First Nations, Identity, and Reserve Life: The Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia

Notes

Introduction 1. A powwow is a Native North American public festival that originated in the American West and spread to most tribes in the continent. It is a gathering celebrating the host community and its guests, and it usually takes place over a weekend. A powwow combines ceremonial elements, such as the drum, specific songs and dances, the sacred fire, and the dancers ’ regalia, with festive ones, such as intertribal dances open to everybody, food, vendors, and a general entertainment atmosphere. See Clyde Ellis et al. 2005; Lerch and Bullers 1996; Mattern 1999. 2. The word “Mawio’mi” translates in English as “gathering.” Mawio’mi is among the words that are frequently used by many Mi’kmaw people who are not fluent in the Mi’kmaw language as substitutes for the English equivalent in verbal communications. Some of the other terms commonly used in place of their English translations are wela’lin/wela’lioq (thank you [sing.]/thank you [pl.]), luskinikin (a Mi’kmaw common type of baked bread, usually served with butter or molasses), ju’kej (lobster), gwi’s (boy/ son, used as a term of affection), and tu’s (girl/daughter, used as a term of affection). 3. This work utilizes the Francis/Smith orthography according to which “the variant form Mi’kmaw plays two grammatical roles: 1) it is the singular of Mi’kmaq and 2) it is an adjective in circumstances where it precedes a noun (e.g. Mi’kmaw people)” (unsi/cmm/ncns 2007:2). The word Mi’kmaq, which means “relatives” or “the family,” is the Mi’kmaw people’s preferred choice of spelling for the word Micmac, its phonemic transcription. The first written reference to the word Micmac appeared in the 1676 memoirs of Charles Aubert de la Chesnay. Until recently, the Notes 276 notes to pages 1–4 spelling “Micmac” has been the standard choice in academic literature. In their language, the Mi’kmaq call themselves Lnu’k, “The People,” which is the plural variant of Lnu, “Human” (Prins 1996a; Whitehead 1988). 4. The term “band” identifies one of the 29 Mi’kmaw communities that form the Mi’kmaw First Nation. First Nation is the Canadian Native institutional body equivalent to the U.S. “tribe.” Each band possesses its own reserve territory, which is either one unified piece of land or is divided into a main reserve area and one or more small separate appendices. The terms “band” and “reserve” are often used as synonyms. Recently, single Mi’kmaw bands began to identify themselves as First Nations (e.g., Indian Brook First Nation). For a discussion of the “national” character of the single bands, see pp. 95–100. 5. The term “reserve,” utilized in this work, is the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. “reservation.” 6. See, among others, Barsh 2002; Berneshawi 1997; Coates 2000; Hertzberg 1971; Nagel 1996; Paul 2000; Poliandri 2003; Prins 1994, 1996a; Upton 1979. 7. I acknowledge that the tribe’s or First Nation’s name is the most accurate and respectful term when referring to specific peoples, institutions, and things. In this sense, I use the term “Mi’kmaq” accordingly throughout this manuscript. However, it would be unfeasible to spell out the individual names of each tribe and First Nation when referring to the Aboriginal groups of Canada or North America in a general way. To this purpose, and due to the lack of an agreed-upon universal term among Native peoples, I use the terms “Native,” “Native American,” “Native North American,” “First Nations people,” “Aboriginal people,” “Indigenous people,” “American Indian,” and “Indian” interchangeably in the text. All of these terms were used regularly by the Mi’kmaw people I interacted with during the entire course of my research. For a detailed discussion of the politics of naming, see Bowd and Brady 1998; Yellow Bird 1999. 8. See, to begin with, Berkes 1999a, 1999b; Bruchac 1993; Bucko 1998; Dominguez 1986; Lerch and Bullers 1996; Mauzé 1997; Neihardt 1979[1932]; West 1996. 9. The late Vine Deloria’s critical and humorous stereotype of anthropology and anthropologists in the chapter “Anthropologists and Other Friends” in his book Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (Norman , University of Oklahoma Press, 1988[1969]):78–100, and its 1970 notes to pages 10 –16 277 musical rendering by late Dakota singer and songwriter Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman, “Here Come the Anthros,” stand among the most representative Native public statements...