build up of alkali in the soil. In any case, what anthropologists call Chaco Culture came to an end and the peoples living in and around Chaco Canyon began to leave. Some went west and settled the Hopi mesas; some went south to Mt. Taylor and beyond, establishing the pueblos of Zuni, Laguna and Acoma; some turned east, establishing the pueblos between the Rio Puerco and the Rio Grande and some went as far as northern Mexico where they settled in the former Toltec trading community of Cases Grandes (Paquimé).

For several centuries after this, there were brief reoccupations by wanderers from north of the San Juan River, but the Chaco Phenomenon was over.

Native American Legends

The Sacred Weed

A Blackfoot Legend

There once were four brothers, all spiritual men who had power. In a vision the oldest of them heard a voice saying: "Out there is a sacred weed; pick it and burn it." The man looked around, saw the strange weed, and put it in the fire. It gave off a very pleasing aroma. Then the second brother had a dream in which a voice said: "Take this herb. Chop it fine. Put it into a hide bag." The man did what he was told, and the dry herb in his hide bag was wonderfully fragrant. The third brother had a vision in which he saw a man hollowing out a bone and putting the strange weed into it. A voice said, "Make four pipes like this," and the third brother carved four pipes carved four pipes out of an animal's leg bones. Then the youngest of the four brothers had a vision. A voice told him: "You four men light your pipes and smoke. Inhale the smoke; exhale it. Let the smoke ascend to the clouds." The voice also taught him the songs and prayers that went with smoking.

So the four medicine men, born of the same mother, smoked together. This was the first time that men had ever smoked, and they sang and prayed together as they did so. The brothers, who called the sacred weed "nawak'osis," were meant to teach its use to the people. But nawak'osis made them powerful and wise and clear-minded, and they did not want to share it with others. They planted the sacred weed in a secret place that only they knew. They guarded the songs and prayers and rituals that went with the smoking. They formed a Tobacco Society, just the four of them. So there was anger, there was war, there was restlessness of spirit, there was impiety.

Nawak'osis was meant to calm anger, to make men worship, to make peace, to ease the mind. But without the sacred herb, unity and peace were lacking.

A young man called Bull-by-Himself said to his wife: "These four powerful ones have been given something good to share with the people, but they are keeping it for themselves. So things are bad. I must find a way to plant and reap the sacred weed they call nawak'osis." Bull-by-himself and his wife went to a sacred lake and set up their tipi close by its shore. The man left everyday to hunt and look for the plant nawak'osis. The woman stayed in the lodge to quill, tan, and prepare food.

One day while she was alone, she heard somebody singing beautifully. She searched everywhere to find the source of the music and discovered that it was coming from a beaver house close by the shore. "It must be the beavers singing," she thought. "Their songs are lovely. I hope they don't stop."

Though her husband came home with plenty of meat, he had not found nawak'osis. The woman called his attention to the music, but he said: "I hear nothing. It's your imagination."

"No," she said, "I can hear it clearly. Put your ear to the beaver house."

He did, but still heard nothing. Then the wife took her knife and made a hole in the beaver lodge. Through it they could not only hear the beavers sing, but also watch them performing a strange, beautiful dance.

"My young brothers," the wife called to them, "be of a sharing spirit. Teach me your wonderful song and your medicine!"

The Beavers answered: "Close the hole you have made, because it lets the cold in. Then we'll come out and visit you."

So she sealed their wall up, and that night four beavers came to Bull-by- Himself's lodge. As soon as they were inside they turned themselves into humans -- four nice-looking young men.

One asked: "What have you come here for?"

"I have come," said Bull-by-Himself, "to find the sacred weed called nawak'osis."

"Then this is the right place," said the man-beavers. "We are water people, and nawak'osis is water medicine. We will give you this sacred herb, but first you must learn the songs, the prayers, the dances, the ceremonies that go with it."

"There are four powerful men in our tribe," said Bull-by-Himself, "who have the medicine and the knowledge, but keep them from us."

"Ah," said the man-beavers, "that is wrong. This sacred weed is meant to be shared. Here is what you must do. By day, go out and get the skin of every four-legged and two-legged creature that lives in and around the water -- except, of course, beaver. You must get the skins of the muskrat and otter, of the duck and kingfisher, of all creatures like that, because they represent water. Sun and water mean life. Sun begets life, and water makes it grow."

So every day Bull-by-Himself went out for the skins, while his wife scraped, tanned, and smoked them. And every night the four man-beavers came to teach them the prayers, songs, and dances that go with nawak'osis. After a while the beavers said: "Now all is ready. Now you have all the skins, and now you have the knowledge. Make the skins, which represent water power, into a bag, into a medicine bundle. Tomorrow night we'll come again for the last time to tell you what to do."

