A Commemorative History of Aboriginal People in the Canadian Military
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Africville from the beginning
Herald arts reporter
Elissa Barnard
talks to writer George Elliott Clarke about his new play celebrating iconic Nova Scotia black community
Herald arts reporter
Elissa Barnard
talks to writer George Elliott Clarke about his new play celebrating iconic Nova Scotia black community
While the story of Africville’s ending is a sad one, people should celebrate its beginning .
That’s why the Africville Heritage Trust commissioned award-winning writer George Elliott Clarke to write Settling Africville, premiering Saturday, 7 p.m., with shows Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m., at Alderney Landing Theatre, as a fundraiser for the Africville Museum.
“The black communities in Nova Scotia were the first free black communities outside of Africa," says Sunday Miller, the trust’s executive director.
“These communities were established by Africans who had been enslaved and gotten their freedom. It’s something we should celebrate."
Africville, destroyed by the City of Halifax in the 1960s, was founded by black War of 1812 refugees, though, as with most early history, there are conflicting stories, says Miller, whose ancestors were black loyalists from the South Shore.
“There are rumours there were blacks living here in the 1700s," she says.
It’s possible a few of the black loyalists who left Birchtown for Halifax and Sierra Leone settled in Africville.
“We do know the first two people to purchase land in the area were black refugees who had been settled in Hammonds Plains: William Arnold and William Brown."
Clarke, a native of Windsor and professor of Canadian literature at the University of Toronto, is populating his story with the historical characters of Baptist minister and abolitionist Richard Preston, Lord Dalhousie, governor of Nova Scotia from 1816 to 1820, politician- journalist Joseph Howe and politician, judge and author Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
“One history tells us that Preston and Howe used to debate each other; Howe’s writings reveal that he liked to look at black women and Haliburton’s nauseatingly racist sketch about a black minister might very well have been an attack on Preston’s proselytizing," Clarke says.“It was fascinating to revisit these very real, historical connections — but with a lot of humour, I hope."
Clarke, who is coming to Halifax to see the play and read at Sunday’s Word on the Street, is descended from War of 1812 refugees on his mother’s side and he’s partly aboriginal.
“I’m Eastern Woodlands Metis-Africandian!"
When the black refugees were asking the government for “more bad land grants," he says, Preston was co-founding the African United Baptist Association.
“This coincidence suggests that the development of black communities in Nova Scotia was less about awful land grants than it was about ex-African Americans determining to build free lives for themselves — together— even if on poor land."
Asked how important it is for people to know this history, he said, simply, “A tree without roots is dead."
The history of black settlers surviving against great odds is not celebrated because “they weren’t treated well," said Miller. “Because of that we don’t look at the significance of these communities."
Today, she is concerned about the survival of the museum, housed in a replica of the Seaview United African Baptist Church, destroyed when the city razed Africville after forcing its residents to sell their houses for little money and move.
The museum needs money “so we can keep our doors open since we don’t have operating funds," says Miller. “We are a national historic site. You’d think we’d get something."
In February 2010, Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly made history by apologizing to the people of Africville, an apology supported by the allocation of land and $3 million. The settlement funds have paid for rebuilding the church and the museum.
“That’s not gone but that’s only going to last so long," Miller says. “We can’t wait until it’s gone. We’ve got to start doing something."
She hopes to raise $15,000 and to stage Settling Africville, directed by Juanita Peters and produced by San Family Productions,
again.
Settling Africville, George Elliott Clarke's new play about the revolutionary creation of the War of 1812 black refugee community at Africville, premieres Saturday, 7 p.m., and Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 and $20 for students and seniors (plus ser vice charges) through www.ticket pro.ca.
Settling Africville, George Elliott Clarke’s new play about the revolutionary creation of the War of 1812 black refugee community at Africville, premieres Saturday. It stars John O’Keefe as Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Jacob Sampson as Richard Preston, Naomi Joy Blackhall as Bailey and Drew O’Hara as Joseph Howe. TIM KROCHAK • Staff
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BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Sept 1- Vietnam-Draft Dodgers and Vietnam Vets Canada - Canadian Bill of Rights- from 1960/ Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. - “Heaven,” said King, “was the word for Canada.” -SPEECH- Dr. Martin Luther King in Canada - 1a - Massey Lecture 1967 - Conscience for Change /- Diefenbaker- “I am a Canadian, a free Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship God in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” /JOHN F KENNEDY AND HIS VIETNAM WAR- CANADA /How The Civil War Saved Canada
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ACADIAN NOVA SCOTIA- HARD OLD WORKERS
Memories of apple pickers
LAURENT D’ENTREMONT CONTRIBUTING WRITER
When summer is over I am often reminded of the apple pickers for the fall harvest and that old country/ folk ballad called When the work’s all done this fall. This numb er was written by American cowboy poet, D.J. O’Malley in the late 1800s, perhaps as a poem at first, but later music was added and a few of the early singers, including Nova Scotia born Wilf Carter, recorded it to great success around the year1934 or so.
The song begins with a “jolly bunch of cowboys" spinning yarns, and one cowboy talks about being “an old cow-puncher, dressed in rags" drifting from job to job, and of not having seen his mother in years. When he had left home his mother had begged him not to go. Many years later he was finally returning home, to see his mother, as soon as the work was all done in the fall. However, while standing guard for the herd, one dark and stormy night, his plans would change. The cattle got frightened and stampeded, the cowboy tried to head them off riding his horse at full gallop.
Riding in the darkness his saddle horse did stumbled and fell on him, and sadly, the cowboy did not see his mother when the work was all done in the fall.
The title of this song could equally have applied to the apple pickers from my village who worked on Annapolis Valley farms each fall. When I was growing up — and long before that —some of our Yarmouth County fishermen would go on the apple harvest to earn a few extra bucks when swordfishing was over in September and before lobstering started in December. Fishermen were used to hard work and long hours and loved the apple harvest. They always spoke well of the Valley farmers.
Although I remember those days, it was mostly over by the time I was old enough to join the migrant work crews. Delmar d’Entremont, now 94 years old from my neighbourhood, still remembers working for a farmer named Joe Sproule in the days leading to the Second World War.
He worked for 75 cents a day. At the break of day, with a 14-year-old boy for a helper, they would milk 26 cows and then pick apples until 7 p.m. By that time it was necessary to milk all 26 cows all over again. The next year Delmar got a job near Bridgetown, working at piecework, where he could earn a whole lot more for a day’s work and did not have to milk two dozen plus cows. Others from my village went to work for Mr. Willis Isley or the Foote family near Lakeville. Two from my neighbourhood were hired as apple pickers on the farm of Fred and Waldo Walsh from Rockland, near Berwick. Many apple pickers made lasting friendships and some still keep in touch with Valley families.
In the mid 1930s, my uncle Ambroise (Ti-Boise) d’Entremont, who is no longer living, was working for the Foote family when he received the sad news that his mother (my grandmother, Annie, that I never knew) had died. He was only 23 years old at the time and had no way of coming home for the funeral. That very same year the song When the work’s all done this Fall was on the radio every day, but my uncle never liked the song because the last line of this well known classic went: “And he’ll not see his mother, boys, when the work’s all done this fall." I guess this number was hitting a bit too close to home.
Although I can understand my uncle’s feelings, I do not share them with him. He did not like the song at all or any of Wilf Carter’s music for that matter. In my humble opinion few people can do a better job on this number than Marty Robbins or dear old Wilf whose roots runs deep in the Annapolis Valley. And like my uncle, many of us won’t see our mothers either “When the work’s all done this fall" but I sure do love the old country/ folk ballad.
(You can go online and hear Marty Robbins sing it).
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Leonard Paul's - Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq brilliant artist - Len's Tranquility
Woman’s cloth bag decorated with glass beads and cotton thread, Mi’kmaq culture, 1870–1910 -----------------------
A Commemorative History of Aboriginal People in the Canadian Military
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| The First Peoples of Canada | |||
| Where Did Canada's First People Come From? | |||
| Canada's Multicultural First Peoples | |||
Today Canada is the most multi-cultural country in the world, and the home of immigrants of every ethnic and religious group from every country in the world.
But less than 500 years ago, the only people living in Canada were the Aboriginal people of Canada. "Aboriginal" means the original inhabitants, the people who were here first. The words "Native" or "Indigenous" are also used, and mean the same thing.
Today they all collectively refer to themselves as the First Nations or First Peoples of Canada. However, there are many different cultural groups.
Canada’s first people used at least 53 different languages. Each group referred to themselves by a specific name in their own language.
For instance, the Inuit - colloquially know for years as Eskimos - have always referred to themselves as Inuit - the People. Or in the singular as an Inuk - a person.
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| Migration Across the Land Bridge Between Asia & North America | |||
Scientists do not agree on where First Nations people came from, or how they got to North America, but they do know that First Nations people are genetically related to people in parts of Asia.
Scientists know that First Nations people have lived in what is now Canada for at least 12,000 years, because they have found bones and artifacts that go back that far. Many scientists now believe that some of the First Peoples may have been here for much longer than that.
For a long time, scientists believed that the ancestors of all North American First Nations people crossed over on foot to North America from Asia at the end of the last ice age, about 12,000 years ago.
At that time Asia and North America were joined, and what is now the bottom of the Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska was dry land, (a "land bridge) because sea levels were much lower than they are now. The earliest man-made artifacts – tools or ornaments that archaeologists have found – date from that time.
The theory is that nomadic hunting people followed the big animals (moose, deer, elk, buffalo) for food, and eventually moved south and spread out as the ice sheets melted back. Then they evolved different cultures to suit different environments.
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| Other Scientific Theories | |||
Scientists now think that the ancestors of First Nations people may have come to North America from several different parts of Asia and Polynesia, following several different routes.
Some may have come on woven reed rafts, or boats, across the Pacific from Asia and various islands.
Still others may have crossed the ice fields that once connected Europe and North America. The Inuit, who live in the high Arctic, were probably the last to arrive.
|  Reed Boat on Lake Titicaca Courtesy of www.ronelgas.com | ||
| Local Oral Traditions Indicate Long Occupancy | |||
Some First Nations people believe, through their oral tradition, that their ancestors have lived in North America for much longer than scientists indicate.
Scientific theory is always evolving as new evidence is found, and some startling discoveries continue to push back the earliest known dates for human occupancy of North America.
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| Important Recent Archaeological Finds | |||
To learn more about the ancestors of First Nations people, scientists study human bones that are found preserved in dry caves, or in frozen riverbanks where they have not rotted away.
Scientists determine the age of the bones from the age of sediment layers where they are found, or from the style of tools found with the bones.
Some of the most important finds of human skeletons have been in the Yukon, in the American Southwest, and in the Andes in South America.
|  Yukon archaeological site Courtesy of Government of the Yukon | ||
| Studying the Bones | |||
For countless years, white anthropologists and archaeologists have dug up bones of First Nations peoples and taken them away and stored them in drawers in museums, taking the bones out every now and then to probe, and poke them for information. This practice made many Aboriginal People angry.
Recent laws state that any bones found must be turned over to the First Nations bands in the area for burial.
Today, many bands are cooperating enthusiastically in the anthropological study of ancient human bones, because they want to learn more about their ancestors.
These days, First Nations people are working alongside the scientists, and some are becoming scientists themselves.
|  Dave Hunt, Collections Manager for Physical Anthropology, discovers what the bones tell - in this case a poorly healed fracture of the femur. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History | ||
| Cultural Signs of Past Occupation of the Land | |||
Tipi rings are circles of rocks that were once used to hold the bottom of a tipi down.
In eastern Canada, archaeologists have found post moulds, that show them where Iroquois longhouses once stood.
By mapping all these cultural signs, scientists can find the places that were occupied by First Nations people, and trace the routes they followed over the years.
|  Aerial view of tipi rings in Saskatchewan Courtesy of Royal Museum of Saskatchewan | ||
| Canada's First Peoples: Official Categories | |||
Canada’s Native people are still referred to officially in three broad categories by government for administrative purposes, and in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
In the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada's First Peoples are referred to as Indians, Inuit, and Metis. The Charter recognizes the special Aboriginal Rights of Inuit, Indians, and Metis.
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| The Canadian Government Department that specifically deals with First Peoples and the North is called Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) |  | ||
Culture and Heritage
Like other First Nations, the Mi’kmaq people have a long and rich history that includes unique cultural, social, political and spiritual traditions. However, with centuries old European contact and the subsequent domination of European policies and culture, many of these traditions have been eroded and lost.
In Newfoundland and Labrador this has been most acutely felt by the Mi’kmaq. Exclusion from recognition as status Indians through the province’s Terms of Union with Canada in 1949 and the perpetuation of myths in history books and popular culture have served to obscure the very real culture and traditions of the Mi’kmaq Nation.
Many of the new members of the Qalipu Band will have grown up in a vacuum of information and knowledge of their heritage. Qalipu is reaching out to these individuals and providing them with information and experiences that will assist them in the discovery process.
The Culture and Heritage division is responsible for preserving and promoting the culture, language, and traditions of the Mi’kmaq people of Newfoundland and Labrador. It will identify Band members who have a commitment to preserving and promoting culture and heritage and designate cultural ambassadors. It is also responsible for ensuring cultural documentation and promoting the involvement of youth and Elders in cultural activities within the Band.
Our people have a long and rich history of cultural, social, political and spiritual traditions. However, after centuries of European contact and the subsequent domination of European policies and culture, many of our Mi’kmaw traditions have been eroded, if not completely lost.
Prior to European contact, it is thought that Mi’kmaq people were great travelers, hunters and traders. Exposure to other native groups and then with the Europeans was extensive. While the adoption of new materials and ways may have obscured what might be considered purely Mi’kmaq, it is also indicative of other relevant Mi’kmaq characteristics, namely curiousity, innovation, a willingness to adapt and the determination to survive.
Today, we are committed, not only, to the preservation of any traditional ways that remain available to us, but also to re-educating ourselves and learning about ways that we have lost, such as our language, Mi’kmaw craft, sacred rites, and spiritual practices. We are also enthusiastically embracing the challenges in developing yet new rituals and ceremonies that will reflect more honestly, our contemporary membership, and our own spiritual and cultural ways.
About The Caribou/Qalipu
The caribou were a staple of the Mi’kmaq people and were essential to their survival in Newfoundland. They were used for food, tools, clothing, wigwam covering and floor blankets, caribou-skin canoes, moccasins, snowshoes, caribou-hide packsacks. Mi’kmaq used looms to make caribou hair wool, which was used in straps for the packsacks. So the Mi’kmaq used the caribou for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.
The caribou were always available for the use of the Mi’kmaq, who knew their migratory paths and followed the caribou through the seasons. Using a name that is linked to wandering and migration makes sense for a landless band, because the native people lived a lifestyle similar to the caribou. They were not tied down to surveyed and fenced-in land, and they travelled the length and breadth of Newfoundland in their wanderings.
The caribou, even in early times, were considered noble and dignified. Their uses are woven into the lifestyle and history of Newfoundland Mi’kmaq.
Mi’kmaq Spirituality
Traditionally, Mi’kmaw spirituality was holistic. Our Ancestors believed that all living things—plants, animals and humans—had a spirit and everything was interdependent on each other. Central to this belief, was the sun, which they understood to be the Creator (or God) and the giver of all—life, food and shelter, and the caribou. In the past, the Mi’kmaq called their spiritual leaders ‘puoin’ who used medicinal plants and guardian spirits in their role as healers of the sick. Our ancestors taught us to honour the gifts given each day and before taking the life of an animal for sustenance. We continue to practice their underlying credo to honour and respect everything and everyone.
Early Mi’kmaw spirituality was intertwined in all aspects of their lives—in their language and songs, their stories and dances, how they lived and interacted with each other.
Because of our belief that all things are part of nature and require respect, we Mi’kmaq give thanks when using an aspect of nature for our own needs. If a tree is cut down, or a plant uprooted, or an animal killed for food, a corresponding ritual is followed as a means of paying the proper respect. Animals, such as the moose, give their lives so we Mi’kmaq may have food. We show respect to the moose by treating the remains with respect, never burning or giving them to household pets. These remains must be used to make something or buried.
Early Mi’kmaw spirituality was intertwined in all aspects of their lives—in their language and songs, their stories and dances, how they lived and interacted with each other.
Because of our belief that all things are part of nature and require respect, we Mi’kmaq give thanks when using an aspect of nature for our own needs. If a tree is cut down, or a plant uprooted, or an animal killed for food, a corresponding ritual is followed as a means of paying the proper respect. Animals, such as the moose, give their lives so we Mi’kmaq may have food. We show respect to the moose by treating the remains with respect, never burning or giving them to household pets. These remains must be used to make something or buried.
Offerings and Prayers/Teachings
The heart of our belief system is the sun (the Creator) that has given us all things. It is honour, respect, wisdom and love that motivate and guide us.
Our Mi’kmaw religion remains holistic and integrated into all aspects of life. It is important, then, for us to offer prayers to honour the sun, the Creator, the plants and creatures, the spirit world, our ancestors, our elders, our community and each other. These prayers reflect our deep respect for all these beings.
Now in the 21st century, we need to take stock and remind ourselves of our responsibility for current and pressing events and situations such as the environment, both locally and globally. Our children depend on us and we need to look after them. To become wise mentors to the next generations, we must also look after ourselves.
As a newly formed band, the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band, is working to create teachings and new ceremonial ways that integrate the core values of our ancestral Mi’kmaw spirituality into our modern world. We wish to maintain the integrity of the teachings of our Ancestors while making it relevant to our lives today.
We continue to learn from our Elders, from scholars and others who have spent lifetimes piecing together information from our ancestral past, and from the ways of other Aboriginal groups so that we can develop, better, our own ways of teaching.
The Sunrise Ceremony
The sun is the Creator. Each morning the ancient Mi’kmaq gave thanks to the rising sun for the beginning of each day (and again each evening to the setting sun for the bounty given that day). They considered this time of day as perfect for communicating with the Creator, the spirit world, and the ancestors. Today we try to preserve this practice at sunrise on special occasions through a series of prayers, chants, drumming and smudging. We give thanks to all aspects of life our spirits, our minds, our bodies and to the world in which we live. We take the opportunity to remind ourselves to always to respect each other and to protect the environment.
Ornamentation/Decoration
Ornamentation/decoration were thought to bring spiritual protection, status and power to the wearer. Women ground minerals, shells, and charcoal, mixing each with fish roe or egg yolk to make paint in traditional colours: red, white, black, and yellow. Pictures of animals, birds, people, spirit-helpers, and geometric patterns were painted onto robes and pouches. Porcupine quills, shells, bone, and feathers might also be added. On special occasions, faces and hair, and often legs, arms, and chests, were painted. Everyone painted their own designs. Men sometimes wore headdresses of bird wings or stiff moose hair dyed red. Decorated knife sheaths, pouches, and pipes completed the ceremonial dress. With the introduction of trade goods, clothing items and paraphernalia were decorated with beaded designs.
Today we enjoy the availability of many types of cloth, ribbons, feathers, beads and other decorative items to create regalia for special events such as Powwows and Aboriginal Day.
Symbols of our Ancestors included the Eight Pointed Star (sun), Rainbow Fans representing the Northern Lights and double curved motifs.
The Drum
The drum is the heartbeat of the Creator, the heartbeat of life and our people, we live the first nine months of our life in the womb of our mother listening to her heartbeat which sets the pattern of our existence; we play these drum in ceremonies to bring in the spirit of the Creator. The drumstick used to beat the drum is sometimes referred to as the arm of the Creator who is breathing life into the ceremonies. The drum, as the central element in all ceremonies, sits in a place of honour, its drumbeats calling to the spirits and ancestors for their intangible participation in the ritual.
Variations in the tone of the drum are created through the strength of the strike with the drum beater against the head or where on the drum it is struck. Tone and volume can be controlled by alternating the striking point from near the drum’s centre to closer to the edge, by placing a hand on the skin to completely stop the resonance between beats or by lightly touching the hide, to create various and subtle changes.
The soft drum stick delivers a softer and lower thud while a hard beater yields a higher and more ringing tone with greater resonance.
Sweetgrass and Smudging
Sweetgrass has been used for centuries by the Mi’kmaq. It is a sacred plant of our People, and used in our peace and healing rituals.
