The Book of Days for the Mi'kmaq Year is an amalgam of events from the near and distant past which might otherwise be forgotten. Though not intended as a history of a people, it is hoped it may serve as a reminder of the important and not-so-important moments that have gone before.
[April - Penatmuiku's] [May - Etquljuiku's ] [June - Nipniku's]
[July - Peskewiku's] [August - Kisikwekewiku's] [September - Wikumkewiku's]
[October - Wikewiku's] [November - Keptekewiku's] [December - Kesikewiku's]
January - Frost Fish Runs
1 - Puna'ne'wimk - New Year's Day
1801 - During this year lands are reserved for the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia by the colonial government.
1976 - Roy Gould named to Sydney Board of School Commissioners, the first Mi'kmaw in Eastern Canada to be offered such a post.
2002 - Daniel N. Paul is listed in Canada's Who's Who for his efforts and achievements in human rights.
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3 - 1908 - Richard Mac Ewan is born at Bear River Reserve. He would go on to serve six terms as chief, three of them by acclamation.
4 - 1998 - Seven year old Peter William Levi of Lennox Island, P.E.I., watches himself in his role as "Wowkwis" in the first episode of the television series "Emily of New Moon".
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6 - Elekewia'timk aqq kaqiaq pestie'wa'taqatimk - Old Christmas
1945 - Acting Director of Indian Affairs' welfare program writes in a letter to the member of Parliament for Antigonish - Guysborough, "...for many years the problem of how to administer the affairs of the small group of Indians in Nova Scotia has been a matter of serious concern and in order to place it on the soundest possible basis a partial consolidation of the Reserves and the gradual centralization of the Indian population has been decided upon." This plan will have far reaching effects upon the Mi'kmaq of the province.
7 - 1973 - Musician Lee Cremo is invited to play his fiddle in Nashville, Tennessee.
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10 - 1732 - The British in Nova Scotia hold a Council meeting at which plans are made for further surveying of Mi'kmaw lands in the province for the purpose of making land grants.
1979 - Official opening of the day school at Eskasoni
1991 - The Mi'kmaq/Maliseet Nations News is founded by publisher Daniel N. Paul.
11 - 1974 - Union of Nova Scotia Indians launches its campaign for Aboriginal rights and land claims; each chief was to bring the resolution back to his community.
2001 - Premier John Hamm, Chief Lawrence Paul, and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Robert Nault cut ribbon to officially open Millbrook's "Power Centre" in Truro, Nova Scotia.
12 - 1989 - Principal of Wagmatcookewey School, Murdena Marshall, takes Grades 5 and 6 ice fishing in the company of community Elders as they are taught a lesson in the Mi'kmaw language.
1998 - Queen of Prayer Annie Cremo (neé Denny) of Eskasoni is laid to rest and given full honours by the Sante' Mawio'mi.
13 - 1992 - January issue of the Micmac News publishes a letter entitled, "Sneaky, in His Own Special Way". The anonymous writer of the letter, who had been unemployed prior to Christmas one year was hired by Grand Chief Donald Marshall Sr. to sand drywall that didn't need sanding so he could make money for the upcoming holiday. It was only after someone else told him that the writer understood Marshall's kindness. The Grand Chief never mentioned the matter.
14 - 1992 - In his presentation to the Assembly of First Nations Circle on the Constitution Eskasoni Chief Leonard Paul says, "There should be no compromise of the humanistic values of trust, honesty, integrity, justice, honour, pride, and respect. And it is critical that these values are incorporated in the Canadian Constitution and that the notwithstanding clause be abolished from the Constitution if it purports to compromise Aboriginal self-government."
15 - 1973 - First reading of a bill in the House of Commons, lowering the voting age to 18 in elections for reserve chiefs and councilors.
16 - 1991 - Assembly of First Nations Chief Leonard Tomah of Woodstock First Nation addresses members of the European Parliament to explain issues confronting Aboriginal people in Canada.
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21 - 1926 - Benjamin Pictou, James Pictou, Stephen J. Fraser, and Joseph Paul of Annapolis sign a land surrender of 572 acres in the New Liverpool Road Reserve, Nova Scotia.
2008 - Former chief of Pictou Landing, Raymond Francis, dies on this day. Chief of the reserve in the 1970s and 80s, Francis started the movement to resolve the problems resulting from pollution in the Boat Harbour area.
22 - 1991 - Work begins in Bear River on a tapestry featuring the history of the Annapolis Valley over a 400-year period. Local Mi'kmaq are asked to make the first of the nine planned panels because "They were here first", director of the Fort Anne Historic Park said.