The following night the beavers came as they had promised. They brought with them the sacred weed nawak'osis. The top of the stalks was covered with little round seeds, and the man-beavers put the seeds into the medicine bundle the woman had prepared.

"It's planting time now," said the Beavers. "Don't touch nawak'osis before you're ready to plant. Choose a place where there is not too much shade and not too much sunlight. Mix plenty of brown earth with plenty of black earth, and keep the soil loose. Say the prayers we have taught you. Then you, Bull- by-Himself, must take a deer horn and with its point make holes in the earth -- one hole for each seed. And you, his wife, must use a buffalo-horn spoon to drop one seed into each hole. Keep singing the songs we taught you all the while. Then both of you dance lightly over this earth, tamping down the seeds. After that you just wait for nawak'osis to grow. Now we have taught you everything. Now we go."

The nice- looking young men left, turning back into beavers as they went. Bull-by-Himself and his wife planted the sacred weed as they had been told. The four medicine-men brothers said to one another: "What can this man, Bull-by-Himself, and his wife be planting? Their songs sound familiar."

They sent somebody to find out, and this person came back saying: "They are planting nawak'osis, doing it in a sacred manner."

The four powerful men began to laugh. "No, it can't be. It's some useless weed they're planting. No one but us can plant nawak'osis. No one but us can use it. No one but us has its power."

But when it was time to harvest nawak'osis, a great hailstorm destroyed the secret tobacco patch of the four medicine brothers. Nothing was left, and they had not saved a single seed. They said to each other: "Perhaps this man and his wife did plant nawak'osis after all. Perhaps the hail hasn't destroyed their tobacco patch."

Again the four brothers sent someone to find out, and that person came back saying: "This man and his wife had no hail on their field. Here is what they have been growing."

He showed the brothers some leaves. "It is indeed nawak'osis," they said, shaking their heads in wonder. Thus with the help of the beaver people, Bull- by-Himself and his wife brought the sacred tobacco to the tribes, who have been smoking it in a sacred manner ever since.

Native American Legends
The Peace with the Snakes
A Blackfoot Legend
In those days there was a Piegan chief named Owl Bear. He was a great chief, very brave and generous. One night he had a dream: he saw many dead bodies of the enemy lying about, scalped, and he knew that he must go to war.

So he called out for a feast, and after the people had eaten, he said: "I had a strong dream last night. I went to war against the Snakes, and killed many of their warriors. So the signs are good, and I feel that I must go. Let us have a big party now, and I will be the leader. We will start to-morrow night."

Then he told two old men to go out in the camp and shout the news, so that all might know. A big party was made up. Two hundred men, they say, went with this chief to war. The first night they traveled only a little way, for they were not used to walking, and soon got tired. In the morning the chief got up early and went and made a sacrifice, and when he came back to the others, some said, "Come now, tell us your dream of this night."

"I dreamed good," said Owl Bear. "I had a good dream. We will have good luck." But many others said they had bad dreams. They saw blood running from their bodies. Night came, and the party started on, traveling south, and keeping near the foot-hills; and when daylight came, they stopped in thick pine woods and built war lodges. They put up poles as for a lodge, and covered them very thick with pine boughs, so they could build fires and cook, and no one would see the light and smoke; and they all ate some of the food they carried, and then went to sleep.

Again the chief had a good dream, but the others all had bad dreams, and some talked about turning back; but Owl Bear laughed at them, and when night came, all started on. So they traveled for some nights, and all kept dreaming bad except the chief. He always had good dreams. One day after a sleep, a person again asked Owl Bear if he dreamed good.

"Yes," he replied. "I have again dreamed of good luck." "We still dream bad," the person said, "and now some of us are going to turn back. We will go no further, for bad luck is surely ahead."

"Go back! go back!" said Owl Bear. "I think you are cowards; I want no cowards with me." They did not speak again. Many of them turned around, and started north, toward home. Two more days' travel. Owl Bear and his warriors went on, and then another party turned back, for they still had bad dreams.

All the men now left with him were his relations. All the others had turned back.

They traveled on, and traveled on, always having bad dreams, until they came close to the Elk River.

Then the oldest relation said, "Come, my chief, let us all turn back. We still have bad dreams. We cannot have good luck."

"No," replied Owl Bear, "I will not turn back." Then they were going to seize him and tie his hands, for they had talked of this before. They thought to tie him and make him go back with them. Then the chief got very angry. He put an arrow on his bow, and said: "Do not touch me. You are my relations; but if any of you try to tie me, I will kill you.

Now I am ashamed. My relations are cowards and will turn back. I have told you I have always dreamed good, and that we would have good luck. Now I don't care; I am covered with shame. I am going now to the Snake camp and will give them my body. I am ashamed. Go! go! and when you get home put on women's dresses. You are no longer men." They said no more. They turned back homeward, and the chief was all alone. His heart was very sad as he traveled on, and he was much ashamed, for his relations had left him.