The leaves are dried and often made into braids (each strand represents a living thing). At the beginning of each ceremony, the sacred smoke from a smoldering braid is used to purify and protect our People from any negative energies (smudging). The smoke is also believed to travel between this world and the spirit world, carrying our prayers to the Creator and our thoughts and wishes to our People who have gone before us. Sweetgrass is one of the medicines that may be used in a smudging ceremony
Smudging is the act of wafting sacred smoke over oneself for purification. Everyone is welcome to participate in our ceremonies and are invited to join the circle. Smudging is the first part of our sacred ceremony but it is entirely voluntary. If you choose not to be smudged, politely say “nugumah” to the elder when you are approached. Smudging is a very personal act and most people develop their own way of doing it. Some bring the sacred smoke towards their own head, throat, arms, trunk and legs, others have the elder waft the smoke over them with a feather so their back is also smudged. Most of our smudging is done with a smoldering braid of sweetgrass. Sometimes it is carried out with a smudging bowl full of sacred fragrant herbs that may include sweetgrass, sage, cedar, birch fungus and/or tobacco.
Tobacco and Tobacco Ties
Tobacco is the most important sacred medicine for our People and is often carried in a small sacred bundle called a tie. Tobacco was used for cleansing or purification, and continues to serve the same purposes. While it can be smoked in pipes, it is used primarily for offerings. Early Mi’kmaw pipes were said to be made from twisted strips of birch bark which, once used, could be thrown away. The ancestors also smoked indigenous dried plant material such as “kinnikanik” the dried inner bark of the red willow or dried roots of the Michelmas daisy. Unlike today’s tobacco, these earlier sources were free from chemicals.
How to make a tobacco tie. Use a square of red 100% cotton with tying strips from the same material—cotton is preferred as it is natural and will break down easily; red is symbolic of the blood that runs through our veins. Place the cloth so that its corners face the four directions. Say a prayer to each of the four directions Place tobacco in the center of the material. First lift the corner that faces east. Continue to lift each of the other corners. Gather and tie with the material strip.
Language
The Mi’kmaq called themselves L’nu’k, which means ‘the people.’
The word Mi’kmaq comes from a word from the Mi’kmaq language, nikmaq, meaning ‘my kin-friends’ or ‘allies.’
Our chosen band name is Qalipu (pronounced hal-lay-boo) which means ‘caribou’.
The word Mi’kmaq comes from a word from the Mi’kmaq language, nikmaq, meaning ‘my kin-friends’ or ‘allies.’
Our chosen band name is Qalipu (pronounced hal-lay-boo) which means ‘caribou’.
The Mi’kmaw language stems from the Algonquian linguistic family and is related to other Algonquian languages such as Cree, Delaware, and Ojibway. It is a non-gender-specific, verb-oriented language. The structure of the language does not revolve around the object, as in English, but rather, centres on the action being discussed.
With the exception of early glyphs, the Mi’kmaw language is an oral tradition—a spoken language that remains so today.
There are eleven consonants in Micmac: p. t, k, q, j, s, l, m, n, w, and y and six vowels: a, e, i, o, and u, along with their corresponding long sounds, and schwa, denoted by a barred i.
We are continuing to learn our language with the help of elders from here and in Nova Scotia.
Oral Traditions
Talking Circle. When we need to resolve conflicts and issues, we turn to the talking circle. The circle—the earthly representation of the sun’s clockwise journey through the sky—ensures that we sit as equals, each person speaking in turn until an issue is resolved. Concensus is very important and decisions are not made until everyone has had a say. We strongly believe in this democratic method.
Healing Circle. The healing circle is a talking circle with the intention of specifically addressing or healing an individual or individuals. Often lead by an elder or spiritual leader, the healing circle is more formal than the talking circle. As many individuals attempt to cope with a life imposed by others, healing circles have become an essential aspect of our culture.
Myths and stories were used in the past to teach children about their world—about Mi’kmaw life, history, customs, and manners. They continue to be a means of communication, instruction and entertainment.
Native Plants With Medicinal Properties
The Mi’kmaq had their own powers of healing by using plants that have medicinal properties. Some are still used today.
Alder Bush is used to treat anemia, induce vomiting, for internal bleeding, urinary problems, sprains, bruises, backaches, itches, flux, and to cure hemorrhoids. Teas are made to cure diarrhea and toothaches, and bark mixtures are applied topically for rashes, sore eyes, and swelling.
Balsam fir: This is a very important medicinal tree. The tree is rich in Vitamin C and is used as a preventative medicine against colds and influenza. Balsam sap has healing and antiseptic qualities when applied to cuts and sores. Boiling the bark and roots creates a red dye.
Bunchberry is bland tasting but can be used in sauces and puddings. Mild teas from the roots are used to treat colic in infants. It was also used to treat kidney ailments and was effective in treating certain stomach problems. The leaves were chewed and softened before being applied to wounds.
Cedar: The Mi’kmaq may have had several medicinal uses for cedar, such as making a poultice to treat swollen hands and feet. The purifying nature is likely to be evident to anyone who uses it.
Coltsfoot grows along roadsides, and on waste and stony ground. It blooms in early spring, before dandelions. Dried leaves are used as a remedy against coughs and colds.
Labrador Tea grows in the acidic margins of bogs and black spruce forests. The leaves are sometimes used to make a tea. Labrador Tea spreads through soil to pull in nutrients. The tea is a tonic and was used to treat a variety of kidney ailments.
Yarrow: As a warm tea of this plant induces perspiration, it was used to treat fevers and colds. Yarrow stalks were pounded into a pulp that was was considered a good treatment when applied to bruises, sprains and swellings.
Yellow Birch. The inner bark is known to be nourishing and is chewed (or drank as a tea) to gain a bit of extra energy. It is also used to relieve indigestion and stomach cramps. The Mi’kmaq also used the bark to treat rheumatism.
Fireweed contains large quantities of tannin, and teas from the root or leaf are used to treat diarrhea, mouth sores, hemorrhoids, skin lesions and sores. It is a means of measuring the season: the lower the buds on the spike, the nearer the summer’s end!
Partridgeberry: This plant is known as “squaw vine” because it was taken during the late stages of pregnancy to ease the strain of childbirth.
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Canada, second largest country in the world in area (afterRussia), occupying roughly the northern two-fifths of the continent of North America.
Despite Canada’s great size, it is one of the world’s most sparsely populated countries. This fact, coupled with the grandeur of the landscape, has been central to the sense of Canadian national identity, as expressed by the Dublin-born writer Anna Brownell Jameson, who explored centralOntario in 1837 and remarked exultantly on “the seemingly interminable line of trees before you; the boundless wilderness around you; the mysterious depths amid the multitudinous foliage, where foot of man hath never penetrated…the solitude in which we proceeded mile after mile, no human being, no human dwelling within sight.” Although Canadians are comparatively few in number, however, they have crafted what many observers consider to be a model multicultural society, welcoming immigrant populations from every other continent. In addition, Canada harbours and exports a wealth of natural resources and intellectual capital equaled by few other countries.
2011 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations
Mother Tongue - Detailed Aboriginal Languages (85), Languages Spoken Most Often at Home - Detailed Aboriginal Languages (85), Other Languages Spoken Regularly at Home - Aboriginal Languages (12), Age Groups (13A), Sex (3) and Area of Residence (6) for the Population Excluding Institutional Residents of Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2011 Census
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Nova Scotia: The Cradle of Canadian Parliamentary Democracy
Two hundred and fifty years ago, on October 2, 1758, Nova Scotia’s first legislative assembly met in Halifax and Canadian Parliamentary government was born.
Two hundred and fifty years ago, on October 2, 1758, Nova Scotia's first legislative assembly met in Halifax and Canadian Parliamentary government was born. The twenty members of the assembly had been elected the previous July by the votes of Protestant, British males, over 21, owning freehold land, a franchise that seems remarkably restrictive to us, but was, in fact, liberal for that era.
With the national election drums summoning Canadians to the polls again this autumn, it is a good time to reflect on what was achieved in Nova Scotia more than two centuries ago and what lessons we might take from this historical event to meet the challenges of democracy in our era. The September 2008 "D250” Encounters With Canada youth summit in Halifax is an excellent initiative to achieve this purpose.
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In the most celebrated trial in Nova Scotia history, newspaperman Joseph Howe defended himself in a fight for freedom of the press with a crowd pleasing speech of over six hours (Source: Library and Archives Canada/PA-025486).
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Democracy, as succinctly defined by the Oxford Dictionary "is a form of government in which the power resides in the people and is exercised by them either directly or by means of elected representatives”. In the history of democracy, there are three major turning points of direct democracy, representative democracy and mass democracy, and in their application to Canada, Maritimers, especially Nova Scotians, have played a leading role.
Direct or participatory democracy was born in Athens in 500 B.C. In that era of kings and empires, the Athenian idea that average citizens should decide policy rather than elites may be the single most revolutionary innovation in the history of government. Male citizens of Athens, about 30 000 out of a population of about 250 000 (slaves and women were not entitled to vote), had the right to attend ten fixed meetings a year of the assembly where they deliberated on critical issues like war and peace. Gathered on the Pnyx, a hill in Athens, citizens listened, debated, and decided their fate.
Ever since then, Athens has been the model for participatory or strong democracy where citizens, as individuals, play the deciding role in public affairs. Canada, too, has a tradition of participatory governance, one especially enshrined in the history of our First Nations. There are over 600 First Nations in Canada and one should not make generalizations that apply to all, but there are some well-documented case studies on the procedures and principles which illustrated aboriginal governance. The operative rules were consensus and participation. The Great Binding Law of the Iroquois Nations, for example, contains 117 clauses. Some believe the origin of the Iroquois Confederacy goes as far back as the 12th Century, although it certainly goes back at least to the 15th. Tribes would choose a Peace Chief, a War Chief, and a Council of Elders. Women did not get the vote in Canada until 1918, but the Iroquois were a matriarchal society, with women choosing the representatives who attended the Councils. Representatives of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy even attended the congress of 1776 in Philadelphia where they exchanged ideas on governance with Benjamin Franklin.
In Eastern Canada, several First Nations formed the Wabanaki Confederacy, and the Mi'kmaq had a sophisticated tri-level of leadership. The villages had local Chiefs and Councils of Elders; several villages came together in Districts, presided over by a Saqamaw; and the eight Districts formed a Grand Council which had the responsibilities of relations with the other aboriginal nations and confederacies. Long before the European settlement, aboriginal people had developed sophisticated mechanisms of government and international relations and the basic principle of this system - consensus decision-making - is of continuing relevance to the modern age.
Direct democracy on the Athenian or aboriginal model had one major flaw: once you get beyond a certain size, it is not possible to put all your citizens atop a hill or around a campfire. The British solved the problem by a second great invention - a representative Parliament. Citizens would not decide issues individually, as in Athens, but they would elect representatives to do so on their behalf. The Pynx of the citizen assembly would evolve into a Parliament of representatives. In 1265, Simon de Montfort convened a Parliament which contained two knights from the shires, and two burgesses from each borough. For the first time, representatives of the people were part of an institution that advised and controlled the executive.
This was the institution transplanted to Nova Scotia in 1758. And, as in Great Britain, the struggle in Nova Scotia soon became how to transform a representative legislature into a responsible government. Parliament's initial role in Great Britain was to ensure that the Monarch heard the voices of the people as he or she wielded the executive powers of government. Britain had a "mixed constitution” comprised of an elected House of Commons, a hereditary House of Lords, and a Monarch. A mixed constitution was replicated in Nova Scotia and the other colonies in British North America. The appointed Governor ruled with the assistance of an appointed Executive Committee and an appointed Legislative Council. The elected Legislative Assembly had the power to approve laws and withhold supplies, but the source of colonial power was in the governor, who was accountable to the imperial government in Great Britain.
As the Legislative Assembly was being inaugurated in Nova Scotia, however, the British Parliament was evolving toward a government dependent on the votes of a majority of the members of the House of Commons (and thus, in theory, the people). George III of Great Britain is as significant for grudgingly conceding power to the parties represented in Parliament as he is for losing the American Revolution. In the 1780's the King was forced to accept a government that he detested (the Fox-North Coalition) because it commanded a majority in the House of Commons, and gradually the post of the Prime Minister began to supersede the power of the monarch.
The British debate over responsible government equally played out in Canada, with Nova Scotia leading the way. Nova Scotians began to demand that the members of the Executive Council, the forerunner to the Cabinet, should be responsible to the elected legislature, not the appointed governor. In 1836, for example, Joseph Howe, the leader of the Reform Movement (the liberals of the day), made the point that "all we ask for is what exists at home (Britain) - a system of responsibility to the people”. In 1847, the Nova Scotia Reformers won an election and in January 1848, when the Conservative government was defeated following a vote of non-confidence in the Assembly, the Governor General, Lord Elgin, called on James Uniacke, a Reformer, to become the leader of the new government. "Nova Scotia”, writes W.S. MacNutt, "was the first province of British North America in which responsible government was formally conceded and given effect.”
If direct democracy was the first turning point, and representative democracy and responsible government the second, mass democracy was the third mile stone in democracy's evolution. If the "people” were to choose their representatives, who made up the people? The initial answer in Nova Scotia in 1758 was Protestant men over 21 who owned property. But fairly quickly Nova Scotia began to expand the franchise (those entitled to vote) and soon surpassed Great Britain in defining the boundaries of citizenship. In 1789, the Nova Scotia Assembly removed religious restrictions affecting the right to vote (Roman Catholics in Great Britain had to wait until 1829 to enjoy the franchise). In 1854 Nova Scotia introduced universal male suffrage, dropping property restrictions and increasing the number of electors by 50%, the first jurisdiction in North America to do so. New Brunswick also innovated, introducing the secret ballot in 1855, a reform not adopted in Canada proper until 1874. This measure was crucial for reducing election violence. With public voting gangs could intimidate and wreck their vengeance on opponents. Robert Baldwin, the great Upper Canadian Reformer, once had to flee on horseback a howling election mob. Before Confederation, there were 20 deaths due to election violence, but the secret ballot and simultaneous voting (as opposed to staggered dates) ended the reign of electoral terror.
Women, however, had to wait until 1918 before they were considered as citizens entitled to vote federally; in this same year, Nova Scotia gave women the vote provincially. In Lower Canada in 1791, under the jurisdiction of the Civil Code rather than the Common Law, women who owned property could vote on the same basis as men, i.e. British conventions did not apply. For a time, Quebec was a leader in gender equity; but upon uniting with Canada in 1841 in the Act of Union, Quebec women lost this right and Quebec eventually became the last Canadian province to give women the vote in 1940. (Manitoba was the first in 1916.) Canadians learned from New Zealand, which led the world by giving women the vote in 1893.
Each of the three turning points of direct democracy, representative democracy and mass democracy continue to be issues for us today. Many citizens yearn to have a direct impact on policy rather than pleading with a bureaucrat or visiting the constituency office of a Member of Parliament. Some suggest that internet voting might be a technique that could replicate in Canada the direct democracy of the Pnyx in Athens. But how many citizens would engage in the process as opposed to special interest groups? The Aboriginal tradition of consensus equally depends on extensive discussion and mutual learning - how many citizens have the time to engage so intensively? Randomly selected citizen panels might be one answer. They have been already used to advise governments on electoral systems and in the United Kingdom they have been employed on broader issues such as city planning. But this democratic innovation depends on volunteers willing to spend their weekends discussing policy.
The representative institution of parliament also is badly in need of reform. Partisan-wrangling has reduced question period to a reality show circus, and many MP's feel that they have little influence on the executive. The origins of Parliament in 1265 were intended to provide some restraint on the power of the executive; how to re-balance power between the Prime Minister and Parliament today is as necessary as it was once to balance the power of the king.
In Lunenburg township, in Nova Scotia's first election in July 1758, 58 of 70 potential voters (or 82%) voted for 2 members from a list of 7 candidates. The percentage voting in Canada's last national election in 2006 was only 65% of registered voters. Canada's mass democracy is loosing its "mass”. According to Elections Canada, in the 2006 election the lowest turnout, at 44%, was from young voters 18-24, compared to 77% of voters 65-74. We know that turnout is related to personal efficacy - the amount of confidence individuals have in their knowledge of a subject. The calamitous decline of Canadian history in our school system may be a contributing factor in the low percentage of young people voting. If one does not know about the origins of Parliament, why vote for a Member of Parliament?
Democracy is always a work in progress. Issues change, and intuitions evolve. Canadian democracy is certainly in need of major repair as we face the next national general election: voting turnout is mediocre, parliamentary accountability is in decline, and citizens are frustrated in their ability to contribute to decisions that influence their lives. We must retain the optimism of Joseph Howe, the greatest of Nova Scotia reformers; he told the electors of Nova Scotia in 1851 that even after the great achievement of responsible government, the reform agenda was not done. He wrote "a noble heart is beating beneath the giant ribs of North America. See that you do not, by apathy or indifference, depress its healthy pulsations.” Amen to that!
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Attempted genocide of the Acadian and Mi’kmaq Nations
Attempted genocide of the Acadian and Mi’kmaq Nations
Daniel N. Paul
In early 1755 the Acadian Deputies were summoned to Halifax by Governor Lawrence and ordered to swear an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. This they refused to do, contending, as they had with Cornwallis in 1749, that if they did so the French would set the Indians against them and they would be massacred. The English lost no time in responding. Colonel Robert Monckton rounded up the Acadians in Chignecto, while Colonel John Winslow ordered those at Minas to assemble at Grand Pré. They were loaded into the holds of ships and scattered to the four corners of the world. Families were separated, never to see one another again, and untold numbers died in transport.
The Mi’kmaq faithfully stuck by their Acadian allies to the bitter end. Some of the Acadians tried to escape and were aided and protected by the Mi’kmaq to the best of their ability. The Mi’kmaq also joined forces with them to drive back the British, as was reported by the French Governor:
“The British burned the Village, including the Church at Chipoudy and was responded to thus. Mr. Boishebert, at the head of 125 Indians and Acadians, overtook them at the River Pelkoudiak, attacked and fought them for three hours, and drove them vigorously back to their vessels. The English had 42 killed and 45 wounded. Mr. Gorham, a very active English Officer, was among the number of the wounded. We lost 1 Indian, and had three others wounded.”
Many Acadians went into hiding among the Mi’kmaq and remained with them until the British and French ended their hostilities in 1763. A group of several hundred were hidden by the Mi’kmaq in the area known today as Kejimkujik National Park. The Expulsion order was almost universal. Even individuals who had sworn allegiance to the British Crown and been promised the right to live peacefully in their ancestral homes were included. Professor Jeffery Plank, University of Cincinnati, states:
Everyone involved understood the conflict to be a race war…. During the 1750s the politics of Nova Scotia centered on issues of national identity. At various times during the decade, the British engaged in combat with several different peoples who inhabited, or passed through, Nova Scotia: The Micmac, the French… and the Acadians… The British governors of Nova Scotia generally believed that they were surrounded by enemies, that the Acadians, the Micmac and the French would soon find a way to cooperate and overthrow British rule. One of the principle (sic) aims of British policy, therefore, was to keep these people separated, to isolate the Micmac, the Acadians, and the French. To achieve this goal of segregation, the colonial authorities adopted two draconian policies. In 1749 the governor began offering bounties for the scalps of Micmac men, women and children. The aim of this program was to eliminate the Micmac population on the peninsula of Nova Scotia, by death or forced emigration. In 1755 the British adopted a different but related strategy: it deported the Acadians, and relocated them in safer colonies to the west. Viewed in the abstract, these two programs, to pay for the deaths of the Micmac and to relocate and absorb the Acadians, represented very simple thinking. The colonial authorities who endorsed these programs placed the inhabitants of Nova Scotia into two categories, Europeans and savages, and treated them accordingly.
In retrospect, I don’t believe that the Mi’kmaq and Acadians could have ever escaped their fate. The paranoia and racism harboured by the British would never have permitted it. Today, the Acadians have in hand a half-hearted apology from the Crown for the horrors committed against their ancestors. However, the Crown stubbornly refuses to apologize for the horrors committed against the Mi’kmaq by Governors Edward Cornwallis and Charles Lawrence. Cornwallis, as the record witnesses, attempted Genocide, yet he is still widely honoured. A blot on this society that no decent human being can ever defend.
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We are upon a great and noble Scheme of sending the neutral French out of this Province, who have always been secret Enemies, and have encouraged our Savages to cut out throats. If we effect their Expulsion, it will be one of the greatest Things that ever the English did in America; for by all accounts, that Part of the Country they possess is as good Land as any in the World : in case therefore we could get some good English Farmers in their Room, this Province would abound with all kinds of Provisions.
