What’s in a name? For the Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek Mi’kmaw Place Names Project, a Lot

Student researchers Matt Meuse-Dallien, Kachina Sack, and Peter Christmas holding Mi’kmaw place names project poster.

For many people, names give a sense of belonging and community. Beginning fourteen years ago, the Ta'n Weji-sqalia'tiek Mi'kmaw Place Names Digital Atlas and Website Project has expanded into a unique resource with over 800 place names and has featured 30 research positions for Mi'kmaw youth and student researchers over that time.  The project marks another way of bringing to life the profound relationship Mi’kmaq have with the ancient landscape of Mi’kma’ki.  

“The naming of places in Mi'kma'ki was always very logical and descriptive, so our people would know where they were at all times,” recounts the late Elder Gregory Johnson in the short film ‘The Nature of Place Names’ which is featured on the homepage of the Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek website.

The project now has a new look and feel, making it easier for users to engage with this unique history and ancient landscape. With help from Membertou Geomatics, the web-based map includes new enhanced sound bites and video clips of Elders sharing their lived experiences on the land. Users can explore numerous Mi’kmaw place names, learn place-name etymology and engage with the rich language of the Mi’kmaq. The new logo design and colour scheme reflect the importance of history and the land, and artworks by Mi’kmaw artists Alan Sylliboy and Gerald Gloade, are featured throughout the site and Elder's videos.

“Our instructions were to build a high-end website that would deliver the data through audio, video and a mapping infrastructure, which was completed in 2015,” states the committees Mi’kmaw Co-chair and Project Director, Tim Bernard of Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre. With this new refresh, the project has expanded and covers more areas than ever before.  

Project Lead, Dr. Trudy Sable of Saint Mary’s University, began to supervise the project when she was approached by Mr. Bernard and Rob Ferguson of Parks Canada. Through community-based focus groups, interviews, surveys, and discussions with numerous experts, the project has been driven by the vision of the Mi’kmaw communities, and the expressed needs of numerous institutional representatives for an inclusive and scholarly resource. 

Student researchers join archaeologist and project mentor Roger Lewis, archaeologist Rob Ferguson, and Project Lead, Trudy Sable on canoe trip to explore the Sɨkɨpne'katik (Shubenacadie) River, a pre-contact, Mi’kmaw traditional travel route.

“I have been deeply privileged to work with the many Elders, Mi’kmaw scholars, leaders, and community members who have contributed their time and knowledge to making the Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek website and digital atlas happen,” says Dr. Sable. “Hearing the voices of Mi’kmaq who lived throughout Mi’kma’ki wakes me up to the deeply rooted and powerful reality of their relationship to this landscape.”

“I am grateful for their generosity in sharing their personal histories and knowledge, much of which has been invisible in the rendering of history,” recounts Dr. Sable. “The student researchers inspired me as they learned to research the place names and hear the Elders' stories and then carry this knowledge forward in the new roles they take on in their lives. I feel confident that the website will continue to expand and educate many people in new perspectives and ways of knowing the landscapes we all inhabit.”

A core component of the project has been to ensure the capacity building of Mi'kmaw youth. Since 2010, the project has offered numerous research positions for Mi'kmaw youth and student researchers to learn from Elders, and Mi’kmaw scholars and leaders. In these positions, the students have been trained in map interviewing and protocol, video editing, database set-up and entry, language training, and conducting archival research.  

“During my Atlantic Canadian Studies MA degree at Saint Mary’s University, I was hired to work as a research assistant for the Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek: Mi’kmaw Place Names Project. It was an experience I thoroughly enjoyed,” says Raymond Sewell, previously a student researcher for the project, now an assistant professor at Saint Mary’s.  

“Dr. Trudy Sable, Dr. Bernie Francis, and Roger Lewis taught me valuable research skills. I worked with other students on this project that I now count as friends, each of us working in different fields. We all shared a fulfilling work experience. We were able to meet and interview L’nu Elders, travel to various sites, have canoe excursions, and work with various organizations like the Nova Scotia Museum,” recounts Mr. Sewell. “I had a great time learning place-name etymology. I was responsible for entering different orthographies into the database, and that engagement with my language was an excellent experience. I am now an English professor, and I use the website in my class to teach students the importance of land and language.” 

Both the website and digital atlas have become integral to developing educational programming, enhancing Mi'kmaw tourism, and promoting cultural awareness about the Mi'kmaq.