Night was coming on. The sun had set and rain was beginning to fall. Owl Bear looked around for some place where he could sleep dry. Close by he saw a hole in the rocks. He got down on his hands and knees and crept in. Here it was very dark. He could see nothing, so he crept very slowly, feeling as he went. All at once his hand touched something strange. He felt of it. It was a person's foot, and there was a moccasin on it. He stopped, and sat still. Then he felt a little further. Yes, it was a person's leg. He could feel the cowskin legging. Now he did not know what to do. He thought perhaps it was a dead person; and again, he thought it might be one of his relations, who had become ashamed and turned back after him.

Pretty soon he put his hand on the leg again and felt along up. He touched the person's belly. It was warm. He felt of the breast, and could feel it rise and fall as the breath came and went; and the heart was beating fast. Still the person did not move. Maybe he was afraid. Perhaps he thought that was a ghost feeling of him.

Owl Bear now knew this person was not dead. He thought he would try if he could learn who the man was, for he was not afraid. His heart was sad. His people and his relations had left him, and he had made up his mind to give his body to the Snakes. So he began and felt all over the man,--of his face, hair, robe, leggings, belt, weapons; and by and by he stopped feeling of him. He could not tell whether it was one of his people or not.

Pretty soon the strange person sat up and felt all over Owl Bear; and when he had finished, he took the Piegan's hand and opened it and held it up, waving it from side to side, saying by signs, "Who are you?"

Owl Bear put his closed hand against the person's cheek and rubbed it; he said in signs, "Piegan!" and then he asked the person who he was. A finger was placed against his breast and moved across it zigzag. It was the sign for "Snake."

"Hai yah!" thought Owl Bear, "a Snake, my enemy." For a long time he sat still, thinking. By and by he drew his knife from his belt and placed it in the Snake's hand, and signed, "Kill me!" He waited. He thought soon his heart would be cut. He wanted to die. Why live? His people had left him.

Then the Snake took Owl Bear's hand and put a knife in it and motioned that Owl Bear should cut his heart, but the Piegan would not do it. He lay down, and the Snake lay down beside him. Maybe they slept. Likely not.

So the night went and morning came. It was light, and they crawled out of the cave, and talked a long time together by signs. Owl Bear told the Snake where he had come from, how his party had dreamed bad and left him, and that he was going alone to give his body to the Snakes.

Then the Snake said: "I was going to war, too. I was going against the Piegans. Now I am done. Are you a chief?"

"I am the head chief," replied Owl Bear. "I lead. All the others follow."

"I am the same as you," said the Snake. "I am the chief. I like you. You are brave. You gave me your knife to kill you with. How is your heart? Shall the Snakes and the Piegans make peace?"

"Your words are good," replied Owl Bear. "I am glad."

"How many nights will it take you to go home and come back here with your people?" asked the Snake.

Owl Bear thought and counted. "In twenty-five nights," he replied, "the Piegans will camp down by that creek."

"My trail," said the Snake, "goes across the mountains. I will try to be here in twenty-five nights, but I will camp with my people just behind that first mountain. When you get here with the Piegans, come with one of your wives and stay all night with me. In the morning the Snakes will move and put up their lodges beside the Piegans."

"As you say," replied the chief, "so it shall be done." Then they built a fire and cooked some meat and ate together.

"I am ashamed to go home," said Owl Bear. "I have taken no horses, no scalps. Let me cut off your side locks?"

"Take them," said the Snake.

Owl Bear cut off the chiefs braids close to his head, and then the Snake cut off the Piegan's braids. Then they exchanged clothes and weapons and started out, the Piegan north, the Snake south.

"Owl Bear has come! Owl Bear has come!" the people were shouting.

The warriors rushed to his lodge. _Whish_! how quickly it was filled! Hundreds stood outside, waiting to hear the news.

For a long time the chief did not speak. He was still angry with his people. An old man was talking, telling the news of the camp. Owl Bear did not look at him. He ate some food and rested. Many were in the lodge who had started to war with him. They were now ashamed. They did not speak, either, but kept looking at the fire. After a long time the chief said: "I travelled on alone. I met a Snake. I took his scalp and clothes, and his weapons. See, here is his scalp!" And he held up the two braids of hair.

No one spoke, but the chief saw them nudge each other and smile a little; and soon they went out and said to one another: "What a lie! That is not an enemy's scalp; there is no flesh on it He has robbed some dead person."

Some one told the chief what they said, but he only laughed and replied:

"I do not care. They were too much afraid even to go on and rob a dead person. They should wear women's dresses."

Near sunset, Owl Bear called for a horse, and rode all through camp so every one could hear, shouting out: "Listen! listen! To-morrow we move camp. We travel south. The Piegans and Snakes are going to make peace. If any one refuses to go, I will kill him. All must go."