- news dispatch from Nova Scotia, printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette,
Sept. 4th, 1755
Sept. 4th, 1755
Acadians of Nova Scotia
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CANADA- NOVA SCOTIA- Nouvelle-Écosse- history of Acadians -Nova Scotia
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Inuit Community and Culture- IDLE NO MORE
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CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Nov26-SEALS- IDLE NO MORE CANADA- FREE TRADE THIS CANADA: Every four or five days Europe kills more animals for their fur than the entire annual Canadian hunt does in a year
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IDLE NO MORE CANADA- MI'KMAQ MONTH IN NOVA SCOTIA- 11,000 years- We mourn Albino Moose murdered- must learn Mi'kmaq nature's way pls./Some fall fun Annapolis Valley/Good Books/Mi'kmaq traditions, history and videos
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Mi’kmaq
Alternate titles: Micmac
Historically, the Mi’kmaq were probably the tribe that Italian explorer John Cabot first encountered in 1497. Although early European chroniclers described them as fierce and warlike, they were among the first native peoples to accept Jesuit teachings and to intermarry with the settlers of New France. In the 17th and 18th centuries the Mi’kmaq were allies of the French against the English, frequently traveling south to raid the New England frontiers.
Traditionally, the Mi’kmaq were seasonally nomadic. In winter they hunted caribou, moose, and small game; in summer they fished and gathered shellfish and hunted seals on the coasts. Winter dwellings were conical wickiups (wigwams) covered with birch bark or skins; summer dwellings were varied, usually oblong wigwams, relatively open-air. Mi’kmaq clothing was similar to that of other Northeast Indians. Both men and women wore robes made of fur (later of blankets), while men typically wore loincloths and women dresses; clothing was generally ornamented with ample amounts of fringe.
Mi’kmaq social and political life was flexible and loosely organized, with an emphasis on kin relations. They were part of the Abenaki Confederacy, a group of Algonquian-speaking tribes allied in mutual hostility against the Iroquois Confederacy.
Population estimates indicated some 14,000 Mi’kmaq descendants in the early 21st century.
Alternate titles: Micmac
EXTERNAL WEBSITES
The Mi'kmaq were the largest of theAmerican Indian tribes that traditionally occupied what are now Canada's eastern Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) and parts of the present U.S. states of Maine and Massachusetts. The tribal name is also spelled Micmac. Because their Algonquian dialect differed greatly from that of their neighbors, …
Mi'kmaq... (75 of 312 words)
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WELCOME!
Mi'kmaq Elder, Dr. Daniel N. Paul, C.M. , O.N.S.
it’s my fervent hope that information contained in these Web
pages will help users acquire a better understanding of the
history, hopes, and aspirations of First Nation Peoples.
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FRENCH/MI'KMAQ FRIENDSHIP
Hallmarks: Began in 1604. Became a military alliance around 1652. Ended with the British and French signing the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
English colonial officials were bitterly jealous of the friendly relationships that the French enjoyed with many First Nations. They couldn’t fathom why they weren’t able to do the same. However, the reason that they weren’t able to do so is clearly articulated in remarks they often made about the French: "As the French were in a measure free from the English delicacy that nauseates at intimacy with savages." These were the founders of the white supremacist culture that has grievously harmed people of colour residing in North America until recent times.
If, from first contact, because the Mi’kmaq were a peaceful and hospitable people, they had treated with them as equals, there would not have been any wars between the two Nations. There is no doubt that the Mi’kmaq would have been willing to live side by side in harmony with them. Father Chrestien Le Clercq, a 17th century French Missionary, describes Mi’kmaq hospitality, which was the case with most North American First Nations:
”Hospitality is in such great esteem among our Gaspesians (Mi’kmaq) that they make almost no distinction between the home-born and the stranger. They give lodging equally to the French and to the Indians who come from a distance, and to both they distribute generously whatever they have obtained in hunting and in the fishery, giving themselves little concern if the strangers remain among them for weeks, months and even entire years. They are always good-natured to their guests, whom, for the time, they consider as belonging to the wigwam, especially if they understand even a little of the Gaspesian tongue.”
This generous trait among Native American Peoples, who knew not greed, toward their own and strangers was one of the prime factors that permitted the Europeans to steal two continents so easily.
When Champlain landed on the shores of Mi’kmaq territory in 1604, in what is today called Nova Scotia, he sowed the seeds for the establishment of a century and a half of friendship between the French and the Mi’kmaq Nation by making friendly contact with the Nation’s citizens. However, the early French settlers were the ones who cemented the relationship.
The first steps in this direction began in earnest after the 1604/05 French settlement at St.Croix, in what is today Maine, failed. Pierre du Gua, Sieur de Monts, the expedition’s leader, determined not to suffer a repeat of the multitude of deaths caused by scurvy and the effects of a very severe winter at St. Croix, moved the settlers in 1605 to a location on Saint Mary’s Bay that he christened Port Royale. In spite of the move deaths from scurvy occurred during the winter of 1605/06, but, following advice from the Mi’kmaq, they were greatly reduced.
From the beginning of contact men and women from both Nations were physically attracted to each another. However, the onset of intimate relationships did have its rocky moments. For example, after some Frenchmen made inappropriate passes at some Mi’kmaq ladies, the Chiefs informed their Captain “That anyone who attempted to do that again would not stand much of a chance, that they would kill him on the spot."
In 1607, after de Monts was informed that he had lost his trade monopoly, he abandoned Port Royale and returned to France. However, some settlers stayed, many marrying into the Mi’kmaq community. In fact, throughout the French presence, intermarriages were many and reached the highest level of officialdom in the French colonial government. For example, Charles de La Tour, in charge of provincial affairs in the 1630s, was married to a Mi'kmaq woman.
Contrary to what happened in Western Canada, these relationships did not foster a Metis culture. The children of mixed marriages were accepted by either community as one of their own without reservation.
From these early interrelationships, and a strong sense of independence and a love of liberty, grew the Acadien culture. As it grew it adopted many of the good qualities of the Mi’kmaq culture, and incorporated many Mi’kmaq words into their language. In fact, the second language of both communities, until the 1760s, was that of the other. The admiration of the democratic practices of the Mi’kmaq lured many French settlers to assimilate into the community. The idea of this reverse assimilation occurring was expressed on several occasions with some apprehension by French authorities.
In retrospect, it would have been a gift from the Great Spirit to First Nations Peoples if Europeans had not invaded the Americas. This is borne out by the fact that because they did all First Nation civilizations that inhabited two Continents at the time have been badly damaged or destroyed, with tens of millions dying in the process. However, the savagery inflicted indiscriminately upon these almost defenseless peoples was not uniform. The English and Spanish in particular were genocidal driven. The French were Christianity conversion driven.
Thus, for North American First Nations, it would have been much better if the French had prevailed in North America. At least, under their rule, no attempt was made to commit genocide, and the People were permitted to live much the same as they had before they arrived. Such was not the case for those living under British rule. Under them, many First Nations civilizations completely disappeared, and citizens of the remaining ones were persecuted almost beyond belief. And, during these times, a blind desire emerged, and was pursued until Canada was created in 1867, to exterminate them by assimilation. When Canada came into being 1867 it picked up where the British left off and, until very recent times, also pursued the goal of extermination by assimilation relentlessly.
Many Acadiens and Mi’kmaq today are taking an interest in learning their histories, which for a century and a half, involved the other intimately. Perhaps these words contained in “Mi'kmaq and Acadian good relations say it best: “In Acadia, with a profound and sincere mutual respect, the American First Nations and France wove bonds of friendship, fraternity and exchanges unparalleled on the American continent.”
Some historians state that the mutually beneficial relationship was due to the fact that the French-Acadians cultivated the marsh lands while the First Nations’ people would inhabit the inlands. On the contrary, the French-Acadians would seek to settle near the First Nations’ people, who actually lived mainly on the shores for most of the year. They would ask permission to live and fish in the First Nations’ area. This practice was continued in some areas until the turn of the 21st century; Sainte-Anne-du-Ruisseau, in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia is one example. The Acadians would ask First Nations people to fish eels at one location where eels were plentiful.
The Mi’kmaq and Acadiens set an example in colonial days for how different cultures could live in harmony with each other that the modern world would do well to emulate. They demonstrated that Peoples of different cultures, colours, religion, politics etc., could accept and respect the other as equals and join hands. A mark of truly civilized Peoples!
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ONE BILLION RISING- no more excuses- no more abuses
Amazing Grace (Inuit)- Native American-Susan Aglukark-Amazing Grace (Inuit)with pic of the NorthernLights
The Inuit
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Resources for Indigenous Cultures around the World
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R.E.M. ~ Everybody Hurts
R.E.M. ~ Everybody Hurts
Lyrics:
When your day is long and the night
The night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go
Everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on
Everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends.
Everybody hurts
Don't throw your hand. Oh, no
Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone
If you're on your own in this life
The days and nights are long
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on
Well, everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes
So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
(Hold on, hold on)
Everybody hurts
You are not alone
Lyrics:
When your day is long and the night
The night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go
Everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on
Everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends.
Everybody hurts
Don't throw your hand. Oh, no
Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone
If you're on your own in this life
The days and nights are long
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on
Well, everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes
So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
(Hold on, hold on)
Everybody hurts
You are not alone
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ACADIANS- MI'KMAQ.... CONSIDERED THE PEACEFUL (WOULD NOT FIGHT WITH FRENCH OR ENGLISH).....peoples.... and Mi'kmaq loved them very much...
Subscribe to these papers.... and cannot seem to get any online to share...... our beloved Acadians.....GRAND PRE... KENTVILLE (THE ACADIAN DYKES.... WOLFILLE.... NEW MINAS.... CANNING... BERWICK...COLDBROOK...HANTSPORT...- The Acadian Life... Nova Scotia
Elm tree lives on at Grand Pré
Shediac-based artist Monette Léger and her assistant Raymond Nadeau hold up one of the panels they were working on last month at the National Historic Site in Grand Pré. W. Elliott
Published on August 15, 2011
Published on August 15, 2011
Wendy Elliott Topics : Grand Pré National Historic Site , Parks Canada , French Cross , Grand Pré , Shediac , Gaspereau River
BY WENDY ELLIOTT
Kings County Advertiser/Register
Sculptor Monette Léger of Shediac, N.B. was Acadian artist in residence at Grand Pré National Historic Site last month.
A multifaceted artist working in a variety of media, Léger was excited to design a work using wood from a landmark elm tree from Horton Landing.
The long dead tree, which stood near the French Cross, toppled in a storm last November. Parks Canada staff retrieved sections of the trunk from the banks of the Gaspereau River.
Already passionate about all that affected her ancestors at Grand Pré, Léger has designed a triptych. She is working in collaboration with Mi'kmaq artist Gerald Gloade and Doug Morse, a Planter descendant from the Grand Pré area. The work has the theme of reconciliation.
Léger's carved work was unveiled during Acadian Days. The Planter piece is scheduled to be unveiled Sept. 5 and the First Nations portion will be unveiled Oct. 30. The complete sculpture will be unveiled at the Historic Site July 1, 2012, and will be housed inside the visitors' centre.
Léger remembers her first trip to Grand Pré 30 years ago. She saw a plaque listing the family names of the deported, which included the Légers.
"I thought 'my God, we belong to something.' I was overwhelmed," she recalls.
Léger was back most recently for the Congres Mondial in 2004.
Former Parks Canada superintendent Claude DeGrace connected her with the current project. Léger has titled it: Three Cultures, One Land, Rich in History.
She adds she is happy to be carving images from Grand Pré, like the Acadian star and an eagle atop the old elm, because "a lot happened here. There will be some surprises."
"I thought 'my God, we belong to something.' I was overwhelmed." - Sculptor Monette Léger
Léger's partner Raymond Nadeau acted as her assistant and moved a number of big pieces of the trunk. They even collected wood chips as souvenirs.
In the adjacent meeting room, Léger's photos titled Sea to Sea and smaller carvings were on display. She also enjoys making body paintings.
Léger began snow sculpting back in the early 1990s when she created a snow sculpture for Shediac's winter carnival.
Her interest grew over the years and she was invited to create sculptures at the Canada Winter Games in 2003. Léger has represented New Brunswick during competitions in Ottawa and at the Quebec Winter Carnival.
Annual remembrance
This year's ceremony commemorating the deportation of the Acadians stressed parallels between two cultures - the Acadians and Black African Maritimers.
At the Deportation Cross at Horton Landing, Francoise Enguehard, president of the Society Nationale de l'Acadie, said she was proud to participate in a ceremony of reconciliation.
"My ancestors and yours, no doubt, would be happy to see us here today to build on the ruins of their unhappiness," Enguehard suggested, when speaking of the UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination.
Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis said Black Africans in the Maritimes and Acadians have both a love of the land and great suffering in common.
Despite the collective history of suffering, she said, both peoples are succeeding and have a vibrant culture to contribute to the Canadian family.
In 2005, on the 250th anniversary of the Deportation of the Acadians, the United Church of Canada organized the first ceremony of commemoration and reconciliation. This year, the Société Promotion Grand-Pré invited members of the Black communities in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to take part with and other cultural and religious groups.
Members the Intercultural Heritage Association came from Moncton and the children of the Africamani Choir sang twice during the ceremony. Les Oliver of Wolfville spoke on behalf of the Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia, while Henry Bishop drummed for the Lieutenant-Governor.
A number of people placed garden flowers at the base of the iron cross at the site, including John Vaillancourt of the Wolfville Historical Society, Susan Surette-Draper of Les Amis de Grand-Pré and Warden Diana Brothers.
The tide was high for the waterside event. Sandpipers dipped and turned as they usually do, and the Curry family's herd of cows were attracted by the gathering of about 100 people.
To watch a video from the event, click the "Video" tab above…
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Acadians remember Beaubassin
Published Monday August 15th, 2011
Descendants of families at important French settlement gather to pay tribute to their ancestors' struggle
A1By Yvon Gauvin
Times & Transcript staff
Stumble Upondel.icio.usDiggFacebookPrintEmailSpeak UpAMHERST - What if we could travel back in time to 1750 and soar over the fertile marshland linking modern day New Brunswick and Nova Scotia along the Chignecto Isthmus, what a wondrous sight we would see.
Enlarge Photo RON WARD/TIMES&TRANSCRIPTHere, Charles Burke with Parks Canada shows one of the archaeological digs near the historic Acadian settlement of Beaubassin. Farms alongside cultivated tracts of marshland, farm buildings large and small, copious crops flourishing in the rich marshland soil, trade depot and herds of cattle feeding on the lush grass.
That was the French parish of Beaubassin with its heavily populated village surrounded by numerous satellite communities across the marshes and beyond.
The parish was the largest French colony in the Maritimes at the time, having prospered through the reclamation of marshes via aboiteaux which blocked the sea water coming in, and diligently farming the land.
But trouble was brewing and about to destroy this idyllic picture.
The English who now governed the new colonies were getting fed up with the French settlers, some of whom were fighting a resistance war as well as being insubordinate and troublesome. Eventually, the decision was taken to forcibly remove the French from the colonies and the Great Deportation as it has become to be known began slowly, with pockets of French settlers sent away in different regions of the Maritimes culminating with the 1755 roundup in Grand-Pré, N.S., and elsewhere including Beaubassin. The roundup of settlers was to last until 1763.
Some went north to the Miramichi, Bay of Chaleur and as far north as Gaspé and Quebec while others migrated south to Haiti and Louisiana where there were French colonies. Others managed to hide away with the help of other French communities and the natives.
More than 200 years later, the descendants of these people continue to remember their struggle.
Paul Belliveau of Scoudouc is the vice-president of the Federation of Associations of Acadian Families which organized the Beaubassin commemoration ceremony Saturday at the monument outside the Nova Scotia tourist information centre at the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border. The invitation was for all Acadian descendants and especially those of families which once resided in the Beaubassin region. A picnic was arranged followed by a visit at the archeological site nearby.
Paul Delaney of Moncton was among the participants. Both his father and mother who was a LeBlanc had Acadian blood running through their veins and Paul calls himself "a staunch Acadian." His mother was from Cap Pele and his father from the Isle de la Madeleine with links to Cape Breton. "I think once you get into genealogy, you get a sense of belonging to one group."
Growing up among an English culture, Delaney didn't learn French at the beginning and not long after that learned some of the history of Acadians which sparked his interest which turned into a strong affiliation. "I wanted to establish my credentials." Everyone should know their genealogy, who their ancestors were, how they lived, what happened to them, what they had to do in the Great Deportation to survive, he said.
Delaney praised the work of Stephen White who has spent 35 years at the Université de Moncton researching into the lives of numerous French families who lived in the area at the time. It's by examining family by family that we can learn the full story, said Delaney.
Most history books are "too generalized," they don't tell the complete story, leaving out important facts like the taking of the English deportation ship the Pembroke by the French on board in the an insurrection. The French headed up the Saint John River for Quebec, but most historians don't mention that many of the French on board dispersed in different directions including Louisiana to try and resettle, he said.
These were incredible times full of hardships and tragedy for the French settlers.
One moment, they had rich, fertile cultivated lands and a bright future, the next they were huddled onto English ships to be carted off to far flung regions. Many did not make the trip or else suffered greatly during the voyage and after the arrived with little or no provisions for them. The children and the elderly were especially vulnerable.
A few had left on their own accord, not wanting to be under British rule, heading for Haiti which was French and Catholic, then to Louisiana which was also had French and priests who could baptist and perform marriages and funerals, he said.
The English were still deporting settlers to Boston and New England in 1762, but officials in Boston were sending them back because they could not provide for the steady influx, Delaney said.
Beaubassin was the settlement that was furthest away from the seat of British rule and therefore was more independent and troublesome. That's why the order was given to take them to South Carolina and Georgia, the furthest areas under British command, as punishment, he said. The buildings were raised but the lush farmland remained which the British wanted and soon advertised in New England for English settlers.
Many that hid away eventually populated the regions along the Petitcodiac knowing they couldn't come back and claim their lands, he said.
Léo Paul Babineau of Scoudouc and formerly of Acadieville is just as fervent about his ninth generation Acadian heritage, with both Babineau and Goguen blood in his veins. He was president of the Babineau Family Reunion for 14 years. Babineau ancestors beginning with Jean dit Nicholas Babineau of France who set foot in Port Royal and his descendant Joseph who he says founded St. Louis de Kent and Jean-Pierre who first landed in what is now Moncton.
Léo Paul Babineau said he "got hooked" when hearing stories about the first Acadians and Cajuns, descendants of Acadians living in Louisiana, at school and began to read more about their history. "I fell in love with the Acadian story," he said.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's story Evangeline "is not Acadian history. It's a romance, a novel good for the tourists." It doesn't tell the true story of early Acadian life, nor of the tragedy that befell them.
Babineau is proud of the fact that his ancestor, Jean-Pierre Babineau, was one of 86 settlers who tunnelled out of their Fort Lawrence prison where they were awaiting deportation and escaped.
Léo Paul Babineau says his father talked often about the first Acadians and the family ancestors, and that he is trying to instill the same interest in his children and grandchildren. "For me, it's very important." These early settlers "had heart. They came with nothing" yet fashioned their own tools and carved a living from the land.
The World Acadian Congresses first held in 1994 have done much to revive the Acadian story and pride in heritage and language, he said.
Simon Poirier was born in Mont Carmel, P.E.I., and now lives and teaches English and French in a city north of Mexico City. But he returns to the Maritimes every year to celebrate his heritage. "I'm back and I love it. I'm an Acadian first, then a Canadian," he said.
Michel de France Poirier "landed in Beaubassin," he said.
He said he first began researching the family tree for his father.
"I wanted to know where we were from and started digging. I really love where I came from."
When he related his findings to his father, Ulric, "he was flabbergasted."
He said some of the Poirier family was able to hide in the woods with the help of the natives during the deportation, while one family member headed for France.
"It couldn't have been easy," he said.
"It's important to know your history, part of who you are, why we do this, why we do that."
Moncton lawyer and history buff Michel Cyr offered a brief history of the region to the gathering, painting a picture of life as it was prior to the deportation, how it came to be colonized with Jacob Bourgeois among the first to realize the potential in 1610 and help settle the land followed by many other families as well as the vastness of the land up for colonization.
He also described the turmoil on both sides of the Missaguash River which constitutes the inter-provincial boundary between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick during British rule. The British controlled the Nova Scotia side from Fort Lawrence and supposedly the Fort Beausejour side although the Acadians thought different. Some on Fort Beausejour side purposely raised villages on the opposite side to force the French there to cross over and strengthen their reserves which made for ill feelings and unease.
