Mi'kmaq

Encyclopedia : M : MI : MIK : Mi'kmaq

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The Mi'kmaq (also Míkmaq, Mi'gmaq, Micmac or MicMac) are a First Nations people, (self recognized as L'nu/Lnu'k) indigenous to northeastern New England, Canada's Atlantic Provinces, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. The word Mi'kmaw is the singular form of Mi'kmaq. The Nation has a population of about 40,000 of whom approximately one-third still speak the Algonquian language Lnui'simk (Mi'kmaq Language) which was once written in Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing and is now written using most letters of the standard English alphabet.

In the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador October is celebrated as Mi'kmaq History Month and the entire Nation celebrates Treaty Day annually on October 1st.

Mi'kmaq First Nation subdivisions

Note: Mi'kmaq names in the table have all been spelled according to a several orthographies; The Mi'kmaq orthographies in use are Hieroglyphs, Rand, Pacifique, and the most recent Smith-Francis, which has been adopted by most of the Mi'kmaq First Nation. (Compare Kespék versus Gespeg).

Community	Province/State	Town/Reserve	Est. Pop.	Míkmaq name
Abegweit First Nation	PE	Scotchfort Rocky Point Morell	?	Epekwitk
Acadia	NS	Yarmouth	996	Malikiaq
Annapolis Valley	NS	Cambridge Station	219	Kampalijek
Aroostook Band of Micmac	ME	Presque Isle	920	Ulustuk
Bear River First Nation	NS	Bear River	272	L’setkuk
Buctouche First Nation	NB	Buctouche	80	Puktusk
Burnt Church First Nation	NB	Burnt Church 14	1,488	Eskinuopitijk
Chapel Island First Nation	NS	Chapel Island	576	Potlotek
Eel Ground First Nation	NB	Eel Ground	844	Natuaqanek
Eel River Bar First Nation	NB	Eel River Bar	589	Oqpíkanjik
Elsipogtog First Nation	NB	Big Cove	2,720	Lsipuktuk
Eskasoni First Nation	NS	Eskasoni	5,000	Eskisoqnik
Fort Folly First Nation	NB	Dorchester	105	Amlamkuk Kwesawék
Micmacs of Gesgapegiag	QC	Maria	1,174	Keskapekiaq
Nation Micmac de Gespeg	QC	Fontenelle	490	Kespék
Glooscap First Nation	NS	Hantsport	?	Pesikitk
Indian Island First Nation	NB	Indian Island	145	L’nui Menikuk
Lennox Island First Nation	PE	Lennox Island	700	L’nui Mnikuk
Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation	QC	Listiguj	3,166	Listikujk
Membertou First Nation	NS	Sydney	1,051	Maupeltuk
Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation	NB	Red Bank	527	Metepnákiaq
Miawpukek First Nation	NF	Conne River	2,366	Miawpukwek
Millbrook First Nation	NS	Truro	1000	Wékopekwitk
Pabineau First Nation	NB	Pabineau	214	Kékwapskuk
Paq’tnkek First Nation	NS	Afton	489	Paqtnkek
Pictou Landing First Nation	NS	Trenton	547	Puksaqtéknékatik
Indian Brook First Nation	NS	Shubenacadie	2,120	Sipekníkatik
Wagmatcook First Nation	NS	Wagmatcook	623	Waqmitkuk
Waycobah First Nation	NS	Whycocomagh	900	Wékoqmáq

Demographics

In 1616 Father Biard believed the Mi'kmaq population to be in excess of 3.000. But he remarked that, because of European diseases, there had been large population losses in the last century. Smallpox, wars and alcoholism led to a further decline of the native population, which was probably at its lowest in the middle of the 17th century. Then the numbers grew slightly again and seemed to be stable during the 19th century. In the 20th century the population was on the rise again. The average growth from 1965 to 1970 was about 2.5 %.

Year	Population	Verification
1500	4.500	Estimation
1600	3.000	Estimation
1700	2.000	Estimation
1750	3.000	Estimation
1800	3.100	Estimation
1900	4.000	Census
1940	5.000	Census
1960	6.000	Census
1972	9.800	Census
2000	20.000	Estimation

Other

The spiritual capital of the Mi'kmaq nation is the gathering place of the Mi'kmaq Grand Council, Mniku or Chapel Island in the Bras d'Or Lakes of Cape Breton Island. The island also the site of the St. Anne Mission, an important pilgrimage site for the Mi'kmaq. The island has been declared a historic site. [(CBC)]

The name "Quebec" is thought to derive from a Mi'kmaq word meaning "strait," referring to the narrow channel of the Saint Lawrence River near the city site.

See also

• Treaty of Watertown
• Bob Newman - radio host and Mi'kmaq
• Elsipogtog First Nation

Literature

• Bruce G. Trigger (Hrsg.): Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 15. Northeast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 1978 ISBN 0-16004-575-4
• Harald E. L. Prins: The Mi'kmaq: Resistance, Accommodation, and Cultural Survival (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology), Thomson Learning, 1996, ISBN 0030534275
• Stephen A. Davis: Mi'kmaq: Peoples of the Maritimes, Nimbus Publishing (CN), 1998, ISBN 1551091801
• Daniel N. Paul:We Were Not the Savages: A Mi'kmaq Perspective on the Collision Between European and Native American Civilizations, Fernwood Pub., 2000, ISBN 1552660397
• William C. Wicken: Mi'kmaq Treaties on Trial: History, Land, and Donald Marshall Junior, University of Toronto Press Inc., 2002, ISBN 0802076653
• Ruth Holmes Whitehead: The Old Man Told Us: Excerpts from Mi'kmaq History 1500-1950, Nimbus Pub Ltd, 2004, ISBN 0921054831
• Rita Joe, Lesley Choyce: The Mi'kmaq Anthology, Nimbus Publishing (CN), 2005, ISBN 1895900042

External links

• [First Nations Profiles]
• [Micmac History]
• [Mi'kmaq History Month]
• [Mi'kmaq Portraits Collection]
• [Mi'kmaq Dictionary Online]

 

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