Then an old medicine man came up to him and said: "Kyi, Owl Bear! listen to me. Why talk like this? You know we are not afraid of the Snakes. Have we not fought them and driven them out of this country? Do you think we are afraid to go and meet them? No. We will go and make peace with them as you say, and if they want to fight, we will fight. Now you are angry with those who started to war with you. Don't be angry. Dreams belong to the Sun. He gave them to us, so that we can see ahead and know what will happen. The Piegans are not cowards. Their dreams told them to turn back. So do not be angry with them any more."

"There is truth in what you say, old man," replied Owl Bear; "I will take your words."

In those days the Piegans were a great tribe. When they travelled, if you were with the head ones, you could not see the last ones, they were so far back. They had more horses than they could count, so they used fresh horses every day and travelled very fast. On the twenty-fourth day they reached the place where Owl Bear had told the Snake they would camp, and put up their lodges along the creek. Soon some young men came in, and said they had seen some fresh horse trails up toward the mountain.

"It must be the Snakes," said the chief; "they have already arrived, although there is yet one night." So he called one of his wives, and getting on their horses they set out to find the Snake camp. They took the trail up over the mountain, and soon came in sight of the lodges. It was a big camp. Every open place in the valley was covered with lodges, and the hills were dotted with horses; for the Snakes had a great many more horses than the Piegans.

Some of the Snakes saw the Piegans coming, and they ran to the chief, saying: "Two strangers are in sight, coming this way. What shall be done?"

"Do not harm them," replied the chief. "They are friends of mine. I have been expecting them." Then the Snakes wondered, for the chief had told them nothing about his war trip.

Now when Owl Bear had come to the camp, he asked in signs for the chiefs lodge, and they pointed him to one in the middle. It was small and old. The Piegan got off his horse, and the Snake chief came out and hugged him and kissed him, and said: "I am glad you have come to-day to my lodge. So are my people. You are tired. Enter my lodge and we will eat." So they went inside and many of the Snakes came in, and they had a great feast.

Then the Snake chief told his people how he had met the Piegan, and how brave he was, and that now they were going to make a great peace; and he sent some men to tell the people, so that they would be ready to move camp in the morning. Evening came. Everywhere people were shouting out for feasts, and the chief took Owl Bear to them. It was very late when they returned. Then the Snake had one of his wives make a bed at the back of the lodge; and when it was ready he said: "Now, my friend, there is your bed. This is now your lodge; also the woman who made the bed, she is now your wife; also everything in this lodge is yours. The parfleches, saddles, food, robes, bowls, everything is yours. I give them to you because you are my friend and a brave man."

"You give me too much," replied Owl Bear. "I am ashamed, but I take your words. I have nothing with me but one wife. She is yours."

Next morning camp was broken early. The horses were driven in, and the Snake chief gave Owl Bear his whole band,--two hundred head, all large, powerful horses.

All were now ready, and the chiefs started ahead. Close behind them were all the warriors, hundreds and hundreds, and last came the women and children, and the young men driving the loose horses. As they came in sight of the Piegan camp, all the warriors started out to meet them, dressed in their war costumes and singing the great war song. There was no wind, and the sound came across the valley and up the hill like the noise of thunder. Then the Snakes began to sing, and thus the two parties advanced. At last they met. The Piegans turned and rode beside them, and so they came to the camp. Then they got off their horses and kissed each other. Every Piegan asked a Snake into his lodge to eat and rest, and the Snake women put up their lodges beside the Piegan lodges. So the great peace was made.

In Owl Bear's lodge there was a great feast, and when they had finished he said to his people: "Here is the man whose scalp I took. Did I say I killed him? No. I gave him my knife and told him to kill me. He would not do it; and he gave me his knife, but I would not kill him. So we talked together what we should do, and now we have made peace. And now (turning to the Snake) this is your lodge, also all the things in it. My horses, too, I give you. All are yours."

So it was. The Piegan took the Snake's wife, lodge, and horses, and the Snake took the Piegan's, and they camped side by side. All the people camped together, and feasted each other and made presents. So the peace was made.

For many days they camped side by side. The young men kept hunting, and the women were always busy drying meat and tanning robes and cowskins. Buffalo were always close, and after a while the people had all the meat and robes they could carry. Then, one day, the Snake chief said to Owl Bear: "Now, my friend, we have camped a long time together, and I am glad we have made peace. We have dug a hole in the ground, and in it we have put our anger and covered it up, so there is no more war between us. And now I think it time to go. To-morrow morning the Snakes break camp and go back south."

"Your words are good," replied Owl Bear. "I too am glad we have made this peace. You say you must go south, and I feel lonesome. I would like you to go with us so we could camp together a long time, but as you say, so it shall be done. To-morrow you will start south. I too shall break camp, for I would be lonesome here without you; and the Piegans will start in the home direction."

