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PJILI'TAWG  JI'JAQAMIJ  MI'KMAQEWEK!
WELCOME  TO  MI'KMAW  SPIRIT!

 

WHAT IS THIS SITE, AND WHY IS IT HERE?

 

Simply stated, this site was created in order to give people a reliable place to
find accurate information about the Mi'kmaw people and their culture, their
history, and their spirituality.

In our experience, there are many misconceptions about First Nations people in
general, and about the Mi'kmaq in particular. Many people today are seeking
answers to their spiritual questions, or looking for something to fill a void in
their lives, and are turning to Aboriginal beliefs and practices in an attempt
to find these things. This has led to a romanticized view of the "noble savage"
living an idyllic existence in peace and harmony with nature and communing
regularly with the spirits. There is also a tendency for people to think that
what applies to one Aboriginal culture applies to all, even if those cultures
developed on different continents!

In actuality, each First Nation developed its own culture and traditions, and
was given its own unique spiritual practices to suit its own circumstances and
needs. Special ceremonies that were done by one Nation were not necessarily done
by any other Nation, or if they were, they may not have been done in quite the
same way. Even on an individual level, the members of these Aboriginal cultures
did not necessarily all regularly practice their spiritual traditions. Each
person was an individual, and found their way through life in the way that
seemed best to them, much as we do today.

Of course, these people really DID live in harmony with the earth - they had no
choice, since to do otherwise was to sign your own death warrant. First and
foremost, Aboriginal people were pragmatic, and did what was necessary for
survival. It was under these harsh realities that they developed the traditions
that enabled them to live in harmony with the land.

The information that you find on this site pertains only to the Mi'kmaw people.
While there are indeed many common threads in First Nations culture, beliefs and
spirituality, please do not try to apply what you learn here to any other
Nation. At the same time, do not try to apply things that you have learned about
other Nations to the Mi'kmaq. In particular, do not apply what you may have
learned from Hollywood to the Mi'kmaq, or to any other Nation - any resemblance
between the Hollywood First Nation and reality is purely coincidental.

Our pledge to you is that this site contains only facts, and is accurate to the
very best of our ability to make it so. We sincerely hope that you will find the
information useful, and that you will leave this site feeling that you have
learned something of value.

 

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

 

This site is divided into the following sections:

Section Topic Culture This section deals with the culture of the Mi'kmaq,
particularly prior to contact with Europeans. The topics dealt with include:    
Daily Life discusses what daily life was like prior to contact     Spirituality
discusses the spiritual beliefs and practices of the Mi'kmaq     Oral Tradition
discusses the importance of storytelling in the Mi'kmaw culture, and recounts
some of the legends that formed the cultural background of the Mi'kmaq as a
people     Mi'kmaw writing discusses the original Mi'kmaw writing form, and
current orthographies that have been adopted to put the Mi'kmaw language into
print     Mi'kmaw Songs Provides the lyrics to a few common Mi'kmaw traditional
songs, as sung today, and includes translations and phonetic equivalents History
This section deals with the history of the Mi'kmaq people, and includes
timelines of pre-contact and post-contact events, as well as a section dedicated
to Kejimkujik, an area of special importance to the Mi'kmaq. Links This page is
a fairly comprehensive collection of links to other web-sites related to the
Mi'kmaq, as well as to other First-Nations related sites.  Talking Stick This
section is where we share our viewpoints about current issues with you, our
cyberspace friends. 

It is also a place where you can have your say - after all, a Talking Stick gets
passed around the circle!

The Authors This section deals with us, the authors of this website. The topics
dealt with include:     About the authors Just in case you're curious    
Muin'iskw's Legacy This section contains a number of articles that contain the
wisdom and teachings of Muin'iskw, from Facebook posts to presentations from her
time as a Parks Canada interpreter of the culture and history of the Mi'kmaq.  
  Spiritual events In this section we provide information about the spiritual
events that we organize, including our mid-winter Storytellers' Gathering, and
the annual Kejimkujik Spiritual Gathering. Facebook Group An interactive
discussion of spirituality, Mi'kmaw or otherwise, through the private Facebook
group "Mi'kmaw Spirit."         Latest Update: 20 October 2023: Updated links
and basic maintenance

For a list of all recent changes, see "What's New"

 

 

Updated: 20 Oct 2023


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

 
HOME
CULTURE
HISTORY
LINKS
TALKING STICK
THE AUTHORS
Daily Life
Spirituality
Oral Tradition
Mi'kmaw writing
Mi'kmaw songs
Semi-Nomadic Lifestyle
Organization
Hunting and Fishing
Shelter and Implements
Dress and Ornamentation
The Game of Waltes
Medicines
The Medicine Wheel
The Talking Circle
The Sweat Lodge
Fasting
The Sacred Pipe
The Role of Women
Personal Spirituality
Mi'kmaw Creation Story
The Invisible One
Muin, the Bear's Child
How Muin Became Keeper of Medicines
The Legend of the Hand of the Medicine Man
The Origin of the Sweat Lodge
Mi'kmaw ideograms
Mi'kmaw orthographies
Mi'kmaw songs
Kejimkujik
Timelines
The Early People
The Petroglyphs
Commemoration
Preservation
Pre-Contact
Post-Contact
About The Authors
Muin'iskw's Legacy