LibGuides: Indigenous Peoples in Canada: Mi'kmaq

Mi’kma’ki (Mi'kmaq) Territories (Authentic Voice) Native-land.ca
Mi'kmaq History (Authentic Voice)
Mi'kmaw (Authentic Voice)
First Voices
Mi'kmaq
Eastern Woodlands Indigenous Peoples in Canada The Eastern Woodlands is one of six cultural areas of Indigenous peoples in Canada. The region stretches from the northeastern coast of present-day United States and the Maritimes to west of the Great Lakes. The Eastern Woodlands includes, among others, the Haudenosaunee, Mi’kmaq, Ojibwe and Wendat (Huron) peoples.
Eastern Woodland Hunters
Canada's First Peoples
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This is not an authentic resource
Mi'kmaq articles from 4 Canoes Magazines (Authentic Voice)

Seasonal Movement By Gregg White
Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada (authentic voice)
Four Directions Teachings: Mi'kmaq This website provides information about the culture of five Indigenous Peoples—Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Nēhiyaw (Cree), Mi’kmaq, Anishinaabe (Ojibwe), and Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk).

Ask an Elder: What's an "Elder?" (03:59)
MI’KMAQ CULTURE (AGES 9-11) National Film Board Playlist
When Climate Change Hits Home (11:48)
The Preservation Project Playlist
AGES 14-16 Our Nationhood (1:36:00) 2003 In this feature-length documentary, Indigenous filmmaker and artist Alanis Obomsawin chronicles the determination and tenacity of the Listuguj Mi'kmaq people to use and manage the natural resources of their traditional lands. The film provides a contemporary perspective on the Mi'kmaq people's ongoing struggle and ultimate success, culminating in the community receiving an award for Best Managed River from the same government that had denied their traditional rights.

Mi'kmaq Collection
Mi'kmaq Stories
District Learning Centre
(AbEd Library)
AGES 8-12 Waseteg (Phyllis Grant 2010 | 6 min) Waseteg is the story of a young Mi'kmaq girl whose name means “the light from the dawn.” Sadly, her mother dies while giving birth and, though her father works very hard to provide for his family, Waseteg is surrounded by the bitterness and loneliness felt by her sisters. As a young girl, Waseteg looks for solace in nature, and dreams of the stories she’s heard in the village – including one about Walqwan, the mysterious boy living across the river. Eventually, with the gentle care of the boy's grandmother, Waseteg succeeds in finding Walqwan, discovering the Spirit Path, and restoring love to her family. A short story about dreams, courage, identity, creation and embracing our Elders, Waseteg showcases Phyllis Grant's signature style of bold lines, bright colours and simple movements. The film is beautifully narrated by legendary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin.
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Teacher Guide available
AGES 7-16 Maq and the Spirit of the Woods (Phyllis Grant 2006 | 8 min) This animated short tells the story of Maq, a Mi'kmaq boy who realizes his potential with the help of inconspicuous mentors. When an elder in the community offers him a small piece of pipestone, Maq carves a little person out of it. Proud of his work, the boy wants to impress his grandfather and journeys through the woods to find him. Along the path Maq meets a curious traveller named Mi'gmwesu. Together they share stories, medicine, laughter, and song. Maq begins to care less about making a good impression and more about sharing the knowledge and spirit he's found through his creation. Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children's stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.
AGES 10-13 Vistas: Little Thunder (Nance Ackerman & Alan Syliboy 2009 | 3 min) This animated short, inspired by the Mi'kmaq legend "The Stone Canoe" explores Indigenous humour. We follow Little Thunder as he reluctantly leaves his family and sets out on a cross-country canoe trip to become a man.
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Teacher Guide available

Jingle Dress Dancing Feb 8, 2017 Membertou Youth Cheif, Montana Marshall shows us how to Jingle Dress Dance and tells us why she's so passionate about it.
Grass Dancing Feb 8, 2017 Oonig Paul Ward, from Membertou First Nation shows us Grass Dancing, explaining the regalia and the role of a Grass Dancer
Fancy Shawl Dancing Feb 8, 2017 Membertou youth, Malaysia Sappier talks to us about her experience as a Fancy Shawl Dancer and talks about the importance of dance, and it's history.

Mi'kmaq Artist Loretta Gould
Exhibition of Mi'kmaq Art
Artist Jordan Bennett
This artist infuses living Mi'kmaq history into every inch of this dazzling print (6:20) We've featured Jordan Bennett before at CBC Arts, and we've returned to him both for the strength of his work and because he's one of the eight artists continuing the legacy of the lithography workshop at NSCAD University. Often, Bennett's designs have been rooted in Mi'kmaq quillwork — and he repeatedly returns to porcupine quillwork as a source of inspiration. In Bennett's print, he references the everyday life of Mi'kmaq people. Bennett says, "The entirety of this piece, colour-wise, represents different stages of the day, all the different cycles on the day of the season, the life. For me these represent clouds. These designs and many different nations across Turtle Island, that's what they represent — clouds, cloud designs."

Indigenous Peoples in Canada: Mi'kmaq

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