Eventually, about 1,100 people from the Beaubassin area were sent to Virginia and South Carolina.
Cyr (spelled Sirre) confirmed the escape from Fort Lawrence saying the wives of the prisoners had smuggled in spoons and other implements that the men used to tunnel out and escape into the woods.
Cyr also read out a list of families who spent significant time in Beaubassin. Those families were named Arsenault, Belliveau, Boudreau, Bourque, Bourgeois, Caissy, Cormier, Doiron, Doucet, Gallant, Gaudet, Haché, Hébert, Landry, Melanson, Poirier and Richard. The list is a fraction of the many families with ties to Beaubassin.
Gordon Hebert of Amherst has been coming to the commemoration every year.
"It's really considered sacred ground for Acadians. I'm proud of being an Acadian" and spreading the "gospel" as he calls it.
He said he admires those early Acadians for their resistance and determination, even if they were "often on the run."
Heritage is important, to know who you are descendant of, he said.
Archeologist Charles Burke who gave a tour of the archeological dig he is overseeing at Beaubassin explaining the veritable treasure throve of items found that seems to bear out the existence of a trade depot and important fur trade among other discoveries.
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Acadian Music, Culture, Festivals and Genealogy in Nova Scotia
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ACADIAN EXPULSION FROM NOVA SCOTIA: July 28, 1755
The French authorities were well aware of the travesties the English could inflict upon another race or culture. A report the French Governor and the Intendent at Quebec had submitted in 1745, ten years before the Expulsion, stated:
"We cannot imagine that they could entertain the idea of removing those people [the
Acadians] in order to substitute Englishmen in their stead, unless desertion of the
Indians would embolden them to adopt such a course, inhuman as it may be."
Though these French authorities could not imagine such an inhuman act, the English could. The event made famous by the American poet Longfellow in his poem "Evangeline" was soon under way. In early 1755 the Acadian Deputies were summoned to Halifax by Governor Lawrence and ordered to swear an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. They refused, contending, as they had with Cornwallis in 1749, that if they did so the French would set the Indians against them and they would be massacred.
The English lost no time in responding. On July 28, 1755 Lawrence got the full approval of Nova Scotia's Colonial Council to start dispersing the Acadians among the American Colonies. He sent Colonel Robert Monckton to Chignecto and Chepody, Lieutenant Colonel John Winslow to Minas, Pisiquid, and Cobequid, and Major John Handfield to Annapolis Royal to carry out the orders.
Colonel Robert Monckton rounded up the Acadians in Chignecto, while Colonel John Winslow ordered those at Minas to assemble at Grand Pré. They were loaded into the holds of ships and scattered to the four corners of the world. Families were separated, never to see one another again, and untold numbers died in transport. This included those who had sworn allegiance to the British Crown, there were no exceptions.
The Mi'kmaq faithfully stuck by their Acadian allies to the bitter end. Some of the Acadians tried to escape and were aided and protected by them to the best of their ability. They also joined forces with them to drive back the British, as was reported by the French Governor:
The British burned the Village, including the Church at Chipoudy and was responded
to thus. Mr. Boishebert, at the head of 125 Indians and Acadians, overtook them at
the River Pelkoudiak, attacked and fought them for three hours, and drove them
vigorously back to their vessels. The English had 42 killed and 45 wounded.
Mr. Gorham, a very active English Officer, was among the number of the wounded.
We lost 1 Indian, and had three others wounded.
Many Acadians went into hiding among the Mi'kmaq and remained with them until the British and French ended their hostilities in 1763. A group of several hundred were hidden by the Mi'kmaq in the area known today as Kejimkujik National Park.. See the story of Jacques Morrice, the name the English used for him, in We Were not the Savages for more details.
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Text: Charles Lawrence's Acadien expulsion orders
to
Captain John Handfield
Halifax 11 August 1755
Instructions for Major Handfield, Commanding his Majesty's garrison of Annapolis Royale in relation to the transportation of the Inhabitants of the District of Annapolis River and other French Inhabitants out of the Province of Nova Scotia.
Sir,
Having in my Letter of the 31st of July last made you acquainted with the reasons which Induced His Majesty's Council to come to the Resolution of sending away the French Inhabitants and clearing the whole Country of such bad subjects, it only remains for me to give you the necessary orders for the putting in practice what has been so solemnly determined.
That the Inhabitants may not have it in their power to return to this Province nor to join in strengthening the French of Canada in Louisbourg; it is resolved that they shall be dispersed among his Majesty's Colonies upon the Continent of America.
For this purpose Transports are ordered to be sent from Boston to Annapolis to ship on board one thousand persons reckoning two persons to a ton, and for Chignecto, transports have been taken up here to carry off the Inhabitants of that place; and for those of the District around Mines Bason Transports are in from Boston. As Annapolis is the place where the last of the transports will depart from, any of the vessels that may not receive their full compliment up the Bay will be ordered there, and Colonel Winslow with his detachment will follow by land and bring up what stragglers he may meet with to ship on board at your place.
Upon the arrival of the vessels from Boston in the Bason of Annapolis as many of the Inhabitants of Annapolis District as can be collected by any means, particularly the heads of families and young men, are to be shipped on board of them at the above rate of two persons to a ton, or as near it as possible. The tonnage of the vessels to be ascertained by the charter partys, which the masters will furnish you with an amount of.
And to give you all the ease possible respecting the victualling of these transports, I have appointed Mr. George Sauls to act as agent Victualler upon this occasion and have given him particular instructions for that purpose with a copy of which he will furnish you upon his arrival at Annapolis Royale from Chignecto with the provisions for victualling the whole transports; but in case you should have shipped any of the Inhabitants before his arrival you will order five pounds of flour and one pound of pork to be delivered to each person so shipped to last for seven days and so until Mr. Saul's arrival, and it will be replaced by him into the stores from what he has on board the provision vessel for that purpose.
The destination of the Inhabitants of Annapolis River and of the transports ordered to Annapolis Bason:
To be sent to Philadelphia such a number of vessels as will transport three hundred persons.
To be sent to New York such a number of vessels as will transport two hundred persons.
To be sent to Connecticut such a number of vessels / whereof the Sloop Dove, Samuel Forbes, Master to be one / as will transport three hundred persons.
And To be sent to Boston such a number of vessels as will transport two hundred persons, or rather more in proportion to the province of Connecticut, should the number to be shipped off exceed one thousand persons.
When the people are embarked you will please to give the master of each vessel one of the letters of which you will receive a number signed by me of which you will address to the Governor of the Province or the Commander in Chief for the time being where they are to be put on shore and enclose therein the printed form of the Certificate to be granted to the Masters of the vessels to entitle them to their hire as agreed upon by Charter party; and with these you will give each of the Masters their sailing orders in writing to proceed according to the above destination, and upon their arrival immediately to wait upon the Governors or Commanders in Chief of the Provinces for which they are bound with the said Letters and to make all possible dispatch in debarking their passengers and obtain certificates thereof agreeable to the form aforesaid.
And you will in these orders make it a particular injunction to the said Masters to be as careful and watchful as possible during the whole course of the passage to prevent the passengers making any attempt to seize upon the vessel by allowing only a small number to be upon the decks at a time and using all other necessary precautions to prevent the bad consequence of such attempts; and that they be particularly careful that the Inhabitants carry no arms nor other offensive weapons on board with them at their embarkation. As also that they see the provisions regularly issued to the people agreeable to the allowance proportioned in Mr. George Saul's instructions.
You will use all the means proper and necessary for collecting the people together so as to get them on board. If you find that fair means will not do with them, you must proceed by the most vigorous measures possible, not only in compelling them to embark, but in depriving those who shall escape of all means of shelter or support by burning their houses and destroying everything that may afford them the means of subsistence in the country, and if you have not force sufficient to perform this service, Colonel Winslow at Mines or the Commanding Officer there will upon your application send you a proper reinforcement.
You will see by the Charter partys of the vessels taken up at Boston that they are hired by the month; therefore I am to desire that you will use all possible dispatch to save expense to the public.
As soon as the people are shipped and the transports are ready you will acquaint the Commander of His Majesty's Ship therewith that he may take them under his convoy and put to sea without loss of time.
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Lawrence's incursion
The following year, on Friday, 20 April 1750, Charles Lawrence with a fleet of seven warships, decided to make an incursion into the Basin of Chignecto in order to assess the state of the place and the reaction of the Habitants. He had with him Charles Leblanc of Grand Pré and Mr. Landry, the deputy of the Basin of Mines, who Lawrence forced to come aboard in order to have him try to convince the Habitants of the region to co-operate with the English. But the expedition was a failure.
In order to assure docility of his "guests", Lawrence had ordered Captain Handfield, who was still commander of the Grand Pré's fort, to place in custody Mrs. Landry and her children. Some hostages! The adventure ended with the return of the ships on April 26 and the release of the hostages
The text and Lawrence's incursion were quoted from: http://www.handfield.ca/documentsen/appendix1.htm
CLICK http://www.danielnpaul.com/NewBrunswickCreated-1784.html to read about an incident where a New Brunswick Acadien family was killed and scalped by British Rangers
Acadian Museum - Erath, Louisiana: http://www.acadianmuseum.com
Grand Derangement-Acadian Band From Baie Ste. Marie
from Citaldel Hill in Halifax with the group Grand Derangement from Nova Scotia.
This is one of our favorite bands in the Maritimes. We saw them first several years ago at the Acadian Festival in Dartmouth.
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Culture of Acadia
Marginalized by geographic and economic factors, the Acadian regions remained culturally isolated until the middle of the 20th century. Music and folklore were the only widespread forms of artistic expression until the advent of higher education and access to the wider world.
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Ten-year-old Annie-Lyne LeBlanc (left) and her sister Felicia, 13, in the Acadian colours of red white blue and yellow in Bouctouche, N.B. during National Acadian Day on Wednesday August 15, 2007. Image: The Canadian Press/Moncton Times & Transcript/Viktor Pivovarov.
Marginalized by geographic and economic factors, the Acadian regions remained culturally isolated until the middle of the 20th century. Music and folklore were the only widespread forms of artistic expression until the advent of higher education and access to the wider world. The 1950s and 1960s saw a virtual explosion of Acadian culture in handicrafts, painting, song, dance, theatre, cinema and literature.
Folklore
Until the end of the 19th century, Acadians lived in isolated groups, with little contact with the exterior. This allowed them to preserve the traditions of their ancestors, their speech (derived mainly from the Poitou region of France), their cuisine, celebrations and oral traditions: songs, stories and legends passed from generation to generation since their arrival in the 17th century.
The songs composed by Acadians at the turn of the 20th century attest to their cultural awakening, as seen in "L'Evangéline," "Le Réveil de l'exile," "Le Pêcheur acadien" and "La Fleur du souvenir." Traditional songs had always remained in favour with the people, but intellectuals tended to scorn them. It was not until 1939 that a column on Acadian folksongs began to appear in the paper L'Evangéline. This column (by journalist Thomas LeBlanc), along with 3 volumes ofChansons d'Acadie published by Fathers Anselm Chiasson and Daniel Boudreau between 1942 and 1956 attracted attention to Acadian folklore. Shortly thereafter outside researchers arrived: Luc Lacourcière, Monseigneur Félix-Antoine Savard and Roger Matton from Québec; Carmen Roy from Ottawa; and Geneviève Massignon from France. Soon Acadians themselves began to gather folklore material, assembling important collections.
The Université de Moncton has been teaching folklore since 1966, and in 1970 its Centre d'Études Acadiennes opened a section devoted exclusively to this theme, preserving thousands of songs, stories, legends and cultural traditions. Université Laval now has a rich collection of Acadian material, thanks to its own researchers and students.
Singers and choral groups in Québec and Acadia have rediscovered traditional songs, which are now heard frequently in concerts, on radio and TV. Edith Butler and Angèle Arsenault relied on these folksongs to launch their brilliant careers.
Indeed, the rediscovery of Acadian folklore has given rise to an entire literature: there are volumes of stories, legends, songs, recipes and novels. The many books by world-famous Acadian author Antonine Maillet are inspired by this folklore.
Music
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Acadian singer Jeanne (Doucet) Currie from Annapolis Royal, N.S.
The World Acadian Congress at the National Historic Site of Grand Pre, in Nova Scotia, August 15, 2004. Image: The Canadian Press/ photographer Andrew Vaughan.
There is an old saying that Acadians are born with songs in their veins and music in their fingertips. Previous generations provided instrumental as well as vocal proof of this, and the current generation amply confirms the proverb.
Arthur LeBlanc, after studying in Québec and Paris, soon achieved international fame as a violinist before his career was cut short by illness. Eugène Lapierre and Benoît Poirier, both from PEI, established solid reputations as organists in Montréal, with Poirier composing many pieces for the organ. Roger Lord, a talented young pianist, has already won many competitions.
In the world of popular music, pianist Paul Saulnier, violinist Kenneth Saulnier, and the duo of Wendell and Phillipe d'Eon - all of whom hail from Nova Scotia - are standouts. On Prince Edward Island, the ensemble group "Barachois" presents in concert the rich musical tradition of the province. Two violin virtuosos in the folklore field, Johnny Aucoin from Cape Breton and Elio LeBlanc from Memramcook, have set many feet in motion. Folklorists Charlotte Cormier and Donald Deschênes interpret rural songs and find some of their most eager audiences in Acadian schools. The duo "Roland and Johnny," made up of Roland Gauvin and Johnny Comeau, specialize in interpreting traditional music to young people.
Acadia is also known for its classical singers, its chansonniers, groups and chorales. Anna Malenfant was one of the first Acadians to distinguish herself on the national and international scene. Laura Gaudet popularized Acadian songs throughout Acadia and the US in recitals and on the radio, while Robert Savoie was a baritone for several years at Covent Garden in London. Suzie LeBlanc from Moncton is building an international reputation by dedicating herself to Renaissance singing. The voices of Gloria Richard and sisters Germaine and Marguerite LeBlanc have gained renown in national competitions. Today, Claudette LeBlanc from Shédiac, Roland Richard from Rogersville and Rose-Marie Landry from Caraguet are applauded at home and abroad.
Among interpreters and composers of popular songs, Edith Butler enjoys great success here and in France, while Angèle Arsenault has earned a solid reputation at the national level. Calixte Duguay and Donat Lacroix are known for their magnificent songs on Acadian themes. The list would be long indeed were it to mention all Acadian singers of renown today such as Denis Losier, Raymond Breau, Georges Langford, Lorraine Diotte, Ronald Bourgeois, Lina Boudreau, Jac Gautreau and so many others.
Young Acadian singers continue to win competitions in Québec and France. Groups such as Beausoleil-Broussard and 1755 have delighted audiences in Canada and France, where each has won the prize for best song by young performers. Les Tymeux de la Baie represented Acadia at Expo 86, as did the PEI group Panou at the music festival held in conjunction with the Canada Games in St John's in 1985.
Until recently, most Acadian parishes supported a good church choir. One of the best, the choral group Lafrance de Tracadie (director Armand Lavoie), established its reputation far beyond the church and parish. In Bathurst, the Voidunor (Sister Germaine LeBlanc), in Fredericton the choir of Soulanges (Father Stanislas Paulin) and in Memramcook, La Fleur du Souvenir (Charles LeBlanc) have won awards for Acadian choral societies.
Brass bands were long popular in the former boys' colleges Saint-Joseph and Sacré-Coeur in New Brunswick and Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia, but from the 1950s on, choral groups in the colleges and convents stole the limelight. Groups from Saint-Joseph and Sacré-Coeur, from Collège Notre-Dame d'Acadie in Moncton and more recently from Université de Moncton have won top honours in provincial, national and international competitions. Since 1962 the Lincoln Trophy has been won 8 times by one or another of these groups. The first to gain attention at home and abroad was the choir of the University of Saint-Joseph, established by Father Léandre Brault in 1946. Neil Michaud took over its direction in 1955; in 1963 it became the choral group of the Université de Moncton.
Singing is an important activity in many Acadian schools, and youth choirs regularly compete in annual music festivals. Thus, the choral group from École Beauséjour of Moncton (later known as Les jeunes chanteurs d'Acadie) with director Sister Lorette Gallent has since 1957 won national and international honours.
Some of these choral societies have made excellent recordings as well. To those already mentioned should be added the Chanteurs du Mascaret (Neil Michaud), les Alinos (Aline OBriet), La-Mi-Champlain (Sister Blanche Dupuis) and others. This strong choral tradition attracted the Choralies Internationales competition in 1979, a major event in the musical history of the region, which is now held biennially under the title Arcadiades at Saint-Antoine-de-Kent, NB.
Acadia is also the site of a major baroque music festival, founded by harpsichordist Mathieu Duguay. It has taken place annually since 1975 on the little island of Lamèque in northeastern New Brunswick and draws musicians from far and wide.
In Nova Scotia, especially in the vicinity of Baie-Sainte-Marie near the Université Sainte-Anne, musicians abound and cultural events take place all year long. One of the great promoters of all this activity has been Father Maurice LeBlanc, a choral society director and longtime catalyst for cultural life in the region.
One must also note the important contribution of religious communities which have awakened young people's taste for music. Throughout Acadia, priests and nuns fostered young talent, providing encouragement and opportunity for one of the most engaging aspects of Acadian culture.
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Arsenault, Eddy
The music, by the Arsenault family at an Acadian party in the Evangeline region of PEI is La Reel Acadiens by Edward Arsenault (courtesy CBC).
Painting and Sculpture
Professional painting and sculpture are relatively new to Acadia, where the arts have traditionally evolved from church decorators - both those who were self-taught and those who were professionally trained. The first organized instruction in these disciplines came with the creation at the Université de Moncton of a Department of Visual Arts in the mid-1960s. A few talented productions from earlier generations survive, including works by women who studied design and painting abroad: Philomène Belliveau from Memramcook and Caroline Léger from Paquetville in the 19th century, and later Anna Bourque-Bourgeois, Jeanne Léger from Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, Alma Buote from Tignish and Yolande Boudreau from Moncton.
At the turn of the century Dr. Paul Carmel Laporte (born in 1885 in Verchères, Québec) settled in Edmundston, established a studio and spent 40 years teaching teenagers the art of wood carving. Claude Picard (Saint-Basile) and Claude Roussel (Edmundston/Dieppe) are 2 names which stand out among the talents which blossomed under his instruction. Roussel, while artist in residence at the new Université de Moncton, set up that university's Department of Visual Arts (1963). Picard and Roussel were both invited to contribute paintings and bas-reliefs illustrating the Acadian odyssey to the Église-Souvenir in Grand-Pré (1987). Environmental stone sculptures by Sister Marie-Hélène Allain (Sainte-Marie-de-Kent) are also on display at several public buildings in New Brunswick.
A number of artists from the same generation trained outside the province before establishing their careers in New Brunswick, including Sister Gertrude Godbout, Sister Eulalie Boudreau, René Hébert, Georges Goguen, Roméo Savoie, Hilda Lavoie-Franchon and Claude Gauvin. One of Gauvin's murals decorates an exterior wall of a federal building on Sparks Street in Ottawa and another was made for Expo 86 in Vancouver.
Édouard Gautreau (born in 1906 in Saint-Paul-de-Kent), Claude Picard and Ernest Cormier (born in 1921 in Cap-Pelé) produced religious paintings and murals for Acadian churches. New Brunswick has declared the church in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent, sometimes described as the Sistine Chapel of Acadia, a provincial heritage because of its paintings by Gautreau. In Nova Scotia, Nelson Surette (born 1920) has earned a reputation as a painter for his illustrations of Acadian daily life. In PEI, Adrien Arsenault has proven to be a remarkable artist. In Québec, an Acadian originally from northeast New Brunswick, Néré DeGrâce, has had one of his paintings featured on a commemorative Canadian stamp; and his prolific creations on traditional folkloric themes are in private collections far beyond Acadia's borders. Represented in the collections of National Museums of Canada are folk artists such as: Léo B. LeBlanc, a South-East painter; Alfred Morneault and Octave Verret (born 1902), both Madawaska area wood carvers; and Arthur Gallant, a South-East wood carver. Other well known folk painters include Médard Cormier (born 1933) and Camille Cormier (born 1924) come to mind.