The lodges were being taken down and packed. The men sat about the fireplaces, taking a last smoke together.

They were now great friends. Many Snakes had married Piegan women, and many Piegans had married Snake women. At last all was ready. The great chiefs mounted their horses and started out, and soon both parties were strung out on the trail.

Some young men, however, stayed behind to gamble a while. It was yet early in the morning, and by riding fast it would not take them long to catch up with their camps. All day they kept playing; and sometimes the Piegans would win, and sometimes the Snakes.

It was now almost sunset. "Let us have one horse race," they said, "and we will stop." Each side had a good horse, and they ran their best; but they came in so close together it could not be told who won. The Snakes claimed that their horse won, and the Piegans would not allow it. So they got angry and began to quarrel, and pretty soon they began to fight and to shoot at each other, and some were killed.

Since that time the Snakes and Piegans have never been at peace.

Native American Legends
Achomawi Creation Myth
An Achomawi Legend
In the beginning all was water. In all directions the sky was clear and unobstructed. A cloud formed in the sky, grew lumpy, and turned into Coyote. Then a fog arose, grew lumpy, and became Silver-Fox. They became persons. Then they thought. They thought a canoe, and they said, "Let us stay here, let us make it our home." Then they floated about, for many years they floated; and the canoe became old and mossy, and they grew weary of it.

"Do you go and lie down," said Silver-Fox to Coyote, and he did so. While he slept, Silver-Fox combed his hair, and the combings he saved. When there was much of them, he rolled them in his hands, stretched them out, and flattened them between his hands. When he had done this, he laid them upon the water and spread them out, till they covered all the surface of the water. Then he thought, "There should be a tree," and it was there. And he did the same way with shrubs and with rocks, and weighted the film down with stones, so that the film did not wave and rise in ripples as it floated in the wind. And thus he made it, that it was just right, this that was to be the world. And then the canoe floated gently up to the edge, and it was the world.

Then he cried to Coyote, "Wake up! We are going to sink!"

And Coyote woke, and looked up; and over his head, as he lay, hung cherries and plums; and from the surface of the world he heard crickets chirping. And at once Coyote began to cat the cherries and the plums, and the crickets also.

After a time Coyote said, "Where are we? What place is this that we have come to?"

And Silver-Fox replied, "I do not know. We are just here. We floated up to the shore."

Still all the time he knew; but he denied that he had made the world. He did not want Coyote to know that the world was his creation. Then Silver-Fox said, "What shall we do? Here is solid ground. I am going ashore, and am going to live here."

So they landed, and built a sweat-house and lived in it. They thought about making people; and after a time, they made little sticks of service-berry, and they thrust them all about into the roof of the house on the inside. And by and by all became people of different sorts, birds and animals and fish, all but the deer, and he was as the deer are today. And Pine-Marten was the chief of the people; and Eagle was the woman chief, for she was Pine- Marten's sister. And this happened at 'texcag-wa [the word will not translate].

And people went out to hunt from the sweat-house. And they killed deer, and brought them home, and had plenty to eat. Arrows with pine-bark points were what they used then, it is said, for there was no obsidian. And Ground-Squirrel, of all the people, he only knew where obsidian could be found. So he went to steal it.

To Medicine Lake he went, for there Obsidian-Old-Man lived, in a big sweat- house. And Ground-Squirrel went in, taking with him roots in a basket of tules. And he gave the old man some to eat; and he liked them so much, that he sent Ground-Squirrel out to get more. But while he was digging them Grizzly-Bear came, and said, "Sit down! Let me sit in your lap. Feed me those roots by handfuls."

So Ground-Squirrel sat down, and fed Grizzly-Bear as he had asked, for he was afraid. Then Grizzly-Bear said, "Obsidian-Old-Man's mother cleaned roots for some one," and went away.

Ground-Squirrel went back to the sweat- house, but had few roots, for Grizzly-Bear had eaten so many. Then he gave them to the old man, and told him what the bear had said about him, and how he had robbed him of the roots. Then Obsidian-Old-Man was angry. "Tomorrow we will go," he said, Then they slept.

In the morning they ate breakfast early and went off, and the old man said that Ground-Squirrel should go and dig more roots, and that he would wait, and watch for Grizzly-Bear.

So Ground-Squirrel went and dug; and when the basket was filled, Grizzly-Bear came, and said, "You have dug all these for me. Sit down!"

So Ground-Squirrel sat down, and fed Grizzly-Bear roots by the handful. But Obsidian-Old-Man had come near. And Grizzly-Bear got up to fight, and he struck at the old man; but he turned his side to the blow, and Grizzly-Bear merely cut off a great slice of his own flesh. And he kept on fighting, till he was all cut to pieces, and fell dead. Then Ground-Squirrel and Obsidian-Old-Man went home to the sweat-house, and built a fire, and ate the roots, and were happy. Then the old man went to sleep.

