For some, it was a day spent living their culture. For others, it was a day spent reclaiming their culture. But for all of them, it was an occasion to celebrate their Indigenous heritage and share it with others.
National Indigenous Peoples Day was celebrated across Queens County June 21. From Kejimkujik National Park to downtown Liverpool, the Mi’kmaq people of Queens shared their culture with friends, neighbours and strangers alike.
“For me, it’s all I know,” said Melissa Labrador, whose grandfather helped establish Acadia First Nation (AFN) half a century ago. “Everything I do is based on who I am as a Mi’kmaq person. That’s how I was born and raised. And that’s how I live today.”
Labrador is a resident of Wildcat Reserve, which was established in 1820, long before the inception of the AFN. According to its website, the community is “tightly knit” and a place where “traditional activities such as hunting, fishing, trapping and canoeing are still practiced.”
Labrador’s father Todd is a well-known builder of traditional birchbark canoes. Her mother Jean, who passed away seven years ago, was a supervisor at Kejimkujik and helped build the park’s Indigenous cultural programs.
“She fought a lot of battles for the people,” Labrador said. “The government didn’t always want to listen to her, but she persisted.”
Labrador believes having a federally sanctioned day to honour Indigenous people is beneficial. “I think it’s a good thing,” she said. “Any recognition is positive and a step toward the truth and reconciliation process.”
But that process is more difficult than some want to admit, she said. “Before we can fully address reconciliation, we have to look at the truth – the hard truth, what really took place.” Non-Indigenous people have an important role to play by educating themselves, said Labrador. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Attend Indigenous events. Learn about our history.”
Mi’kmaq people who did not have an opportunity to grow up in their culture also have an obligation, she said. “The culture is new to a lot of them. They are still finding their identity.” The key for people on this path is to ensure they adopt authentic Mi’kmaq practices that have been in place in Queens for thousands of years, she said.
Judy Boutilier, cultural officer for the AFN, is all too familiar with this path to cultural self-awareness. She speaks with many Queens residents of Mi’kmaq descent whose families hid their heritage to avoid racism and harassment. As a result, they lost their connection to the language, customs and knowledge of their ancestors.
“Things have certainly gotten better over the years in terms of awareness, understanding and prejudice,” Boutilier said. “But there is still work to do.”
The establishment of the Sipuke’l Gallery in Liverpool’s old town hall has played an important role in making Indigenous culture more visible and accessible to people, she said. It’s also a tangible expression of the growing relationship between the AFN and the Region of Queens Municipality.
Boutilier helped organize an awareness-building event for children of all backgrounds at the gallery June 21. Meanwhile, at the Native Council of Nova Scotia office just outside of town, there was a traditional ceremony, followed by a series of lectures and hands-on learning opportunities.
Kinsey Francis, a 17-year-old student at Liverpool Regional High School, did her part to promote awareness and understanding of First Nations culture on National Indigenous Peoples Day.
A status Mi’kmaq through her grandfather and father, she sang the traditional honour song and performed smudging at her mother’s place of employment.
Already well-versed in many aspects of Mi’kmaq culture, Francis is eager to learn as much as possible to ensure its survival. “I don’t want this stuff to get lost,” she said. “I don’t want in a hundred years for people to think of our culture as something that existed a long time ago.”
To become an ambassador for Mi’kmaq traditions, the Brooklyn resident plans to immerse herself in them when she graduates from high school. “I want to go to Cape Breton University and take Mi’kmaq studies and focus on language,” Francis said. “I feel language is something we are losing and it’s scary how fast it’s going away. If I can learn it better, then I can teach it to other people.”
Francis said proclaiming National Indigenous Peoples Day is the least the federal government can do, given Canada’s troubled colonial history. “I think it’s important to have a day to recognize Indigenous culture, especially after what has happened in the past.”
LighthouseNow Progress Bulletin
June 27, 2018
Scott Costen 