“The Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek digital atlas and website is an essential resource for our work in archaeological and cultural landscape studies,” says Dr. Jonathon Fowler, archaeologist and professor in the Anthropology department at Saint Mary’s. “I use it regularly in my research and teaching, and, truth be told, it is so interesting I often explore it just for fun. It contains incredible insights and not a few surprises.” 

Since 2015, the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre has taken on the responsibility of stewarding and caring for the data, which is safely stored at the Membertou Datacentre, and overseeing the transfer of the project from SMU to the Nation. With help from Membertou Geomatics, the web-based map has undergone a functionality refresh making it easier for users to explore the significant history of the Mi’kmaq and the unique landscape of Mi’kma’ki.  

“Our engagement within our Mi’kmaw communities in 2007-08 was extensive and at that time we were told, very clearly, to go deep and dig down and collect this vast but quickly disappearing knowledge from this generation of Elders that still carry the language and still hold the knowledge,” says Mr. Bernard. “We’re very fortunate to have built this relationship with SMU and Dr. Sable. They understood that the information and data needed to be protected and retained by the Nation, for the Nation.”  

Initiated in 2008 by the Mi'kmaq - Nova Scotia - Canada Tripartite Forum, Culture and Heritage Committee, the project grew to include numerous other partners and funders. There has been close to $1M invested to protect and share this data through the creation of the Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek website and digital atlas.  

To learn more about this ongoing project and explore the new look and feel of the map and site, visit Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek Mi’kmaw Place Names Digital Atlas.

Saint Mary's signs MOU with the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre

SMU Indigenous Student Advisor Raymond Sewell; Saint Mary’s President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, Pam Glode-Desrochers, Executive Director of the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre; Elder Debbie Eisan; and Tom Brophy, Senior Director, Student Affairs & Services.

Saint Mary’s has taken another step forward on the path towards reconciliation.

This month Dr. Rob Summerby-Murray and Pam Glode-Desrochers, Executive Director of the Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre (MNFC) signed an important MOU that strengthens connection and collaboration between the two organizations.

The Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre helps provide social-based programming for Urban Aboriginal People and serves a focal point for the urban Aboriginal community to gather. The new MOU creates a partnership that will see Saint Mary’s consult the Friendship Centre on the development of appropriate protocols for on-campus activities and enhancing support for Indigenous students, faculty and staff.

Another key part of the agreement is that the MNFC will provide an Elder on Campus four hours per week, a role now being filled by Elder Debbie Eisan.

Elder Debbie Eisan was on hand for the signing and told the group that Indigenous students at local highschools are increasingly aware of the work happening at Saint Mary’s and appreciate knowing that Indigenous Student Advisor Raymond Sewell is available to them.

“We are really excited about how the MOU articulates the mutual desire to strengthen connections between Saint Mary’s University and the Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre,” says Tom Brophy, Senior Director, Student Affairs and Services. “It opens the door for the MNFC to provide support and advice to Saint Mary’s as we move to continue to improve the experience of the Indigenous students and Indigenous culture on campus broadly.”

“I am delighted that we have taken this important step together,” said Dr. Summerby-Murray. “Saint Mary’s is looking forward to the many opportunities to collaborate on Indigenous-related programming, Indigenous-focused projects, research and of course enhancing learning opportunities for Indigenous students.”

An official celebration of the MOU signing is being planned for fall 2019.

Sharing the sacred fire: Ceremonial sweat lodge on campus

Participating in the first sweat lodge ceremony on campus at Saint Mary’s was an unforgettable way to wrap up the school year for a small group of students.

“It’s a really special experience, that’s for sure,” said John Morrison, an Anthropology major, shortly after emerging from the two-hour ceremony on Monday, April 15.

The sweat lodge structure was built the day before on the lawn behind The Oaks, using wood and rocks gathered in the area. For several hours prior to the ceremony, rocks were heated in the sacred fire pit, then moved into the lodge, where water was poured onto them to create steam. 

“It was a very calming experience being in there,” Criminology major Mary Rice said during a group lunch afterwards. “It was really hot but I was just focusing on putting my energy into the praying and healing. What helped me get through the heat was the people I was praying for; they’re going through a hard time so I can go through the heat for a little while to send them healing thoughts.”  