In the morning Obsidian-Old-Man woke up, and heard Ground-Squirrel groaning. He said, "I am sick. I am bruised because that great fellow sat upon me. Really, I am sick."

Then Obsidian-Old-Man was sorry, but Ground-Squirrel was fooling the old man. After a while the old man said, "I will go and get wood. I'll watch him, for perhaps he is fooling me. These people are very clever."

Then he went for wood; and he thought as he went, "I had better go back and look."

So he went back softly, and peeped in; but Ground-Squirrel lay there quiet, and groaned, and now and then he vomited up green substances. Then Obsidian-Old -Man thought, "He is really sick," and he went off to get more wood; but Ground-Squirrel was really fooling, for he wanted to steal obsidian.

When the old man had gotten far away, Ground-Squirrel got up, poured out the finished obsidian points, and pulled out a knife from the wall, did them up in a bundle, and ran off with them.

When the old man came back, he carried a heavy load of wood; and as soon as he entered the sweat-house, he missed Ground-Squirrel. So he dropped the wood and ran after him. He almost caught him, when Ground-Squirrel ran into a hole, and, as he went, kicked the earth into the eyes of the old man, who dug fast, trying to catch him.

Soon Ground-Squirrel ran out of the other end of the hole; and then the old man gave chase again, but again Ground-Squirrel darted into a hole; and after missing him again, Obsidian-Old-Man gave up, and went home.

Ground-Squirrel crossed the river and left his load of arrow-points, and came back to the house and sat down in his seat. He and Cocoon slept together. Then his friend said, "Where have you been?"

And Ground-Squirrel replied, "I went to get a knife and to get good arrow-points. We had none."

Then the people began to come back with deer. And when they cooked their meat, they put it on the fire in lumps; but Ground-Squirrel and Cocoon cut theirs in thin slices, and so cooked it nicely.

And Weasel saw this, and they told him about how the knife had been secured. In the morning Ground-Squirrel went and brought back the bundle of points he had hidden, and handed it down through the smoke-hole to Wolf. Then he poured out the points on the ground, and distributed them to every one, and all day long people worked, tying them onto arrows. So they threw away all the old arrows with bark points; and when they went hunting, they killed many deer.

WOW!! Guess, I can't "assume" my grandfather was half Mohawk, since my Gram said "Candian Indian" and so many of the nations were pushed up into Canada!

I HAD a geneology disc here, but never used it. I'm going to try to find it.

All the woman on Grandpa's side had jet black hair..and he always loved to fish at Lake Champlain with Gram (quite a long way away from where they lived..near Canada). She told me, that when they were young..they went there very often.

Unfortunately, all my elderly relatives on Grandpa's side are gone now. Gram died at 99, 2 years ago. But I remember her fondly remembering the early years, before Grandpa fell into the throes of alcoholism. He died at my age..55..of a massive heart attack. His sisters and their daughters and his daughters all had black hair and tanned easily.

But his last name was Dutch..and so they had ice blue eyes.

Gram was Dutch and Irish, so she was very, very fair with ice blue eyes.

This is my Mom's side. As I said, Mom just says "We're American" when I ask about the Canadian Indian roots, Gram spoke of.

You have me so enthralled here, Tribo..I'm loving these histories.

Sooo, it appears Grandpa's roots could be from any of the Iroquois Nation, since nearly all were pushed into Canada. I'm not going to assume he was 1/2 Mohawk until I research it further.

I so loved the stories/histories of the gentle, strong and spiritual Mi'kmaq.

I still have a lot of reading to do, to catch up. But thanks again for the "bedtime" stories. I love them! I can tell this is a passion of yours too, Tribo...and you are passing it on to me.

Thanks, friend! Or rather, nia:wen...for now (Mohawk for thank you.)

You're fortunate you know your Native American roots. My Mom is very stoic and she and I are like oil and water..so when I ask questions, of any sort as to the family, she dismisses it. She and my sister are convinced I'm from Mars! LOL

That's okay...I'd rather be like my Mom's Mom...sweet Gram and my dearly beloved Dad. Gram taught me the gift of love and laughter and Dad taught me principles, laughter, and love of cats. Yep, he was a cat man. Loved all animals, really. I miss him.

Happy Birthday Dad..officially Sept. 7th, and it's his birthday. Gone 15 yrs in October, but not a day goes by that I don't think and/or speak of him. Look just like him, so when I look in the mirror I SEE him daily, also.

Nia:wen Tribo...wonderful friend! I plan to read every bit of all of this..have been skipping around, as something catches my eye and so have missed a lot. I want to go back and read more of Black Elk, too. I became intrigued with the Mi'kmaq, what an amazing ancient people!

I've learned so very much by just reading what you are sharing...and it's making me want to learn more and more.