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25 - 1841 - Grand Chief Pausauhmigh Pemmeenauweet writes to Queen Victoria asking for help for his starving people.
1843 - Joseph Howe tells the House of Assembly that 100 pounds will be set aside each year for the Indians in Nova Scotia primarily to purchase blankets and coats for them.
26 - 1850 - Census has many categories, "M" or "F", "deaf", "dumb", "blind", "idiotic", "lunatic", "coloured", and "Indian".
27 - 1989 - Official launch in Truro, N.S. of the video "Ktapehagn Kaqui-Theik - The Song Says It All", featuring Mi'kmaw poet Rita Joe. Produced by the Mi'kmaq Association for Cultural Studies, the video is the first of a planned eleven part series.
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30 - 1839 - The Guardian newspaper reports: "The spirit of revenge is still smothering in their [the Mi'kmaq] bosoms and although they make their canoes, and their snowshoes, and their baskets…and are indebted to the inhabitants in whose neighbourhood they live for the sale of them it is only the lack of opportunity, or the settled conviction that their hostility is unavailing, which prevents that spirit from breaking forth in all fury or its wonted cruelty."
1987 - Simon Denny receives prestigious M. G. Griffiths Plaque presented by the Royal Life Saving Society at the Lieutenant Governor's residence in Halifax for a rescue he made in December of 1985.
31 - 1833 - We'koqma'q First Nation is established. Originally called Whycocomagh, it would not officially be declared a band until May of 1958.
February - Snow Blinding Month
1 - 1786 - Chief Philip Bernard of St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia, formally requests a 500 acre land grant from Governor John Parr, thus establishing the principle of giving Aboriginal peoples legal title to land.
1842 - A delegation of Mi'kmaq from New Brunswick in London, England, to petition the Queen are told: "Her Majesty has not been able to grant you an interview, but Her Majesty has signified Her Pleasure that you should each be presented with a Medal in token of the Interest which Her Majesty takes in your welfare." Thus, were Chief Joseph Ithobeitch, Francois le Bobe, and Pierre Basquet turned away without a Royal Audience. Legend has it they were not amused.
2 - Mnumkwej Na'kwekm - Ground Hog Day
3 - 1832 - A friend of the Mi'kmaq in Bear River, Nova Scotia, J. S. Harris, writes to Judge Wiswall, "I think [there ought] if possible to have something done to put a stop to the white people intruding upon their lands. It is a pity that the Indians should be thus annoyed and I hope you will prescribe an immediate remedy."
4 - In the February 1994 issue of the Micmac Maliseet Nations News, contributor John Joe Sack writes that Columbus got lost on his way to India and was so confused when he landed in South America he called the people living there by the misnomer "Indians". Sark writes, "Lucky for us Columbus wasn't looking for 'Turkey'!"
5 - 1987 - Judge Charles O'Connell finds John Noel Prosper, John A. Googoo, and Stephen Googoo guilty of illegally fishing for salmon at Whycocomagh Bay, rejecting their claim that as Mi'kmaq they have a legal right to fish based on the 1752 Treaty.
6 - 1998 - Federal Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Jane Stewart announces tabling of a bill transferring control of education to nine Nova Scotia reserves under the Mi'kmaq Education Act. This was the first transfer of jurisdiction from the federal government to First Nations in Canada and would become the model for other First Nations who wished to assume control of education.
1991 - Chief David Toney of Cambridge First Nation suddenly passes away.
7 - 1989 - Clara Gloade is named to the executive of the Ulnooweg Development Corporation. Gloade was also president of the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association.
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9 - 1880 - Annapolis Valley First Nation is established.
1984 - Minister of State for Multiculturalism, David Collenette presents a cheque for $300,000. to the Union of New Brunswick Indians and St. Thomas University for creation of a Chair of Studies in Native and Aboriginal Cultures of Atlantic Canada.
10 - 1976 - Tragedy abroad: Annie Mae Aquash is murdered. She was the former Annie Mae Pictou of Shubenacadie First Nation in Nova Scotia.
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12 - 1755 - Chief of the Le Heve Indian tribe, Paul Laurant, speaks to the Nova Scotia Council in Halifax on a proposed peace accord.
1993 - At an Oxford, Nova Scotia, hockey game, a young Mi'kmaw player is subjected to racist remarks by some fans. Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs Guy LeBlanc asks the Mi'kmaq - Nova Scotia - Canada Tripartite Forum Sub-Committee on Human Rights to review the incident.