Today's new generation of visual artists, trained in Acadian universities followed by studies elsewhere, constitute an impressive group - equipped to explore new horizons while respecting the traditions of excellence handed down by their elders. Some, such as the multimedia artist Herménégilde Chiasson and prolific painter Yvon Gallant, have already made names for themselves. Others like Paul Édouard Bourque, Jacques Arseneault, Francis Coutellier, Marc Cyr, Pierre Noël LeBlanc, Anne-Marie Sirois, Lucille Robichaud, Lionel Cormier, Luc A. Charette, Daniel Dugas, Guy Duguay, Roger Vautour, Ghislaine McLaughlin, Gilles LeBlanc, Georges Blanchette, Gilles Arsenault, Hélène LaRoche and André Lapointe have, since the early 1970s, produced an important body of work which addresses modern concerns but which looks beyond them. Robert Saucier, Jocelyn Jean and Paul-Émile Saulnier, although they chose to work in Québec and have shown their work internationally (France, Germany, Italy, etc.), must be considered to fall within the sphere of Acadian visual arts.
Theatre
Acadia's first full-fledged theatre company, the Troupe Notre-Dame de Grâce, was founded in Moncton in 1956 by Laurie Henri. It changed its name to Le Théâtre Amateur de Moncton in 1969, and after its founder's death in 1981, to Le Théâtre Laurie Henri. Le TAM's finest moments came with Germaine Comeau's Les Pêcheurs déportés and Antonine Maillet's Les Crasseux, both performed in 1976, the latter directed by Jean-Claude Marcus. Since then theatrical activity in Acadia has been largely the work of professional troupes such as the Théâtre Populaire d'Acadie in Caraquet, and the new L'Escaouette theatre co-operative in Moncton. The 2 troupes have given several new Acadian playwrights a forum in which to develop and demonstrate their talents.
In Caraquet, the TPA featured Jules Boudreau's plays, the best known of which was Louis Mailloux (1975), a musical drama written in collaboration with Calixte Duguay, the story of a young Acadian hero who died defending his culture. Boudreau dramatized the aftermath of the Deportation as well in his play Cochu et le Soleil (1977). In his other works, Boudreau explores various contemporary themes with skillful touches of fantasy and humour in contemporary themes. The TPA has also produced one of the first plays by Herménégilde Chiasson, L'Amer à boire (1977); an adaptation of the novel by Régis Brun, La Marie Como (1980); a show for children, Rosine et Renixou(1983) by Roseline Blancard and René Cormier; and Zélica à Cochon Vert (1986) by Laurier Melanson.
In Moncton, the Escaouette theatre has concentrated on the works of Herménégilde Chiasson. Her plays are markedly eclectic, hitting every note from the most serious to the most comic, and exploring 3 main themes: revisionist history in Histoire et histoire (1980) andRenaissances (1984); humour, burlesque and farce in Au plus fort la poche (1977), Cogne Fou (1981) and Y'a pas que des maringouins dans les campings (1986); fantasy, dreamworlds and marvels inBecquer Bobo (1976), Mine de Rien (1980), L'Étoile de Mine de Rien(1982), written in collaboration with Roger LeBlanc and Atarelle et les Pakmaniens (1983), which toured New Brunswick and then Europe in 1985. Two of these, Au plus fort la poche and Becquer Bobo, were staged by the Department of Dramatic Arts at the Université de Moncton rather than by L'Escaouette.
L'Escaouette has also presented plays for school audiences, such asLe Pêcheur ensorcelé (1979) by Marie Pauline and le Gros Ti-Gars (1985) by Gracia Couturier. These plays explore both the real and fantasy worlds of children and adolescents. Le Gros Ti-Gars shows a sureness of touch and a mastery of text and dramatic form already displayed by Couturier in the 4 plays she wrote for the Théâtre de Saisons in Shippagan.
Other authors who have chosen Acadian settings and themes are Raymond LeBlanc (As-tu vu ma balloune, 1979, and Fonds de culottes, 1981); Clarence Comeau (Au pays des côtes, 1978, andPremières neiges d'automne), Gérald LeBlanc (Les Sentiers de l'espoir, 1983); and Marcel Thériault (J'avais dix ans, 1983). In the rather more difficult context for francophones living outside New Brunswick, theatre survives thanks to people such as Jules Chiasson and Jean-Douglas Comeau in Nova Scotia and Paul Gallant in PEI, whose La cuisine à Mémé has delighted spectators at summer theatres on the Island. Other authors who have turned their attention to summer theatre are Claude Saint-Germain and Léonie Poirier, while Pierre Gérin has published plays such as Opération Médusa (1974), which have not been produced. But Gérin's case is exceptional, for in Acadia the entire repertory of published plays (apart from those of Antonine Maillet, published by Leméac in Montréal) amounts to only 8 titles, divided among the Éditions d'Acadie, Michel Henry écriteur and L'Imprimerie Lescarbot. The rest remain unpublished, although most have been produced.
Acadian theatre continues to display encouraging vitality. Antonine Maillet's national and international career continues with Carrochés en Paradis (1986), Margot la folle (1987) and William S. (1991). A new troupe founded in 1986 by Viola Léger, famous for her role in Maillet'sLa Sagouine, has brought renewed enthusiasm, evident in its first production of Carole Higgin's Harold and Maude (1987), which saw some 50 performances for audiences numbering more than 10 000.
Cinema
The first film produced in Canada was a feature-length movie, shot in 1913, on the expulsion of the Acadians and based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Evangeline. Since that date over 75 films have been made on 'l'Acadie.' However, Acadian-made cinema did not begin until the early 1950s, when Léonard Forest started to work for the National Film Board in Montréal. Forest dipped into his Acadian roots to make such films as Les Aboiteaux (1955), Les Acadiens de la Dispersion (1967), La Noce est pas finie (1971) and Un soleil pas comme ailleurs (1972). Although shot in 16 mm film, La Noce est pas finie is considered the first feature-length movie directed by an Acadian. During his 30-year career with the NFB as writer, director and producer, Léonard Forest was involved in the production of over 150 films. His frequent visits to the Acadian milieu opened the path for future Acadian film directors and production crews, thus contributing to the development of an Acadian cinema.
Forest was also an instigator of the ground rules for the NFB's French Regional Production Centre, "Régionalisation/Acadie," that opened in Moncton in 1974. With its mandate "to give an interpretation of Acadie by Acadians for Acadians and for the rest of the world," the NFB's French Regional Production Centre has produced and coproduced over 45 films (most of them 16 mm documentaries), thus allowing more Acadians the opportunity to mediate their interests, concerns, history, literature and differences through film.
The first producer for the NFB's Regional Production Centre, known as Centre Acadien, was Paul-Eugène LeBlanc from Memramcook, NB, hired in 1974. He was followed by Rhéal Drisdelle (1980-81), Eric Michel (1982-86), Michel Lemieux (1988-91) and Pierre Bernier (appointed 1991). Of the 20 Acadians who have made films with the producers of NFB's Centre Acadien, only a few chose filmmaking as their career. Among those who did not were Anna Girouard, Claude Renaud, and Serge Morin, who nevertheless helped to define an Acadian cinema with their films "Abandounée" (1976), "La Confession" (1978), and "De l'autre côté de la glace" (1983).
Phil Comeau, from Saulnierville, NS, has directed over 27 documentaries and 10 docudramas for the NFB, including: La Cabane(1978), a fictional account of teenagers confronting parental authority in a conservative Acadian village in Nova Scotia, and Les Gossipeuses/The Gossips (1978), a comedy about the crazy antics of 3 women gossips from a similar small village. His first feature, Le Secret de Jérôme (1994), is based on a true story about a Corsican lad with both legs sawed off at the knees who was found on a beach off Nova Scotia's French Shore.
Writer, poet, visual artist and cofounder of Phare-Est Productions Inc located in Moncton, NB, Herménégilde Chiasson (born in St-Simon, NB) began his filmmaking career in 1985 and has directed over 10 films. He is known for films such as: Le Grand Jack/Jack Kerouac's Road - A Franco-American Odyssey (1987), a docudrama based on the life of 'beatnik' Jack Kerouac; Robichaud (1989), a documentary on the political reign of Louis J. Robichaud, the first Acadian to be elected premier of New Brunswick; and Les Années Noires (1995), a docudrama depicting the political, economic and social events that led to the expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia in 1755.
Rodolphe Caron, from Lac Baker, NB, was cameraman for 11 films before becoming a filmmaker. Cofounder of the only Acadian film coop, he made 3 documentaries with the NFB and 2 with Cinémarévie Coop Ltée. located in Edmundston, NB. Avec le coeur(1994), a documentary about a group of volunteers bringing comfort to the sick and the terminally ill at the Edmundston Regional Hospital and Le Champion (1996), a documentary on Canadian champion archer Hermel Volpé, also from the Edmundston area, are the results of the Coop's directive to develop filmmakers and production crews in northwest New Brunswick, where people consider themselves variously as Brayons, Acadians or French Canadians.
Writer and cofounding member (in the 1970s) of the musical group Beausoleil Broussard, Jacques Savoie, who was born in Edmundston, NB, directed his first film in 1982. Massabielle, from his novel Raconte-moi Massabielle, is the story of Pacifique Haché, whose land is expropriated but who refuses to leave. He meets an attractive woman and together they come up with a solution to his predicament. His story resembles that of Jackie Vautour and the families whose lands were expropriated to create Kouchibouguac National Park. Savoie went on to write scenarios for the films: Les Portes tournantes (1988) directed by Francis Mankiewicz; Le Violon d'Arthur (1990), directed by Jean-Pierre Gariépy and a fictional TV , Bombardier.
Cofounder of Phare-Est Productions Inc, Ginette Pellerin is originally from Québec. Since her move to Moncton in 1975, she has devoted all her time to working in movies - first in assisting capacities. She has directed 3 films with the NFB, including: L'Âme soeur (1991), a documentary on the lives and accomplishments of nuns from the Religious Order of Hospitalières de Saint-Joseph and Évangéline en quête (1996), a docudrama on the myth or reality of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's heroine Evangeline.
Originally from Charlo, NB, Bettie Arseneault was assistant director to various film and television productions before directing 2 films with the NFB: Bateau bleu, maison verte (1985), a documentary on the colourful Acadian homes and boats, and De retour pour de bon(1994), a documentary on Acadians returning home after living for several years in Montréal.
Cartoonist and animator Anne-Marie Sirois, from Madawaska County, NB, has directed 2 animated films for the NFB and 2 for Cinémarévie Film Coop. Her first film, Maille Maille/Stitches in Time (1987), is about 2 aged women recalling their memories while knitting.Animastress (1994) presents humans who have absorbed the stress forced upon chickens raised for human consumption.
Claudette Lajoie, born in Grand-Sault, NB, worked in video productions as researcher, director and interviewer for Télé-Public, a community channel serving northeast New Brunswick, before directing 4 documentaries for the NFB. Her first documentary, Une sagesse ordinaire (1983), is about midwife Edith Pinet from Paquetville, NB, while Les Femmes aux filets (1987) is about women working in fish-processing plants in the Acadian Peninsula.
Robert Awad, from Kedgwick, NB, began his career as a film animator in 1974, going on to make 7 films with the NFB. His first film, Truck, is a satire whose central character explains how Acadian history would have been different if trucks had been invented in 1755. The Bronswik Affair/L'Affaire Bronswik (1978) is a comedy about the influence of advertising on people. Automania (1994) is an amusing film about a man's obsession to get to work in his car.
New film directors include: Renée Blanchar, from Caraquet, NB, whose third film, Vocation Ménagère (1996), is about the lives of women working as housekeepers for Catholic priests: Monique LeBlanc, from Bouctouche, NB, whose first film, The Acadian Connection/Le Lien acadien (1995), casts an affectionate look at members of the LeBlanc family living throughout North America and maintaining strong ties with their Acadian heritage; and Moncton-born Christien LeBlanc and partner Paul Bossé who have made experimental video productions.
Literature
The history of Acadian literature can be divided into 5 periods.
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Antonine Maillet, writer
Maillet's novels fuse adventure, desire, frustration, agony and joy to offer a new image of the original Acadia (photo by Andrew Danson).
Up to the Deportation (1604-1755)
Strategically located for commerce, Acadia was long coveted by both France and England. Although its connections with the culture and institutions of New France were distant, it was in Acadia that Marc Lescarbot composed the first literary texts in North America in 1606. Later visitors such as Biard, Leclercq, Denys, Dièreville, Maillard and Bourg described its geography and settlements and its flora and fauna. To these documents may be added those by churchmen, such as Monseigneur de Saint-Vallier, who visited the people and bore witness to their religious and economic circumstances. Acadia's troubled colonial history - the slow growth of its population, the constant threats to its future, and deportation - explain why the Acadians did not produce texts of the calibre of those written by Jolliett, Morin and Boucher in New France
From the Deportation to the Return (1755-1881)
The reconstruction of an Acadian collectivity was a slow process, with no written literature but a wealth of oral tradition retained in stories, legends and songs. By the middle of the 19th century a school system for Acadians began to take shape. In 1854 the first college was founded (reorganized and expanded in 1864), and its graduates soon played active roles in their community. With the assistance of the clergy they began to focus on their own identity and aspirations as francophones in an environment surrounded by English speakers. That focus was sharpened by a series of national conventions, beginning in 1881.
The Age of the Nationalist Debate (1881-1966)
For 80 years, the nationalist debate dominated Acadian thought and literature. Rooted in the works of Frenchborn Rameau de Saint-Père and fostered by clergy from Québec who had adopted his theories, this debate took place in sermons, discussion groups and French-language newspapers (Le Moniteur, L'Évangéline). Seeking to embrace politics, economics and sociographic research, the debate dominated cultural activity, helping to heal the trauma of deportation and redefine the traits of the Acadian collectivity.
The rediscovery of their own history obviously played an important role for Acadians, and this was soon extended to anecdotal history, biographies, geneaologies, monographs devoted to parishes or individual settlements, and linguistic studies, with Pascal Poirier, the first Acadian senator, distinguishing himself in the latter field. Literary genres conformed to the nationalist theme as well, in poetry (F. Moïse Lanteigne, Napoléon-P. Landry), novels (Antoine-J. Léger, Hector Carbonneau, J.-Alphonse Deveau) and theatre (Alexandre Braud, Jean-Baptiste Jégo), the latter focusing as well on the recurring battles for educational freedom, evidenced as well in the social dramas of James Branch.
By the mid-20th century the nationalist debate no longer constituted the centre of Acadian thought, since the legitimacy of the francophone community's existence was no longer in question. Authors turned to other concerns, notably Antonine Maillet, whose first novel, Pointe-aux-Coques (1958) deals with everyday life in a small Acadian village.
Donat Coste, an Acadian living in Montréal, wrote L'Enfant noir in 1957 to denounce the hypocrisy of modern society. Ronald Després, a musician, poet and translator, also living outside New Brunswick, published many poems and a novel, Le Scalpel interrompu, which provides a tragicomic view of the modern world.
This literary withdrawal from the nationalist debate took place as a challenge arose from the younger generation. In 1966 the Rassemblement des Jeunes questioned the very essence of the debate, its emblems, symbols and historical viewpoints - indeed the traditional portrait of the Acadian. And the times were sympathetic to their approach. The Liberal government of Louis J. Robichaud (the first Acadian premier of New Brunswick, 1960-70) succeeded in implementing this Equal Opportunity program as well as an Official Languages Act, at a time when Québec's Quiet Revolution and the widespread radical movements of the decade served as a model and stimulus for change.
The Age of Literature (1966-86)
Many other factors combined with this ideological challenge and social revival: student grievances and their social and legal consequences; the "nuits de poésie" or "poetry nights" - where activist poetry was generated and a new sensibility born; the enormous success of La Sagouine by Antonine Maillet; the rise of the chansonniers; the more frequent publications by young authors, well served by the newly established Éditions d'Acadie.
Poetry came first, centred upon Acadia for its themes, characterized by a search for identity, by rebellion against traditional views and, paradoxically, by strong attachment to traditional Acadian values. Typical contexts include the burning desire to create one's own country (Raymond LeBlanc) and the violent yet sorrowful denunciation of what is perceived as a collective living death (Herménégild Chiasson). Other works by these same poets celebrate love and everyday life free from any particular political stance. Such is the starting point for Guy Arsenault, the studied naivety of whose language appears to treat lightly, and in fact probes deeply into the ways in which Acadia's very being continues to be depreciated. In a more general way, Ulysse Landry denounces the invasion and devaluation of individuals' lives by so many aspects of modern society. The works of these poets, published between 1973 and 1976, manage to combine everyday language with original stylistic exploration.
Although some of these topics have retained their importance, poetry has continued to experiment and evolve in format and theme. Roméo Savoie has moved towards philosophy, while Gérald LeBlanc has introduced a new cosmopolitan inspiration into Acadian literature. Léonard Forest shares this desire to reach out to other cultures through his poetry, developing a distinctive musicality through the use of archaic vocabulary and compelling ritualistic rhythms. A kind of natural surrealism pervades the poetry of Rose Després and Dyane Léger, the former freeing herself from the past in her search for the right gesture and word, the latter surrounding herself with a magic universe of words as she constructs her own literary dream world. Others (Huguette Legaré, Clarence Comeau, Daniel Dugas, Huguette Bourgeois, Robert Pichette and Melvin Gallant) explore, poem by poem, registers of sentiment and emotion which touch the heart.
The Acadian novel is dominated by the works of Antonine Maillet, whose boundless energy combines epic scope with everyday events, calling on all the resources of popular legend and oral storytelling tradition. But other voices are also heard: Louis Haché uses his archived knowledge to retrace the history of Acadian life in northeastern New Brunswick. Régis Brun adopts a revisionist historical perspective, finding his heroes among the ordinary folk who display their hunger for freedom and their delight in life. Claude Lebouthillier rewrites history through utopian literature that restores to Acadians their lost homeland; Jeannine Landry Thériault and Laurier Melanson evoke village life - often satirically - in its personal dramas, its bawdiness, its hopes and disillusions; Anne Lévesque, Germaine Comeau and Melvin Gallant focus on the fates of individuals, as does Jacques Savoiein in his spontaneous, lively prose, creating new novelistic structures. France Daigle, in a minimalist, elliptical style, offers a modern, virtually abstract vision of the world coloured with emotion. Richard Roy'sL'Acadie perdue (1978) is an impassioned and fascinating book based on solid historical research, while Jean-Paul Hautecoeur's L'Acadie du discours offers brilliant sociological insight and Léon Thériault examines politics in his La Question du pouvoir en Acadie. In autobiographical writing Calixte Savoie's Mémoires d'un nationaliste acadien stands out as a book of the first rank.
Contemporary Period (1986 to the Present)
The literary institution is becoming more vital. Publishing houses are growing in number, anthologies are being produced and the university teaching of Acadian literature is making certain authors better known, is encouraging the recovery of older texts and is obliging authors to produce collected works.
All genres are being enriched. Established authors are inspiring the next generation of writers. Poetry is in a healthy state, as the increasingly influential work of Serge-Patrice Thibodeau attests. The historical novel is under considerable development, and the essay is gradually winning attention. Plays and writing for children are beginning to take off as important literary forms. Acadian literature is widely recognized in France, Nova Scotia and Louisiana. Once marginal to French-Canadian letters, Acadian literature is now resident in that institution.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is Canada’s second-smallest province (following Prince Edward Island) and is located on the southeastern coast of the country.
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Gaelic College
An aerial view of the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts, nestled along the Atlantic coastline at St Anns, Nova Scotia (photo by Warren Gordon, courtesy Gaelic College).
Lobster Fishing Boats, Mahone Bay
Lobster fishing is one of the mainstays of small Nova Scotian villages (courtesy Colour Library Books Ltd.).
Inshore Fishing
Inshore fishing off Sydney, Nova Scotia (photo by Sherman Hines/Masterfile).
Drill Ship
Drill ship, testing flare, East Coast (photo by Wilhelm Schmidt/Masterfile).
Fishing Pier, Nova Scotia
Much of Nova Scotia's fishing industry still centres around coastal villages (Corel Professional Photos).
Louisbourg, Fortress of
Louisbourg was a strategic fortress in the French American Empire (Corel Professional Photos).
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley near Kentville, Nova Scotia (photo by Bill Brooks/Masterfile).
Sightseeing at Peggy's Cove
Tourism is one of Nova Scotia's most important industries, and its natural beauty one of its greatest resources (Corel Professional Photos).