We have various ethnic celebrations at Hunter's Mountain, here in New York, not far from Woodstock. Most go for the German and Irish ones, for the booze and food..lol.

I went to Native American one years ago. I couldn't fully appreciate it, as it was prior to 1987, when I got sober. I'm going to find out when the next one is and go now..sober..and soak it all in. It's wonderful! Traditional dancing and all sorts of wonderful, proud people.

With your love of the Native American culture..you may want to make a trip to Hunter Mountain for it..if not this year, maybe next year. I didn't pay attention to details, as I was drinking then. Next time, I will..and it will be a wonderful time..I'm sure!

Heading to bed, friend. The cat lady has been lulled to sleep with your "bedtime stories", and I appreciate the time you've put into this so very much.

I'll be back tomorrow..backtrack and read everything in order (I'll try again..lol). The Mi'kmaq captured me tonight.

Nia:wen again...

My fellow Arian Karahkwa (Sun) friend!

I'll hunt down some Cherokee words..since I don't even KNOW if my roots are Mohawk, as of yet, after reading that basically ALL of New York's nations were "pushed" into Canada! I DO know it's "Canadian Indian"..which means nothing, I now see..as it could be any of many.

That way I can speak YOUR language!

I just discovered THIS..that Cherokee is the same basic language of the New York Iroquoian nations.
=======

Language: Cherokee--more properly spelled Tsalagi--is an Iroquoian language with an innovative written syllabary invented by a Cherokee scholar. 22,000 people speak Tsalagi today, primarily in Oklahoma and North Carolina. Though it is one of the healthier Indian languages of North America and the one in which the most literature being published, Tsalagi is still in imperiled condition because of government policies as late as the fifties which enforced the removal of Cherokee children from Tsalagi-speaking homes, reducing the number of young Cherokees being raised bilingually from 75% to less than 5% today.
=============
HOW SAD!! But thank God for the Internet...and the links I sent you for kids. I learned a lot from the Mohawk's "kid's" page. The languages may yet be preserved!

Here's a link as to the Cherokee..you may have it, but just in case you don't...

http://www.native-languages.org/cherokee.htm

Okay, in Cherokee..via word interpretation: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stadium/7075/cherokee/cpicsModern/eng-cher.html

gega, oginanili

NIA:WEN D, if i may call you thst my lady. well i'm glad someone is interested to read this you give me a reason to keep going on the subject. i thank you for the sites i will definitely check them out. i learn from all i have posted as well and that is good. i will continue with the stories for i find them to be of great help in understanding things not known, meaning all stories,myths, etc., have a kernal of truth to them and hats what i try to see - what truth their may be for them to be based on. there are many so i will be posting them for awhile yet - hope you keep reading and learning along with myself as well -

Yes I will, Tribo! I love them!! Heading back to read some more..been skipping all over the place! lol Something will catch my eye and BAM I'm there. I need to read them in order..which I am going to begin doing tonight, friend!

Nia:wen

Donna

"But if the vision was true and mighty, as I know, it is true and mighty yet; for such things are of the spirit, and it is in the darkness of their eyes that men get lost."

From "The Story of the Pipe" by Black Elk and posted by Tribo.

How true is this statement!!

Still reading from the beginning of your posts, Tribo. I told you how I used to be such an avid reader and the internet ruined that..well, your posts have me back to reading at night again...and learning of "the first people".

Oh and I read somewhere, when I was all over as to the Mohawks the other night, that the Mohawks deny that they ate man's flesh..that was said of them by tribes they fought. I wish I bookmarked the page, so I could remember which tribe it was. I'm wondering why they were called "cowards" by a tribe or tribes. They wiped out the Mohigan tribe and were fierce warriers. Guess even back then, there was bravado and name-calling between warring factions, eh??

We have an Algonquin Park up home..I just remembered that tonight, as I was reading your posts.

Also, I'm wondering if I go to Sir. William Johnson's Hall, if they will tell what tribes were there at the time he lived. It will give me a good idea of who my Native American ancestors were, as I believe my Grandfather's family always lived in that area..at the base of the Adirondacks.

Yet, he loved Lake Champlain, though, as I said. So, although I have no one to ask..I'm wondering if he had relatives up there. That's way up in northeast NY..bordering the New England states. My Gram and he fished there all the time, when they were young. We had many, many lakes right in our area..so for him to travel so far to go fishing, I'm thinking he may have been familiar with the area and fished there as a child, with relatives.

All my elderly relatives have passed on Mom's side..so I have no one to ask. I'm itching to know now..so will do a search for that geneology disc I had and do my own family tree on Mom's side.

My Dad's side will be next to impossible..intrigue there! Hah! My German Grandfather's father's family came over and all of his brother's moved out west and Dad said they never heard from them again. Sadly, all of the males on Dad's side died of alcoholism..heck, even on Mom's! So no surprise I was an alcoholic..got sober in 1987, though, thank God..as did my cousins. So, we broke the chain.