Raymond Sewell, SMU’s Indigenous Student Advisor, said students have long been inquiring about having a sweat lodge on campus so it was nice to see it become a reality this week.

Over the past term in the Indigenous Peoples of Canada course, students had been learning about cultural and historical challenges for Indigenous Peoples The course is taught by Professors Trudy Sable and Roger Lewis and one of their guest speakers was NSCC’s Indigenous Student Advisor Gary Joseph, a Cree Elder married to a Mi’kmaw woman from Shubenacadie. During his class presentation, Joseph guided students through a mock sweat lodge experience.

“The students really liked it and felt it showed the resilience of Indigenous cultures healing and moving forward given the painful and often unrecognized history they had been learning and discussing in class,” said Dr. Sable. Students expressed an interest in trying the real thing, which took some advance coordination but it came together with help from Sewell and his father, as well as Joseph, plus funding from the Office of the Vice-President Academic & Research.

“This just seemed like an opportune time and an experiential continuation of our class. There is a lot of interest to do more of them,” said Dr. Sable. The sweat lodge will remain on campus for a year and Sewell looks forward to coordinating future events.

Joseph provided some context around the elements of Monday’s ceremony: “Some of our ancestors a long time ago who signed agreements with other nations, one of the comments that often came of that treaty process was ‘we’re doing this for as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow’. When we make the sacred fire, we’re making a connection with the fire of your spirit and the fire of the sun. When you make these ceremony lodges, the grass is also part of the ribs of Mother Earth, so we’re acknowledging Mother Earth. And the water of course, we’re born from water, we’re breathing water, and water is 80 per cent of our body, so we share the water.”

Stephanie Dionne, an Anthropology major, strongly encouraged other students to try out the sweat lodge when the opportunity arises again. It’s an important addition to the campus as a welcoming space for Indigenous students, but also as a helpful gateway to intercultural study for other students, she said.

“It’s a starting point to broader understanding. I feel like it’s giving us a window into the life of other people,” said Dionne. 

Saint Mary’s collaboration with Innu Nation seen in documentary film screening

The rain could not keep a full house away from Halifax Central Library’s Paul O'Regan Hall on Nov. 3, 2018. Saint Mary’s faculty, Innu Nation, and members of the local community came to hear the story of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Innu Nation. The documentary screening of “Nakatuenita: Respect,” was co-produced by Richard Nuna, Innu Nation, and Dr. Trudy Sable, Community Conservation Research Network - Saint Mary's University and directed by filmmaker Kent Martin. 

The evening began with a traditional Mi’kmaw prayer by Mi’kmaw elder Thomas Christmas and Mi’Kmaw song to welcome participants onto traditional Mi’kmaq territory. Innu Nation’s Grand Chief, Gregory Rich, Dr. Trudy Sable, Saint Mary’s Community Engaged Research Facilitator and Saint Mary’s Vice-President, Dr. Malcolm Butler also welcomed the crowd.

Throughout the screening you could hear engaged asides between front-row members of the crowd.. The film – which ended in a standing ovation – tells the story of Ntesinan, a once peaceful territory where Innu families lived in tents, hunted for survival, and learned “Nutshimit” (country) skills and the fragile relationship between humans and animals from their elders. Their culture is one of respect – respect for the land, plants, animals and each other.

Although the memories of the past remain strong, the Innu now adapt to cultural and spiritual disruption. In the mid 20th century, they were forced to settle into communities by the governments and the church.  A significant part of their territory (later flooded by The Churchill Falls Hydro Project) changed the great falls known to the Innu as “Mista Shipu” forever.

“This film is a very powerful and moving testament to the impact that resettlement, development and climate change has had on Indigenous culture and communities,” said Dr. Butler.

Successful in taking control of their schools in 2009 and income support two years ago, the Innu look to the future of their land, social services, schools and government.

“Their resilience has amazed me in the face of so many forces that have tried to undermine who they are as a people, deeply and spiritually connected to their lands and to the animals. We have much to learn about how to truly work together in collaboration and mutual benefit,” said Dr. Sable.

In the meantime, the answer for Grand Chief Gregory Rich is clear.

“The film is a message of the struggle today for the Innu people. Our connection is to the lands, to the animals, and it has been our culture for many, many years. I know we can not go back to how it was before, but to be part of the land and the animals is the answer to our struggles, Ntesinan,” said Grand Chief Rich.