Cape Breton Coast
The island was probably known to fishermen as early as the 15th century and was sighted and identified by John Cabot (1497) (photo by Roland Weber/Masterfile).
Bluenose License Plate
The term "bluenose" is of uncertain origin but historically has referred to a Nova Scotian (Corel Professional Photos).
Nova Scotia Coast
The rugged Atlantic coast off Nova Scotia is marked by many inlets, islands, coves and bays (photo by J.A. Kraulis/Masterfile).
Nova Scotia is Canada’s second-smallest province (following Prince Edward Island) and is located on the southeastern coast of the country. The province includes Cape Breton, a large island northeast of the mainland. The name Nova Scotia is Latin for “New Scotland,” reflecting the origins of some of the early settlers. Given its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, Nova Scotia’s economy is largely influenced by the sea, and its harbours have served as military bases during many wars.
Land and Resources
Main Regions
The Atlantic Upland is one of Nova Scotia’s chief physical features and is recognized by its five fragments, separated in places by extensive lowlands. Of these fragments, the largest is the Southern Upland, which occupies the southern and central part of the province. Starting at the rugged Atlantic coast, and marked by many inlets, islands, coves and bays, it rises to an altitude of 180 to 210 m in the interior. Its northern border constitutes the South Mountain. The second fragment is the North Mountain, a range of trap rock that runs parallel to the South Mountain for 190 km along the Bay of Fundy, from Cape Blomidon, on Minas Basin, to Brier Island.
Between the two mountain ranges lie the fertile valleys of the Annapolis and Cornwallis rivers, which together constitute the well-known apple-growing region of Nova Scotia. The third fragment consists of the flat-topped Cobequid Mountain, rising to 300 m and extending 120 km across Cumberland County, while the fourth has its beginnings in the eastern highlands of Pictou County. It extends in a long narrowing projection through Antigonish County to Cape George. The fifth fragment, on northern Cape Breton Island, is a wild, wooded plateau that peaks to a height of more than 550 m above sea level. It contributes to the highly scenic character of Cape Breton Highlands National Park, especially as viewed from the Cabot Trail, which runs through it. In contrast, the southern part of Cape Breton Island is largely lowland.
Geology
The deep drainage channels that cut through the uplands have exposed the roots of the mountains. The exposure has laid bare rocks that are among the oldest of the Earth's crust and are representative of most of the geological time scale. Peninsular Nova Scotia consists of Paleozoic cover pierced by a granite backbone that, because it is highly resistant to change, occupies the higher elevations.
The North Mountain resulted from volcanic action in Triassic times, and the Annapolis and Cornwallis valleys were carved out in the same period. Practically all the industrial minerals, including gypsum, limestone, sandstone, salt and barites, occur in rocks of the Mississippian age. The coal deposits of the province are to be found in the several groups of Pennsylvanian rocks, especially the Pictou, Stellarton and Morien groups.
Surface
Originally, most of the province was covered by forest, but little of the virgin forest remains, except in the plateau of northeast Cape Breton Island. Secondary growth has tended to be coniferous because of the acid soil and the slow growing season, but hardwoods continue to exist in sufficient abundance to produce a colourful display in the autumn. In swampy areas and rocky barrens, mosses, lichens, ferns, scrub heath and similar growths are common. Wild flowers grow in profusion, among which the mayflower, pitcher plant, white water lilyand several varieties of violets stand out for their beauty.
Widely found throughout the province are herbaceous plants such as Clintonia, cranberries, blueberries and many species of goldenrod. The European cuckooflower has become common in the Annapolis Lowland, while the ragwort has spread over eastern Nova Scotia.
Roughly 29 per cent of Nova Scotia’s land is suitable for agricultural purposes. The best farming land is in the lowlands, where soils have developed on deep tills; the uplands usually have shallow, stony soils. The most extensive lowlands, and hence the best agricultural land, are along the Bay of Fundy and Northumberland Strait. The tremendously high tides of the Bay of Fundy have created large areas of marshland, which, by means of dykes begun in Acadian times, have been converted into valuable agricultural lands.
Water
Nova Scotia includes over 3,000 lakes, as well as hundreds of streams and small rivers. Because of the general direction of the watersheds, the rivers cannot be long, but with moderately heavy precipitation, normally no shortage of water occurs.
The province's largest lake, the 1,099 km2 Bras D’Or, was created when the sea invaded the area between the upland and lowland areas of Cape Breton. Saline and tideless, it is widely used for recreation. On the peninsula, the largest lake is Lake Rossignol.
Though short, the rivers have had considerable significance historically and economically. The Sackville and Shubenacadie, used extensively by Aboriginal peoples, were important in early transportation. Some, such as the Mersey, continue to play a significant role in lumber and pulpwood production, while others, such as the Margaree and St Mary's, have become celebrated as salmon streams. Several rivers have afforded the means to construct hydroelectric power plants, however small.
The high tides of the Bay of Fundy are a remarkable phenomenon. The bay, which is 270 km long and 80 km at its mouth, narrows to 56 km (its average width), where it divides into Minas Basin and Chignecto Bay. At high tide, the water is forced forward to reach a height over 16 m above low-tide level in its narrowest extremities. The high tides facilitate the loading of gypsum, lumber and the like by freighters, which at low tide rest on mud flats.
Climate
Weather systems moving eastward from the interior of the continent dominate the province's weather. These systems often react with low-pressure systems coming from the south and moving northeastwardly along the coast, and the whole is affected by the proximity of theLabrador Current and the Gulf Stream. Generally the water has a moderating influence on the climate, particularly along the Atlantic coast, where the average winter temperatures range from 0 to -15°C, while the summers are typically 20 to 25°C.
The influence of the sea is felt in other ways. Ice brought down by the Labrador Current leads to a late spring marked by cold winds, rain and mist. In summer, especially in June and July, the mingling of the warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador Current produces a great deal of sea fog, which often drifts over the coastal areas.
The coastal areas are both milder and wetter than the rest of the province. Yearly rainfall averages over 1,000 mm, and snowfall over 200 cm.
Conservation
The province’s conservation efforts are directed through the Department of Natural Resources. This department oversees the development, management, conservation and protection of energy, forest, minerals, parks, protected areas and wildlife resources.
Much of the department’s protection efforts are directed towardforests. The department is continually improving forest management practices, and from its Forest Protection headquarters at Shubenacadie, fire and pest management are coordinated. To preserve and promote the inland salmon and trout fisheries, the province manages water control, restocking of lakes and research. Under the Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act, passed in 2007 and amended in 2012, the department hopes to protect 12 per cent of Nova Scotia’s landmass by 2015.
The provincial park system comprises over 300 provincial parks and reserves, but most of them are small in size. The largest protected areas are the National Parks (Cape Breton Highlands, Kejimkujik and Sable Island Reserve), the game sanctuaries and Tobeatic Wildlife Management Area.
People
Urban Centres
As in the rest of Canada, Nova Scotia has experienced a marked shift from rural to urban living since Confederation. However, its rural population remains relatively high at 43 per cent of the total population (2011).
Halifax is both the capital and the largest urban centre in the province. In 2011, it had a population of 390,328, or roughly 42 per cent of the provincial population. The next most-populous centres range in size from just under 20,000 to about 46,000 and include Sydney, Truro,New Glasgow and Glace Bay. The remainder of the province’s communities have populations under 15,000.
Labour Force
In 2013, there were 453,800 employed people in Nova Scotia. Despite natural resources being the principal driver of the provincial economy, 81 per cent of the employed population in 2013 worked in the service sector. Within this sector, the trades, health care and social assistance, and education were the top employers.
Going back as far as the mid-1970s, Nova Scotia has consistently had an unemployment rate higher than the national average. In 2012, the unemployment rate was nine per cent (compared to 7.2 per cent nationally), making it among the highest in the country.
Language and Ethnicity
In the 2006 census, the most-reported ethnic origins were Canadian, Scottish, English, Irish and French. The visible minority population was relatively small — four per cent of the total population — with black, Arab and Chinese people making up the three largest communities within this group.
The vast majority of the population (92 per cent) reported English as their mother tongue, while those reporting French and those reporting a non-official language were almost equal — 3.6 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively. The Acadian and francophone populations are concentrated in Halifax, Digby and Yarmouth on the mainland, and in Inverness and Richmond counties on Cape Breton Island. Legislation enacted in 1981 granted Acadians the right to receive education in their first language.
Religion
As in other parts of the country, the population of Nova Scotia is overwhelmingly Christian, with 75 per cent of the population identifying with a Christian denomination in 2011. Following Christianity, the most reported religions were Islam (0.9 per cent), Buddhism, (0.2 per cent) and Judaism (0.2 per cent). Those reporting no religious affiliation accounted for 21 per cent of the population.
History
Aboriginal Settlement
The first peoples in what is now Nova Scotia were the Mi'kmaq, who belonged to a wider coalition known as the Wabanaki Confederacy, whose members were in turn part of the Algonquin-language family in eastern North America. The Mi'kmaq presence can be traced as far back as 10,000 years. They were hunters and traders and, because of their proximity to the ocean, skilled saltwater fishers. When the first Europeans arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries, Mi'kmaq territory stretched across all of modern-day Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, most of New Brunswick and westward into the Gaspé Peninsula ofQuébec — an area known as Mi'kma'ki. The Mi'kmaq established better relations with the French settlers than with the English.
European Exploration and Settlement
Long before John Cabot made landfall in 1497 (possibly on Cape Breton Island), Norse adventurers may have reached Nova Scotia. Scores of other explorers and fishermen plied its coasts before Pierre Du Gua de Monts and Samuel de Champlain established Port-Royal in 1605 — the first agricultural settlement by Europeans in Canada, and the beginnings of the French colony of Acadia.
In 1621 King James I of England named the same territory New Scotland (or Nova Scotia, as it was called in its Latin charter) and granted the land to the Scottish colonizer Sir William Alexander. In the 1620s, the Scots established two settlements, but both were unsuccessful. Meanwhile a small but steady stream of immigrants continued to arrive from France for a new life in Acadia.
Armed conflict ensued between the French and British, and throughout the 17th century Acadia was handed back and forth between the European powers. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht finally put an end to Acadia, transferring the colony — but not Île Royale (Cape Breton Island) or Île Saint-Jean (PEI) — to Britain. Aside from maintaining a small garrison at Port Royal, renamed Annapolis Royal, the British did little with Nova Scotia until 1749, when Halifax was founded as a military town and naval base on the shores of what the Mi'kmaq called the "Great Harbour." Halifax's purpose was to balance out the French military presence at the Fortress of Louisbourgin Cape Breton.
The Seven Years War between France and Britain brought great change to Nova Scotia. British military officials feared the colony's large Roman Catholic Acadian population — despite its expressions of neutrality — would side with the French during the war. The result, starting in 1755, was the Acadian Expulsion, in which British forces rounded up more than 6,000 Acadian men, women and children, and dispersed them on ships to various American colonies. In 1758, as these traumatic deportations were still under way, Louisbourg fell to the British, precipitating the Conquest of Canada in 1760, and the ceding to Britain of Cape Breton Island in the Treaty of Paris that ended the war in 1763.
Development
In peacetime, Nova Scotia prospered, with settlers arriving from England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany. Loyalists, both white and black, as well as former black slaves, also arrived following theAmerican Revolution. During the early part of the 19th century the colony grew as a fish exporting, lumbering and shipbuilding centre, and Halifax emerged as an important merchant hub and a base for British privateering captains.
Starting in 1864 the Confederation question left a mark on the province. Nova Scotia's economy was closely tied, as were many families, to the New England states. The province’s prosperity relied on seaborne trade south to the United States and east across the Atlantic, and many did not relish the idea of setting up new economic and political links with the Province of Canada, or with a remote interior further west. Despite these fears the colony became one of the four founding provinces of the new Dominion of Canada in 1867; however, a strong anti-Confederate movement existed for many years, with some Nova Scotians flying flags at half-mast on 1 July.
In the 20th century the First World War stimulated the provincial economy with an increased demand for iron, steel, fish and lumber. The war also brought disaster in the form of the Halifax Explosion; and the war's end brought with it recession, which lasted for several years. Nova Scotia enjoyed good economic times again during the Second World War. Halifax became one of the major North American ports for the gathering of trans-Atlantic convoys, which carried munitions and other wartime supplies to Western Europe.
Since the mid-1950s Nova Scotia has struggled financially, and economic development has been one of the primary concerns for provincial politicians. The fishing industry — especially lobster and shellfish exports — has remained a mainstay of the economy, sustaining many coastal communities even through the collapse ofcod and other groundfish stocks in the 1990s.
As manufacturing began its steady decline in the 1950s, coal mining and steel making continued in Cape Breton with the help of massive government subsidies, until the last coal mine was shut down in 2001. Its closure ended a way of life and left the Sydney Tar Ponds — the result of decades of coke oven effluent — as the steel mill's environmental legacy. In an effort to contain the contaminants, the waste was eventually buried, and Open Hearth Park opened on the site of the ponds in 2013.
Coal was also mined on the Nova Scotia mainland starting in the 19th century, and certain strip mining operations continue to this day. The Springhill mine was the site of three deadly disasters, the most famous being the 1958 underground earthquake, which trapped 174 miners and became an international news spectacle.
Offshore oil and natural gas production began in 1992, bringing new revenues and opportunities to the province, but was not the economic windfall many had hoped for. Economic uncertainty continues in the 21st century, with pulp and paper mills across the province closing down and many rural communities in decline as people move to the Halifax area for jobs primarily in government, universities, the burgeoning aerospace sector and the military. Since 2011, great hopes have been pinned on the opportunities that might arise from the awarding of a long-term contract to Irving Shipbuilding to construct 21 new combat ships for the Royal Canadian Navy. It is the largest military procurement in Canadian history.
Economy
Agriculture
While the Mi’kmaq relied on hunting for their food, fishing captains in the early 16th century are believed to have cultivated vegetable gardens to feed their crews. At the same time, the French were growing grain at Port-Royal and in 1609 they erected the first water-powered gristmill in North America. To secure salt for curing fish, they also built dykes along tidal marshes and later used them to begin dykeland agriculture. Since the 1950s, the Department of Agriculture has preserved, extended and rebuilt this system of dykes.
About three per cent of Nova Scotia’s land, or 181,915 ha, is currently used for agriculture. The largest cultivated areas are found in theAnnapolis Valley and in some parts of northern Nova Scotia. In 2011, the average farm size was 261 acres, compared to the national average of 778. Gross farm receipts in 2010 were $594.9 million, of which poultry and dairy farms accounted for 46 per cent.
The county fair is an important institution, and the one at Windsor, established in 1765, is the oldest of its type in North America.
Mining
Historically by far the most important mineral in Nova Scotia is coal. The rapid increase in coal production and the development of thesteel industry were primarily responsible for the province's prosperity in the early 20th century. After the Second World War conditions in the coal areas were often troubled, and in the late 1950s the market contracted greatly in the face of competition from petroleum and natural gas. Production declined from about 6.6 million tonnes in 1950 to about 2 million in 1971.
Coal made a striking comeback in the 1990s. Following large increases in petroleum prices the province was determined to reduce dependency on foreign oil by replacing it with thermal coal. Production in 1999 amounted to over 1.5 million tonnes worth more than $100 million. While the last Cape Breton coal mine closed in 2001, there are two coal strip mining operations in the province, one in Stellarton and the other Point Aconi.
Energy
Before 1973 the generation of electric energy was in the hands of the Nova Scotia Power Commission, a government agency established in 1919, and the Nova Scotia Light and Power Company, a private utility. In 1973 they were united in a crown corporation, the Nova Scotia Power Corp. The corporation was privatized in 1992 and is now an incorporated entity.
In 1950 about 70 per cent of the province's energy needs were met by hydroelectric power and indigenous coal. Convinced that cheap oil would continue to be available and that nuclear energy would be less expensive than that derived from coal, governments allowed a situation to develop in which, by 1978, over 70 per cent of the electricity was produced from oil. Nova Scotia had the most expensive energy in Canada because of major increases in oil costs, with the exception of PEI.
In 1979 the Energy Planning Board was established under the new Department of Mines and Energy to devise an energy strategy. This strategy aimed to develop the few remaining hydroelectric opportunities, to open new coal mines and expand existing ones so as to permit oil-fired generating plants to be phased out. As a part of these efforts the Annapolis River tidal plant was completed in 1984. It was the first tidal plant in North America, using the largest turbine ever built for hydroelectric development, and remains the only commercial tidal generating plant in North America Over 30 years later, the strategy to move away from oil-fired generating plants has been successful: in 2012, less than two per cent of the province’s electricity generation came from oil, while 59 per cent came from coal; 21 per cent from natural gas; and 18 per cent from renewable sources such aswind, tidal and hydro. The province’s next challenge is to phase out coal as an energy source, as it is not environmentally or economically sustainable. Nova Scotia is doing this gradually — in previous years the amount of energy produced from coal was as high as 80 per cent.
Offshore drilling for oil and natural gas began in the late 1960s, with the province’s first offshore discovery occurring at Sable Island in 1971. Canada’s first offshore project ¾ Cohasset-Panuke ¾ began production in 1992 (ending in 1999). More discoveries led to the first offshore oil and gas legislation in 1982. In March of that year, PremierJohn Buchanan signed a 42-year agreement with the federal government giving Nova Scotia the same benefits from its offshore resources that Alberta receives from its land-based oil and gas.
There is currently one offshore project in operation—the Sable Offshore Energy Project—while a second, the Deep Panuke Offshore Gas Development Project, began production in 2013.
Forestry
Nova Scotia has just over 4 million ha of forest, accounting for 79 per cent of its total land area. This resource has always been important in Nova Scotia's economy (see Timber Trade History). In the 19th century, for example, much of the province’s prosperity came from wooden ships and the lumber they carried overseas.
The most common softwood is spruce. Balsam fir is used for pulpwood and Christmas trees. The most important commercial hardwoods are red maple, sugar maple and yellow birch. Sugar maple also forms the basis of an industry for woodlot owners, especially in the north, through the production of maple syrup and allied products.
Fisheries
In terms of landed value (i.e., catch brought ashore), Nova Scotia is a leader among Atlantic coast fisheries. In 2012, for example, it accounted for about 47 per cent ($77 million) of the total landed value of fish caught along the Atlantic Ocean.
Salt and dried fish for export to Latin America was once the staple of the market, but quick-frozen and filleted fish now dominate.
Since the Second World War, schooners with dories have given way to draggers that fish the entire year. More valuable than groundfish such as haddock and cod are molluscs and crustaceans such asscallops and lobsters. The groundfish are caught both by offshore trawlers and draggers, and by inshore boats including long-liners. Lobsters are taken largely inshore by Cape Island boats; scallops by both offshore and inshore draggers; herring by seiners.
Industry
Manufacturing industries do not have a large presence in Nova Scotia. For example, in 2013, the province accounted for less than two per cent of Canada’s manufacturing sales. What products the province does manufacture, however, are namely food, wood and plastics.
Transportation
In early Nova Scotia the sea was the only highway. In the late 1760s, road building began. Politics in the latter 19th century were focused on the railway, with virtually the province’s entire railway being built between 1854 and 1914.
Due to its ice-free, deep-water harbour located a full day closer to Europe than its major American East Coast competitors, the port ofHalifax maintains its competitive edge in the international shipping business. Halifax is one of the largest natural harbours in the world and has one of the largest container ports in Canada.
VIA Rail offers passenger service with stations in Halifax, Amherst, Springhill Junction and Truro. Seagoing car ferries connect southwestern Nova Scotia with New England (via Yarmouth to Bar Harbor, Maine, and via Yarmouth to Portland, Maine) and with New Brunswick (via Digby to Saint John). In addition, car ferries operate from the province to Newfoundland (via North Sydney to Port-aux-Basques, and via North Sydney to Argentia) and to PEI (via Caribou to Wood Islands).
Halifax International Airport, the seventh busiest in Canada and the Atlantic regional hub, enjoys service to major national and international points by major Canadian carriers. Other airports include the Sydney Airport in Cape Breton and Yarmouth International Airport.
Government and Politics
In October 1758 the first legislative assembly in Britain’s North American colonies met in Halifax, and parliamentary government was born in what would become Canada. Yet perhaps Nova Scotia's greatest contribution to Canadian democracy was the movement forResponsible Government, which got underway in earnest in 1836 when — mainly through the efforts of political reformer Joseph Howeand his newspaper The Novascotian — a majority of reform-minded assemblymen was elected to the legislature. Their struggle was against a Halifax oligarchy that dominated the business, political and church life of the province in its own interest, much like the Family Compact in Upper Canada; but what they wanted in practice was for the members of the Executive Council (Cabinet) to be responsible to the elected legislature, not to the appointed colonial governor.