Anyway, my Irish Grandmother was born out of wedlock, the child of my Greatgrandfather..and his wife agreed to take her in and raise her. Odd, eh? Must have been an EXTREMELY kind woman!

So, Dad said he didn't know anything about his mother's mother in Ireland..and sadly his Mom died of diabetes when Dad was 10.

Anywho, back to my 1/2 Indian Grandfather. I think just maybe HIS father may have moved to midstate and MAY have been from the northwestern part of NYS.

My curiousity about this is making me nuts here..hope I can find that disc and do some research. I'm not counting on my cousin's wife "allowing" him to pass on what he found. IF I can't find the disc, I may give him a try, though. Why the woman dislikes me, is beyond me..I don't even KNOW her. lol People! Bah! Give me cats! lol

Have you done a family tree, Tribo? Is this all making you as curious as me? Seems so, by your knowledge seeking here.

It's awesome I met you...someone like me...who has a curious mind and loves to learn, just for the sake of learning. I've always been like that. If I don't know what a word means..I will ALWAYS look it up. Used to keep a pad on the nightstand and as I read, write down the words I didn't know and the page number. That way the story flowed, and I still could go back and look up the word and the context it was used in.

Since all of Mom's Dad's sisters were dark complected and had jet black hair, I'm wondering if Grandpa's Dad was Dutch/Indian, and he was possibly more than 1/2. Won't know until I do that family tree..and trust me I will do it now, thanks to you planting this seed!

I can be a pitbull as to seeking knowledge of something that interests me. It's how I self-taught myself with the Astrology from 19 yrs old through now at 55! (My Aries Sun..lol) and I see you share that. Our birthdays are a day apart..and the day the Mohawk treaty was signed, was my birthday...lol. Well, not the year. hehehe
But the day of the month. I'm a day before you.

I'm finding such a correlation with Astrology in so much of this. Astrology is based so much on the elements...and the sky...both things the Native Americans knew much of and worshiped.

The Zodiac is a real constellation...and that is how the birth chart is determined! Where the Sun, Moon and each planet was located at the time of your birth. There are ties to Greek mythology and also to Native American mythology. Interesting to see. If you are interested in Astrology..there's a great book "Parker's Astrology"..shows how Astrology and Astronomy were once one science, until the Priest grew jealous of the power the Astrologers has over the countries' leader and threw Astrology into the "occult bag". The book is a "coffee table" book..lovely pictures and contains both Astronomy and Astrology..as they ARE one, in reality. Also, goes into ancient Astrology, etc. It was one of my first Astrology books, and I'm on my second one, as the first one fell apart. I just mention this, as I keep seeing so many ties to Astrology in the Native American culture. Sun Sign Astology is crap..in reality it's so very deep..even after all these years, I am still learning new stuff. Something to maybe grab your interest in the future. I don't get into Tarot or any of the stuff (except the healing gem stones). Astrology just got in my blood and stayed there.

I'm back to rambling..but it's very late.

I'll continue to plod along with my reading...so please know I'm enjoying very much all of your posts, my friend. This topic is my favorite place to be when I sign on..and I look forward to it.

Going to read a bit more then off to bed before the Sun rises. Fibro Cat Lady night for me...but at least I'm reading and learning..doing something productive and mind expanding.

See you later today, my friend!

Nia:wen, yet again!

Donna

PS I'm kinda hoping I find Grandpa was Mi'kmaq. I find their culture so very intriging and love their concept of spirituality...honoring all living things. I kill nothing (as you had said about yourself) except venomous insects or snakes.

I actually used to catch mice my cats were doing the "posse" after, and let them outside. Also, was teased at work, as I let a cricket outside..the gals all sang "Born Free". lol I can't even fish anymore, as I did when younger..can't kill the bait nor the fish! Real "creature" softie here.

Since the Mi'kmaq were based in New England and Lake Champlain is bordering there..could just be. We shall see, one way or another I "need" to know now. This Arian "pitbull" is on a mission now, thanks to you, Tribo!

I also love this, posted by Smiless, early in this topic.

It may be fun to post "The Last of the Mohicans" in here, for us to read..I found it in one of my Mohawk links, as it tells much about the Native American way of living and the whole book is in that link..I could copy it and we could read it and learn more. But, for now I'm enjoying and very content with your posts, especially Black Elk. Wonder if more stories like that from other tribal spiritual leaders can be found. Something else to explore down the road, to keep this wonderful topic alive. After I catch up on your readings, I'll help and see what I can dig up, too. I love the Black Elk story, as it brings the whole experience to life for me. Guess it did for you, too, since you posted it.

Again, Nia:wen friend. I need to stop jabbering and get a snack and SLEEP, so I don't sleep the day away.