The Reformers finally achieved success when, in the election of 1847, they won a seven-seat majority. In February 1848 James B. Uniackebecame premier, with Howe acting as provincial secretary, together forming the first ministry operating under responsible government inBritish North America. Howe eventually became premier and also a federal Cabinet minister, despite having also led the movement to oppose Nova Scotia's entry into Confederation.
Provincial Government
Legally, executive power in Nova Scotia is vested in the lieutenant-governor; practically, however, it is exercised by the Executive Council or Cabinet, responsible to a 51-member legislature. Universal suffrage for males and females over 21 came into effect in 1920; the voting age was reduced to 19 in 1970 and to 18 in 1973.
The first genuine political parties appeared in the election of 1836 when the Tories (Conservatives) battled the Reformers (Liberals), who had come into existence almost overnight under the guidance of Joseph Howe. Until 1867 the parties contended fairly equally, but theConfederation issue upset the rough balance in favour of the anti-Confederates (Liberals). Up until 1956, the Conservatives won only four elections and were in office only 13 of the 89 years. Since theSecond World War, however, a lessening in traditional voting within the Liberal Party and the influence of Conservative Premier Robert Stanfield combined to narrow differences in electoral strength and to make the parties genuinely competitive. In the 21st century the New Democratic Party has also grown in popularity, forming a breakthrough majority government —the first NDP government east of Ontario — in 2009.
It has been very difficult to supplant established Nova Scotian premiers. W.S. Fielding (premier 1884–96), George Murray (1896–1923 — an astonishing 27 years in power), Angus L. Macdonald(1933–40 and 1945–54), Stanfield (1956–67) and John Buchanan(1978–90) maintained their political ascendency over lengthy periods. However, to describe Conservatives Stanfield and Buchanan as less liberal or more conservative than Liberals Fielding, Murray and Macdonald would be a deception, since the old-line parties pragmatically base their programs and platforms on electoral needs, not on ideology. Nova Scotians have historically been moderate and largely ‘small-c’ conservative voters.
The NDP's rise to power under Darrell Dexter in 2009 was all the more remarkable then. The party built its support incrementally over several decades, first in cosmopolitan Halifax and then among union-rich constituencies in rural Nova Scotia. Equally surprising was Dexter's defeat in 2013 at the hands of the Liberals under Stephen McNeil — and the sudden relegation of the NDP back to third-party status. The NDP loss marked the first time in over 100 years that an incumbent party hasn't won a second mandate.
Sir John Sparrow David Thompson is one of two Nova Scotian premiers to later become prime minister. He was elected premier in 1882, and served as prime minister from 1892 to 1894. Sir Charles Tupper, who championed Confederation as premier from 1864 to 1867, became prime minister in 1896. As federal Conservative leader Stanfield came close to leading the country, losing the 1972 national election to Pierre Trudeau by only two House of Commons seats.
Judiciary
Judges of the senior court, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, are appointed by the federal Cabinet. In the early 1960s it was divided into trial and appeal divisions (the Court of Appeal is the highest court in the province). The Supreme Court also includes a Family Division. Most criminal business — although not the trial of the most serious offences — is dealt with in the Provincial Court, whose judges are appointed by the provincial government.
Federal Representation
As constitutionally provided in 1867, Nova Scotia's membership in the Senate is 10, but its representation in the House of Commons has fallen from 21 in the 1870s to 11 currently, with a corresponding decrease in clout in federal politics.
Public Finance
Until Confederation most government revenues came through import duties (see Customs and Excise), which could readily be adjusted as circumstances warranted. After 1867 transfer payments from Ottawa became one of the largest source of revenue. Not until the turn of the century did the province have its first million-dollar budget, and coal royalties ranked ahead of the federal subsidy as the chief producer of revenue. Principally because of the expanding coal and steel industry, the decade before the First World War was the only period in which provincial finances have been in a genuinely healthy condition sinceConfederation.
Since 1918 the province has almost always been strapped for money and, in common with the other have-not provinces, has had to make all sorts of demands upon Ottawa. Rising health care and public sector pension costs are among the province's largest expenses. Although various governments have narrowly balanced the provincial budget in recent decades, as of 2013 Nova Scotia owed a cumulative public debt of nearly $16 billion.
Although several major Canadian banks had their origin in Halifax, their head offices are now located in central Canada. Many large Canadian corporations do, however, locate their regional offices in Halifax.
Municipal Government
Local government is carried on in regional municipalities, cities, towns and rural municipalities. The largest local government is the Halifax Regional Municipality — a sprawling geographic area that includes the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, plus the entire rural and suburban area of Halifax County — the result of a contentious 1996 amalgamation.
Health
The Department of Health and Wellness administers an extensive program of family medicine, primary care, dental care, emergency services, mental health services, infection control, continuing care and e-health services. Public health insurance is provided to eligible residents for most hospital and medical services, as well as dental care for children and pharmacare for seniors. Medical and dental research is carried on primarily by the faculties of Medicine and Dentistry atDalhousie University.
Education
The legislature has always refused to fund faith-based schools, even before Confederation. Education was originally provided via one system that permitted Catholic children to attend separate schools with Catholic teachers, effectively treating the schools as part of the public system, so long as they followed that system's course of study and observed its regulations. With the enlargement of Halifax'sboundaries and the consolidation of schools resulting from declining enrolments, the separate system has been substantially impacted.
Of Nova Scotia’s eight school boards, one is a French-language board. The elementary level comprises primary and grades one to six; the secondary level comprises grades seven to nine in junior high, and 10 to 12 in senior high. The public school system is non-denominational.
Post-secondary education consists of independent, degree-granting universities and colleges, the Nova Scotia Community College and private trade schools. Institutions providing regular university programs in Halifax are Dalhousie, Saint Mary’s, Mount Saint Vincentand the University of King’s College; outside Halifax, university programs are at Acadia in Wolfville, St Francis Xavier in Antigonish andCape Breton University in Sydney. Université Sainte-Anne at Church Point is the only francophone university in the province.
Institutions providing specialized training in Halifax include NSCAD University (formerly the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) and The Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro. Technical education for mariners is provided by the Nova Scotia Nautical Institute and by the Canadian Coast Guard College at Sydney.
The Nova Scotia Community College has 13 campuses around the province, and the Department of Education and Culture operates the provincial apprentice program.
Cultural Life
Arts
Scottish culture is particularly vigorous in the eastern part of the province. St Francis Xavier offers courses in Celtic studies (see Celtic Languages), while the Gaelic College at St Anns, Cape Breton, fosters piping, singing, dancing and handicrafts, and annually hosts the Gaelic Mod, a festival of Highland folk arts. The Antigonish Highland Games, held every summer since the 1860s, are the oldest annual Highland Games in North America. The Halifax Scottish Festival and Highland Games is held annually in Halifax by The Scots: The North British Society.
Since the 1970s, the Nova Scotian government has taken steps to support artistic, and cultural forms and activities. In 1975, it established the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia as an agency of the province responsible for the acquisition, preservation and exhibition of works of art. In 1988 the gallery moved to a restored premise in the historic Dominion Building in downtown Halifax. The Cultural Foundation was established three years later to accept, raise and administer funds for the promotion and encouragement of cultural affairs.
In 1991, the Centre for Craft and Design was established. It is a development centre for crafts- and design-related industries operating in a cultural, educational and economic context. It offers wholesale and retail product information to the trade and provides facilities for learning and display. Visual artists have organized "Studio Rally," an opportunity to visit studios of the province's many visual artists and craftspeople.
Nova Scotia is home to Symphony Nova Scotia, the only professional symphony orchestra east of Québec, and a spate of professional theatre companies, including Halifax's Neptune Theatre and Mermaid Theatre. Annual performing reviews and festivals are successfully attracting tourists and residents alike. These include the popular Cape Breton Summertime Revue, Jazz East, Musique Royale and the Scotia Festival of Music, a weeklong celebration of chamber music held each year in June.
Film production was boosted by the establishment the Nova Scotia Film Development Corp. in 1992. Popular musicians from Nova Scotia include Rita MacNeil, the Rankins, Ashley MacIsaac and the grunge rock band Sloan.
Communications
The newspaper circulating widely throughout the province is the morning Halifax Chronicle-Herald. The daily serving Cape Breton is the Cape Breton Post. There are other dailies in various communities and county weeklies abound.
The CBC provides radio service and there are a large number of private stations. Television is provided primarily by the CBC, CTV andGlobal.
Heritage Sites
Among Nova Scotia’s many national historic parks are a restoredLouisbourg, a replica of Champlain's habitation Port-Royal and theHalifax Citadel.
The provincial government, through the Nova Scotia Museums Complex, has restored a number of structures that are representative of earlier eras, including: Uniacke House, home of Richard John Uniacke, near Halifax; Perkins's House, home of Simeon Perkins, atLiverpool; and "Clifton," home of Thomas Chandler Haliburton, at Windsor.
CANADA’S FIRST PEOPLES-INUIT-METIS –NON-STATUS INDIAN INDIGENOUS FOODS....
CHAPTER 2
What's So Special about Indigenous Foods?
Foods from the natural environment which became included into the cultural food use patterns of a group of Indigenous People are known as indigenous foods. There is a great diversity of cultural ecosystems that sustained Canada's Indigenous Peoples throughout history, and hence, there is a great variety of indigenous foods that are part of our collective human knowledge. Indigenous foods can be categorized as plant foods, animal foods, earth elements such as salts, and water. The tremendous diversity of plant foods available to and used by Canada's Indigenous Peoples, which is the subject of this book, is an area deserving of careful study and documentation.
It is common knowledge that the collective wisdom of resource use in natural environments known to Indigenous People is disappearing in the face of "modernization'' and "technological development". Young people are no longer systematically taught by their elders to survive using only the natural environment. Hence, valuable information on these resources is being passed to fewer and fewer people, and gradually being lost from indigenous societies, as well as from collective human knowledge. In the face of this loss, one of the purposes of this book is to help bring recognition to the great variety of potentially useful plant foods that exist, and to stimulate research and further documentation on nutritional and botanical properties and use of plants by and for Indigenous People.
Research on indigenous foods can benefit efforts to protect the world's natural environments. By knowing the plants useful to Indigenous Peoples, temporal and longitudinal studies can demonstrate environmental integrity, or lack of it. The knowledge traditionally-living Indigenous Peoples have on the presence, absence, and/or general health of the plants and animals in their cultural milieu can be developed for environmental monitoring. This has been well demonstrated with the use of harvest studies to monitor the presence of animal Wildlife by Indigenous People in the Canadian Arctic.
Indigenous People are logical beneficiaries of attention and documentation of their traditional food resources. In many parts of the world, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, indigenous groups are working diligently to document their elders' knowledge of use of natural food resources, and to revive their use as much as is feasible in a contemporary world (cf. 'Ksan, People of, 1980; Jones, 1983; Kuhnlein and Moody, 1989). This occurs primarily in groups who still have regular access to their aboriginal lands and the natural environment still provides food resources. These people are often eager for scientific (nutritional, zoological, botanical) documentation, since the elders universally relate their impression that young people would be much healthier if they would rely more on these resources and less on marketed foods which are limited in variety and quality in the low-income areas which are usually inhabited by Indigenous People. As well as physical health benefits, it is recognized that leaders and elders of indigenous groups want to preserve and protect the knowledge of traditional environments and lifestyles for the cultural benefits they provide to people of all ages within the group. Hence, both health promotion programs and cultural enrichment programs for Indigenous People will benefit with more and better information about indigenous foods.
The diversity of physical environments in Canada has provided an array of ecologically-determined food systems for Indigenous People. This ecological diversity combined with the broad cultural diversity of Canadian Indigenous Peoples presupposes a wide range of dietary patterns, health patterns, as well as disease risk and risk for morbidity and mortality. By and large, it is assumed that if a population was successfully maintained in an area, the food resources were sufficient and morbidity and mortality was low enough to carry individuals through the reproductive age. It is also recognized that food resources are environmentally dependent and that there were episodes, whether seasonally each year, or in an occasional entire year, when food supplies were short. All groups had access to the variety of nutrients essential to health (carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, water) but short-term malnutrition probably occurred during food shortage.
In the scheme of dietary diversity, plant foods are generally viewed as good sources of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. However, the latitude and climatic patterns greatly influence the type of plant foods, indeed, of all foods, available to indigenous groups. Agricultural groups in mid-southern to eastern Canada (Huron, Ojibwa, Iroquois) cultivated maize, beans and squashes, and harvested maple sap, and wild rice. West Coast peoples had a great diversity of berries, roots and green plant foods to supplement diets rich in fish and game. Northern peoples utilized seaweeds, berries and tundra greens (Figure 1).The quantity and variety of plant foods were balanced
Figure 1. Arctic net-veined willow (Salix reticulata). A green herb eaten by Inuit in the Eastern Artic.
with quantity and variety of animal and fish foods utilized to make nutritionally complete dietary patterns. Research and understanding of the nutritional vitality in the diversity of food systems developed by these indigenous societies provides new knowledge and depth of understanding to contemporary dietary patterns of indigenous cultures as well as to our larger multicultural populations.
This kind of research is particularly imperative as we recognize that indigenous dietary patterns are being displaced for Indigenous People with marketed foods. This displacement is accelerated in areas close to urban centers, but it is also taking place in the most remote regions of Canada, including the Canadian Arctic. For a variety of reasons related to the "modernization" of contemporary society, the indigenous ("wild" or noncommercialized) food resources are falling out of use. It is hoped that this resource book will call attention to the variety of useful plant foods in Canadian environments.
It is intended that the definition of indigenous plant foods contained in this reference will be useful as a resource for groups of Indigenous People who wish to stimulate interest in their natural resources, and who can then use it for purposes of nutrition education and health promotion. A parallel effort on traditional food plants of Eastern Africa has recently been undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Hussein, 1987; FAO, 1988). Ebeling (1986) authored a fine volume on Indian foods and fibers in arid America.
Those participating in wilderness education programs are also potential beneficiaries of published knowledge on indigenous food resources. Plant identifications, ways of preparation, cautions on potential toxicity, and nutritional benefits of specific plants are highly desired information for individuals who are teaching/learning about wilderness survival. By the same token, this information is useful for general education programs on environment awareness and protection (Kuhnlein, 1984; Kuhnlein, 1985).
Another area of usefulness for information on indigenous plant foods is for genetic research and development of agricultural crops. Germplasm conservation programs and data bases of indigenous foods are valuable resources for enhancing existing crops or for development of new ones (Duke, 1977; Turner, 1981). Wild plants have been shown to successfully improve the genetic stocks of agricultural crops: the cases of Mexican teosinte maize (Robson et al; 1976) and winged bean (NRC, 1981) are excellent examples. Commercially grown fruits have been derived or genetically improved with wild species—this is true for cranberry, gooseberry, grape, blackberry, strawberry and blueberry, among others. Some wild food crops known to be used by Indigenous People, and which have now been directly adapted for commercial markets, are chia seeds, pinyon nuts, Jerusalem artichokes, wild rice, maple syrup, black walnuts, etc. (Nicholson et al., 1971; Turner, 1981). Wild, green plants used by Indigenous People of rural Mexico are actively harvested for commercial markets in urban areas (Bye, 1981). In western Canada, Saskatoon berries have been researched for their marketing potential (Mazza, 1982).
Thus, it is clear that documentation of the knowledge Indigenous People have aquired about the natural plant food resources of Canada, will benefit humankind in many ways.
MAJOR TYPES OF TRADITIONAL PLANTS AND FOODS
As of 1990, about 550 different species of plants have been documented in the literature as having been utilized in one way or another in the traditional diets of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and neighboring areas. When the variety of food types yielded by these plants is considered, the diversity is even greater, since many plants provide more than one type of food. A summary of the numbers of these traditional plant foods by major plant grouping and by plant food category is given in Tables 3-1 and 3-2.
CATEGORIES OF PLANT FOODS AND THEIR NUTRIENTS
Many traditional indigenous plant foods are comparable to those available in an average market today. These include root vegetables, green vegetables, fleshy fruits, seeds, nuts, and grains, and mushrooms. Indigenous People also have taken advantage of more exotic plant foods such as algae, lichens, flowers and the bark or inner bark of trees.
The root vegetables (i.e., tubers, corms, bulbs, rhizomes and true roots) include such root foods as wild onions, blue camas, spring beauty, yellow avalanche lily, bitterroot, balsamroot, silverweed, springbank clover (Figure 2), roseroot and knotweed. Root vegetables are recognized as the storage organs of plants and in this function they contain carbohydrates that are usually maximized at the end of the leaf-growing season, before new shoots appear. Carbohydrates can be present in a variety of forms and flavors, and may not always be readily digestible by humans. Some traditional root foods contain the carbohydrate, inulin, which becomes sweet upon cooking, due to a partial
Table 3-1. Traditional Plant Foods of Indigenous Peoples of Canada and Neighboring Areas by Major Plant Grouping
| |
Major Plant Grouping
|
Approximate Number of Species
Documented as of 1990 |
Seaweeds (Marine Algae)
|
20
|
Lichens
|
10
|
Mushrooms and other Fungi
|
20
|
Ferns and Fern-allies
|
15
|
Conifers (Gymnosperms)
|
25
|
Flowering Plants - Monocotyledons
|
60
|
Flowering Plants - Dicotyledons
|
400
|
TOTAL
|
550
|
conversion to the sugar, fructose. (Kuhnlein et al., 1982; Turner and Kuhnlein, 1983). If the skin of the root food is consumed, it can be a good source of mineral nutrients. Usually, root foods provide only small amounts of vitamins in a 100-gram portion.
Green vegetables include stems, leaves, shoots and buds. Examples of stem and shoot vegetables include thimbleberry and salmonberry, fireweed, cow-parsnip, Indian celery, and fiddleheads. Leaf vegetables are plants such as lambsquarters, watercress, mustard greens and nettles. Most are available
Table 3-2. Plant Food Categories in the Traditional Diets of Indigenous Peoples of Canada and Neighboring Areas, Showing Approximate Number of Species Providing Foods within each Category
| |
Plant Food Category
|
Approximate Number of Species
|
Inner bark, cambium and sap
|
35
|
Flowers
|
30
|
Roots (roots, bulbs, tubers, corms, rhizomes)
|
125
|
Greens (stems, leaves, buds, shoots, etc.)
|
125
|
Seeds, nuts and grains
|
50
|
Fleshy fruits (berries, drupes, pomes, etc.)
|
145
|
Sweetening agents
|
20
|
Beverages (teas and juices)
|
60
|
Miscellaneous flavorings, casual edibles and chewing gums
|
90
|
TOTAL
|
680
|
Figure 2. Springbank clover rhizones (Trifolium wormskioldii). A root vegetable from British Columbia.
(palatable and digestible) only in their young stages. Green vegetables can be expected to have a high moisture content, carotene and other vitamins (vitamin C and folic acid) and minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, etc. (cf. Kuhnlein and Turner, 1987).
Wild berries and other fleshy fruits (including drupes, pomes, and aggregate fruits) are favorite foods of many people, and, of all the traditional plant foods, they are probably the most frequently used by contemporary Indigenous People. Saskatoon berries (serviceberries), blueberries and huckleberries (Figure 3), gooseberries and currants, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cloudberries, salalberries, crowberries, cranberries, wild plums, grapes, cherries and crabapples—all of these are still harvested and enjoyed. Most wild fruits are good sources of ascorbic acid; some, such as rose hips, are exceptionally high in this important nutrient. Fruits can also contain unexpectedly high amounts of other nutrients such as calcium, vitamin A as carotene, and folic acid (Kuhnlein, 1989).
Seeds, nuts and grains, including maize, wild-rice, oak acorns, beechnuts, hazelnuts (Figure 4), black walnuts, balsamroot seeds and whitebark pine seeds, have also been eaten. Such foods are generally known to be good
Figure 3. Black mountain huckleberries (Vaccinium membranaceum), a delectable wild berry.
sources of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. In some cases, oil can be rendered from these foods. Grains from maize and wild-rice would have been used either green or mature and the energy value from stored carbohydrate and fat would vary considerably, depending on the stage of maturation. If the maize were cooked with a wood ash, the mineral contents would be raised substantially. Nuts are considered a rich source of fat and carbohydrate kilocalories, and were consumed raw or cooked. Cooking would certainly enhance their digestibility and nutrient availability. Nuts are also good sources of minerals, such as iron, the B-vitamins, and amino acids.
A relatively small number of mushroom and fungi species was featured in traditional indigenous diets; some of these are still being used. Few studies have been done on the nutrient contents of wild mushrooms, but indications are that they are comparable in nutrients to commercially available types (Turner et al., 1987).
The inner bark tissues of many types of trees have been an unusual source of plant foods. Conifers like western hemlock, Sitka spruce and lodge pole pine, but also cottonwood and other deciduous species, have inner bark tissues that were scraped off from the trees in spring. There is little documentation
Figure 4. Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta).
of nutrient content of these foods; however, they would be expected to have a high sap content. Using maple sap as an example, one would expect high carbohydrate/sugar energy values for inner bark foods.
Lichens, especially rock tripe and black tree lichen, were used in some areas, both as food and emergency food. In the far North, lichens were also utilized in a partially digested state from the rumens of caribou. Marine algae, or seaweeds, were used by virtually all coastal peoples, and sometimes were traded inland. Still used at present, they are important sources of vitamins and several minerals, particularly iodine. Both algae and lichens can be difficult to digest unless specially processed. There is little documentation on their nutrient contribution to the diets of Indigenous People. Algae have also been used as an emergency food (energy source) in coastal areas where fish and game were for some reason limited.
Flowers are unusual plant foods which are not usually available on a commercial basis today. Indigenous People took advantage of such delicacies as rose petals, fireweed flowers, and mariposa lily buds. Flowers are high moisture-containing foods, usually low in protein and fat, but some can be surprisingly rich in vitamin A as carotene or vitamin C. There is extremely little published information on the mineral contents of flowers.
There were relatively few very sweet substances in the traditional diet of Indigenous Peoples. In Eastern Canada, sugar maple and related species provided sap for syrup and sugar. In the interior of British Columbia, Douglasfir was an occasional source of a crystalline sugar produced under very unusual environmental conditions. Licorice fern rhizomes (Figure 5), were sometimes used by coastal peoples of British Columbia as a sweetener and appetizer, and some of the "root" foods containing inulin, including camas, nodding onion, and balsamroot became very sweet when the inulin was converted to fructose through storage and cooking processes. In general, however, the sweeter types of fruits such as wild strawberries, Saskatoon berries, and salal were the primary sources of sweetness in the diet, and these were sometimes used to enhance the flavor of other foods. When molasses and refined sugars were introduced, they were quickly adopted into use and were served, along with various oils and fats, with many types of traditional plant foods including greens, roots and berries.
Aside from the various sweeteners, a number of aromatic and otherwise
Figure 5. Rhizomes of licorice fern (Polypodium vulgare), which is used as a sweet.
strongly flavored plants were used as condiments in cooking. Several species of the mint family were used as culinary herbs in soups and stews, as were some species of the celery family such as Indian celery greens and seeds. Some of these plants, as well as some aromatic plants in the aster family, also functioned as preservatives for meat and fish.
Many plants in different regions were used for beverage teas or drinks. Of these, perhaps Labrador-tea is the most widely used, although the extent of its original use by Indigenous Peoples was probably much more restricted. Other beverage plants include Canada mint, wild bergamot, trailing wild blackberry and wild rose. Many teas from plants were taken as medicines or tonics as well as regular beverages. As far as can be determined, alcoholic beverages were unknown to Indigenous Peoples in prehistoric times. For example, the Fisherman Lake Slave, who make a variety of "brews" (fermented drinks) from wild plants, were said to have learned to do this from white men from Fort Liard around the turn of the century; the process requires yeast, sugar, and raisins and fermentation usually takes from two to five days (Lamont, 1977). Some specific documentation of the nutrient values of beverage plants are provided in Chapters 4 and 5.
Chapter 4 gives known nutrient values of specific plant foods within the major groups mentioned here.
HARVESTING AND PROCESSING PLANT FOODS
In general, harvesting of plant foods required little in the way of specialized equipment. Root foods were usually dug or pried out with the aid of a pointed digging stick, the design of which varied from one region to another. Originally, digging sticks were made of wood or sometimes antler, with or without a separate crosspiece for a handle. In historic times, iron digging sticks, sometimes fashioned from the tyne of an old-fashioned harrow, have been used. Other plant-gathering implements included such items as scrapers (originally of bone or antler and later of a rounded and sharpened section of tin can) for removing the edible inner bark tissue from a tree, comb-like tools for harvesting some types of berries, and poles and hooks for gathering high-growing elderberries and black tree lichen, or for pulling up eelgrass from the ocean bottom. Most greens and berries would have been harvested by hand. A wide assortment of burden baskets and containers, most constructed from various types of fibrous plant tissues, were used to transport and store the harvested foods. Birch-bark containers were particularly important for this role in many regions.
Some plant foods, especially greens and berries, could be eaten fresh and raw with little preparation other than peeling green shoots or destemming fruits. Other plant foods were prepared in some way before being served. For some, further processing was essential to render them digestible or to eliminate toxic components. Furthermore, plant foods intended for storage invariably required some degree of processing to allow their preservation.
Many different procedures were used in processing plant foods, and sometimes two or more processing techniques were applied successively. For example, a newly-harvested root food would probably undergo preliminary cleaning and might also be washed or peeled close to the site where it was dug. Then, possibly after transport to a camp area or permanent residence, it might be cooked by boiling or steaming in an underground pit. Following cooking, it might be dehydrated for storage by spreading it out on a mat for several days. At this point, the dried food could be kept for a considerable period of time—months or even years if necessary. Before it was finally consumed, it would probably be reconstituted by soaking in water or boiling in a broth with meat, fish or other foods.
Dehydration, by sun, wind or heating over a fire, was a very common and widespread method of storing plant foods for later use. This technique was especially common for berries and root foods, but was also used for mushrooms, seaweeds, inner bark, and even some greens. Depending on their nature and on their intended use, the foods could be dried loosely or individually, or mashed and dried in loaves or cakes. Roots and mushrooms might be strung on strings or threaded onto skewers for drying. Dehydration had the added advantage of making foods lighter and more compact for transport from the harvesting and processing site to permanent winter quarters. This was an important feature before the convenience of horses and other forms of land transportation. Foods that were properly dried and stored would keep up to several years. Before use, they were usually reconstituted in water.
Some foods, especially roots and certain berries, were preserved without dehydration for considerable periods. They were stored in containers or buried in underground caches. In the northern regions, caches were particularly effective, since the food generally froze if situated next to permafrost, and remained frozen over the winter, to be dug out and thawed as needed (cf. Lamont, 1977; Kari, 1977). Another method of storage used for more tart fruits, such as crabapples, elderberries, cranberries, and soapberries, was to place them in a container covered with water and sometimes a layer of fish or animal grease or oil. Such foods would soften, but remain quite palatable, sometimes becoming sweeter the longer they were kept (Turner, 1975; Port Simpson Curriculum Committee, 1983). The Inuit and some northern Indian Peoples used a fermentation or "souring" technique to preserve some of their greens, berries, and root foods. These foods were often first placed into a seal poke or, recently, a barrel. The techniques of storing and fermenting foods in the North are described in detail by Jones (1983).
Many foods, both fresh and stored, were cooked before being consumed. In some cases, as with the inulin-containing root foods (such as camas and wild onions) and black tree lichen, prolonged cooking greatly enhanced the digestibility of the food, and hence its nutrient value (Turner and Kuhnlein, 1983). Baking or steaming for many hours in an underground pit was a common method of cooking many root foods. Large quantities of food could be prepared with minimal use of containers or utensils (cf. Turner and Kuhnlein, 1982). Foods could also be boiled, either directly over a fire or stove, or using red-hot rocks heated in a fire and dropped into a box or other container with the food and usually water or some other type of liquid. Roasting over an open fire was also used for some foods.
Many plant foods were mixed with other foods, both plant and animal, before being eaten. For example some Interior Salish people of British Columbia made a type of pudding with several ingredients including Saskatoon berries, deer fat, black tree lichen, and tiger lily, and yellow avalanche lily bulbs (Turner et al., 1990). Oils and fats were often used to enhance the flavor of plant foods (Turner, 1975, 1978; 'Ksan, People of, 1980; Port Simpson Curriculum Committee, 1983; Laforet et al., 1990). Pemmican—a mixture of dried meat, berries, and fat, with many variations—is probably the best example of a food incorporating both plant and animal ingredients. In the North, a type of "ice cream" was sometimes made by whipping berries and greens together with fat and, sometimes, snow (cf. Kari, 1977; Jones, 1983).
PLANTS AS RESOURCES IN TRADITIONAL CULTURES
The great majority of Canadian Indigenous People had a traditional economy based primarily on hunting, fishing and plant gathering. Plants were regarded both as direct sources of food, and as secondary sources in the role of food for animals which were eaten. Plants also provided many useful and important materials in hunting and fishing technologies. Some groups, such as the Huron, Ojibwa and Iroquois of the Great Lakes region, practiced agriculture to some degree, growing and apparently selecting and breeding several cultivated varieties of maize, beans, squashes and pumpkins. Sunflowers were also grown, but aside from these few species, virtually all other plant foods were harvested from the wild.
However, since food production may be described as a series of developmental stages in indigenous economies (cf. Ford, 1985), many native plant species could be regarded as being in the initial phases of agriculture ("incipient agriculture"). Various means were used to encourage the growth of these food plants and to foster optimum habitat conditions. For example, controlled burning was practiced on southern Vancouver Island to optimize the production of blue camas, which grows best in an open meadow habitat (Turner and Bell, 1971). Native elders in many parts of British Columbia have recalled that patches of mountainside were formerly burned from time to time to eliminate underbrush and promote the growth and yield of black huckleberries, blackcaps, strawberries, tiger lilies and other economically important plant foods, as well as to provide good browsing areas for deer and other game. Hazelnut bushes were burned back to the ground to stimulate nut production, according to one Nlaka' pamux (Thompson) woman.
From Manitoba to the Maritimes, wild-rice was harvested on a regular, systematic basis, using methods that ensured continued production. Also in eastern Canada, sugar maple trees were tended and used year after year on a sustained yield basis.
The concept of genetic and ecotypic variability was obviously recognized by Indigenous Peoples and was a factor in food gathering. It was widely known that some localities and habitats produced a particular plant food of better quality than others. For example, some Pacific coastal peoples travelled considerable distances to obtain prime cow-parsnip shoots in the spring, even though cow-parsnip could be found nearby (Kuhnlein and Turner, 1987). Salal, thimbleberries, highbush cranberries, Pacific crabapples, camas, springbank clover and Pacific silverweed all had their designated harvesting localities in Pacific coast environments, where they were prolific and of best quality. These localities were visited year after year, and in some cases, generation after generation. This was undoubtedly true of food plants in other regions of the country.
Ownership and stewardship of particular harvesting sites by individuals, families and village groups was also widely recognized. In some cases—as with camas, springbank clover and silverweed—family ownership was established for discrete patches, whose boundaries were sometimes marked off (Boas, 1934), and proprietorship carried on for many successive generations (cf. Turner and Kuhnlein, 1982, 1983). Rocks and brush were generally cleared from these "garden" patches, and only the largest "root" parts were selected, the smaller roots, bulbs, or rhizomes being left for successive harvests. Some Nuxalk people of Bella Coola began more obvious agricultural procedures, with annual plantings of springbank clover rhizomes on the river floodplains (Edwards, 1979).
With traditions of plant resource husbanding already in place, it is not surprising that many Indigenous People became adept gardeners and farmers within the historic period. The Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands, for example, who were already experienced growers of a certain type of aboriginal tobacco, became renowned for their expertise in potato production. Haida potatoes were grown, not only for local consumption, but were traded or sold to the Tsimshian and other mainland peoples, and to trading ships and nearby Hudson's Bay Company posts.
Plant foods, especially after processing for storage, were a common item of exchange in the traditional economies of Indigenous Peoples. Dried berries, nuts and roots, and, on the Pacific Coast, boxes of highbush cranberries and crabapples preserved in water and oil, were traded over wide areas and frequently used as potlatch and ceremonial gifts. The importance of trade and gift-giving as a means of distribution of wealth and coping with relative abundance and scarcity of plant foods in different localities is discussed by Suttles (1987) for the Northwest Coast. Within the historic period, early explorers, traders, missionaries and settlers also benefited by trading plant foods from Indigenous People, and in some cases these foods meant the difference between starvation and survival (cf. Aller, 1954).
The harvesting, preparing and eating of foods often involved ritual and ceremony. In general, plants and animals—particularly those which were important as resources—were viewed with respect and gratitude. These attitudes are evident in ceremonies such as the "First Fruits" and "First Roots" ceremonies of the Okanagan-Colville of British Columbia (Turner et al., 1980).
REGIONAL AND CULTURAL VARIATION IN PLANT FOODS USE
The diversity of plant foods used varied significantly from region to region within Canada. This is due partially to geographical and ecological influences on species distribution and abundance, and partially to cultural traditions and preferences. There is very little literature on individual use frequency or quantitative consumption of plant foods (indeed, of any traditional indigenous foods) by Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The trends in use frequency of 70 traditional food species by the Nuxalk have recently been published (Kuhnlein, 1989a, Kuhnlein and Turner, 1987; Kuhnlein, 1989b). Wein reviewed the frequency of use of contemporary foods by the Wood Buffalo Cree and Chipewyan people, and this included two traditional plant foods (birch syrup and Labrador-tea) (Wein et al., 1989). Honigmann (1949, 1961) also provided quantitative evaluations of food use, including traditional foods, in his studies on Kaska and James Bay Cree.
Throughout Canada the assumption is made that, while Indigenous People collectively have traditional knowledge of use of a tremendous variety of wild plants, this knowledge rests primarily with the elders of groups. The younger generations generally use more marketed foods and fewer traditional foods, particularly plant foods, than did their elders in earlier days. As well, elders are though to use somewhat more traditional foods today than younger generations do. It is the elders who are especially anxious to have traditional foodways documented, because they recognize that the knowledge will be lost to future generations if the current trends continue.
Generally speaking, fewer plant foods (both in terms of species, and in total quantity) have been used by Indigenous People resident in northern latitudes. The greatest variety of plant foods appears to have been in the ecologically diverse plateau and montane region of south central British Columbia. Here, for example, the Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) Interior Salish used no less than 120 plant species in some way as sources of foods, flavorings or beverages (Turner et al., 1990; Laforet et al., 1990). In eastern Canada, as noted previously, cultivated plants including maize and squash, augmented a variety of gathered plant species, with fruit (berries) being the most widely exploited. Published ethnobotanical works often describe the plants used, but give little quantitative information on the extent of use by population groups.
The amount of a plant food used, together with its nutrient contents, are the two essential pieces of information needed to determine the contribution a food makes to the nutrient needs of individuals. In the absence of the first essential piece of information, only generalizations about potential usefulness of a plant food to a population group can be made. However, if a food is known to be a good source of nutrition, and if it is widely available and known to be aesthetically pleasing to the group, assumptions can be made with greater certainty that the food is, or was, widely used.
PLANT FOODS AND THE HEALTH OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
The health implications of the use of indigenous plant foods are multifaceted. On the one hand, plant foods contain nutrients that are not as readily found in animal foods, such as fibre, carotenes, vitamin C, and energy-rich carbohydrates. The diets of precontact Indigenous People would be expected to contain reasonable amounts of plants to provide these nutrients, and plant foods were stored for use during seasons when they were not available fresh from the environment. Plant foods also provided variety in flavor and texture to a meat, fish or grain based subsistence pattern.
Since contact with Europeans, many other foods have been introduced and are available for purchase. These can provide energy and variety to Indigenous People, but those that are most frequently purchased (particularly sweet and starchy foods) are not good sources of nutrients usually associated with plant foods—such as vitamins and minerals. Hence, since Indigenous People have been replacing many of their natural plant foods with purchased foods, she overall nutrient quality of the diet has been declining. Recently, a variety of research programs has been conducted in diverse indigenous groups in Canada which clearly documents the poor quality of the diets of the majority of individuals (Kuhnlein, 1984; Sevenheusen and Bogert-O'Brien, 1987; Schaefer and Steckle, 1978). Hence, it would benefit Indigenous People to either begin to reintroduce some of their nutrient-rich traditional plant foods, or to create a more effective demand for plant foods of high nutritional qualiry in die food markets available to them.
Another consideration in the use of plant foods by Indigenous People is the potential toxic constituents contained in them. While most commercially marketed foods are known to contain only very low levels of identified toxins, wild plants are candidates for scrutiny, because toxins have been identified in some of them. Indigenous people are well known for their ingenuity in processing plant foods to remove toxins, and it is thus prudent to note traditional processing techniques that would accomplish detoxification. The major techniques used to remove plant toxins are: heating, leaching, fermenting, adsorption, drying, physical processing, and changing the acid-base ratio; these have been recently reviewed by Johns and Kubo (1988). It is clear that toxicity safety issues cannot be ignored when considering the nutritional value of plant foods. In Chapter 4 the plant foods that contain toxins and which are used by Indigenous People are identified, along with the techniques which remove the toxins. The known presence of potential toxins is also noted in the comprehensive listing of plants in Chapter 5. The most toxic genus of plant food known, that of Robinia spp., has not been included in the various lists of edible plants reported here, even though some nutrient information exists for some species in the genus.
CONSERVATION OF PLANT RESOURCES
Indigenous Peoples have developed many conservation strategies to maintain biological populations and productivity of plant and animal food resources. Selective and seasonal harvesting, habitat conservation and maintenance, and use of diverse resource bases are practices which were widely used, and are as applicable to modern resource use as they were in the past.
Today, populations of native plants and animals, and the ecosystems they inhabit, are more vulnerable to destruction than ever before. Modern practices of clearcut logging, strip mining, open range livestock production, and large-scale agriculture have drastically depleted the extent of natural habitats and the plants and animals living within them. Urban expansion, industrial development, widespread use of herbicides and insecticides on forests and farmlands, and the introduction of aggressive weeds and animal pests have taken a further toll on native plant and animal resources. Because of all these pressures on wild biological populations, extreme care must be taken to conserve and maintain natural habitats and native species.
Although overharvesting of wild plant foods by individuals is seldom a problem if done carefully and with discretion, there are certain plants that are particularly affected by disturbance and harvesting practices. This is especially a problem with plants having edible underground parts and edible shoots, where harvesting may destroy an entire plant. For example, in some areas of eastern Canada, wild leeks (Allium tricoccum) and fiddlehead ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) have been overharvested (mostly by non-Indigenous wild food enthusiasts) from wild areas and their populations have been seriously depleted. People wishing to use wild plant resources should be aware of the effects of harvesting on a plant population and use discretion as to whether a wild food should be taken at all and, if so, what quantity should be used. It is also important to remember that many wild animals depend on the same wild plant foods as used by people, and therefore their needs must be considered in harvesting decisions. As a general rule, harvesting should be widely spaced rather than intensive, with shoots, berries, leaves, and other plant foods being taken in small quantities from many plants rather than in large amounts from just a few plants. Plants in the Comprehensive List (Chapter 5) which are marked with an "R" (rare or endangered, or highly vulnerable to overharvesting) should not be harvested under ordinary circumstances.
Many wild plant foods discussed in this book can be propagated from seeds or cuttings, and grown in garden situations (cf. Nuxalk Food and Nutrition Program, 1984). This is an excellent alternative to harvesting plant foods from natural areas, since it makes them more readily available without affecting their abundance in the wild. Most are attractive in garden and landscape settings, and many have the added advantage of attracting birds and other desirable wildlife. Demonstration gardens of wild plant foods and other culturally important native plants provide an excellent teaching situation for schools, museums, and cultural centers. Those interested in preserving traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples should consider the use of living plant material to demonstrate the use and identification of plant resources.
Thus, it is realized that plant foods have been important cultural components and dietary components for Indigenous Peoples. They have provided variety, aesthetic qualities and nutrients not otherwise available in subsistence foods from the natural environment. Although toxic elements are recognized as natural components in plants, technologies developed by Indigenous Peoples minimized their negative effects. In addition, Indigenous Peoples used their knowledge to conserve their natural resources to ensure future availability. In the following chapters we note the many different plant foods used by Indigenous Peoples, the many ways they have been used, and the variety of nutritional properties they contain. http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/other/ai215e/AI215E05.htm
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