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14 - Kesaltultimkewey Na'kwek - Valentine's Day
1997 - Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey signs historic Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Jurisdiction Transfer, transferring control of Mi'kmaw education from the government of Canada to the Mi'kmaq people.
2007 - Artists Alan Syliboy, Ned Bear, and Arlene "Dozay" Christmas meet and discuss their work with the Governor-General of Canada, Michaille Jean at the First Nations Art Gallery.
15 - 1885 - Levi Poulette is born to Benjamin and Madeline (neé Louie) Poulette. He is made Prayer Leader by the Grand Council in 1906 and serves for 68 years until his death in 1974 at age 89. Two years earlier he had celebrated his 65th wedding anniversary with his wife the former Nancy Googoo.
1997 - Nova Scotia Native Women's Association hosts conference focusing on native women and self-government.
16 - 1750 - The Lords of Trade in Britain send a memo to Governor Cornwallis in which they advise him: "As to the measures which you have already taken for reducing the Indians, we entirely approve them, and wish you may have success, but as it has been found by experience in other parts of America that the gentler methods and offers of peace have more frequently prevailed with Indians than the sword"
17 - 1998 - Lawrence Paul of Millbrook First Nation is elected chief for his eighth consecutive term.
2005 - News is released of the discovery of Mi'kmaq artifacts along the Mersey River near Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia. Numbering in the hundreds, some of the arrowheads and tools are believed to be approximately 8,000 years old. Archaeologists call it one of the most important finds of Mi'kmaq material culture in the province.
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19 - 1999 - The Mi'kmaq Resource Centre at University College of Cape Breton telecasts a Mi'kmaw Elders Language Workshop live over the Internet and for the first time Mi'kmaq can be heard all over the world. Not a pin drops!
20 - 1990 - Attorney General Tom McInnis personally apologizes to the family of Donald Marshall Jr. for his wrongful conviction and imprisonment at a private dinner attended by eighteen family members.
21 - 1978 - Delegates to the Ninth General Assembly of the Union of Nova Scotia Indians denounce Ottawa's policy regarding housing, education, and medical services for Aboriginal peoples.
22 - 2007 - Reanne Julian-Sylliboy accepts the Heritage Award on behalf of the Glooscap Heritage Centre from the Colchester Historical Society in recognition of the degree of excellence attained by the former group.
23 - 1989 - Mi'kmaq protest outside Province House to call attention to the government's failure to recognize their rights under the 1752 Treaty, the validity of their land claims, and the tax imposed on cigarettes.
2007 - The Framework Agreement is accepted and signed by the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs and the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia, heralding the beginning of discussions on treaty, title, and Aboriginal rights.
24 - 1849 - The Acadian Recorder newspaper describes a delegation of Mi'kmaw chiefs in Halifax as "novel and interesting".
2007 - Edwin Kabatay Jr. of Membertou emerges victorious in a boxing match held at the Sydney Casino.
25 - 1970 - A couple from Whycocomagh reserve hold a workshop to teach native crafts. This is thought to be the first time such a workshop was held in the Maritimes and the beginning of the shift to neo-traditional ways.
26 - 1980 - Reginald Maloney elected chief of Shubenacadie Reserve.
1991 - Two four year old children from Indian Brook, Kirby Marr and Adria Lewis, are found near the community after a three hour search. Missing for a total of seven and a half hours in cold winter temperatures, the children are located after community members, the fire department, and RCMP initiate search parties.
27 - 1986 - At the 5th Annual Gesigewey (Winter) Carnival at Wagmatcook, the previous year's queen, Mary Elizabeth Googoo, teams up with the new queen, Joanne Peck, to sock organizer Brian Arbuthnot with a cream pie right in the kisser!
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March - Forerunner of Spring
1 - 1973 - March issue of the Micmac News reports that Chief Charlie Labrador of Acadia Band finally gets Indian status after a five-year struggle.
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3 - 1960 - By an Order in Council the single "Micmac Band" is divided into eleven bands in Nova Scotia, with lands set aside specifically for their use. Prior to that all reserve lands in the province are for the benefit of the single "Micmac Band".
4 - 1917 - Thirty-four young Mi'kmaw men from the Lennox Island reserve travel to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to enlist in the army to serve in World War I.
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6 - 1990 - The conviction of three Mi'kmaq for fishing illegally was quashed by a five - judge appeal panel, who said native fishing rights have never been renounced and pre-date treaties. The men involved were Thomas Frank Sylliboy from Afton and David Denny and Lawrence John Paul from Eskasoni.
7 - 1760 - Colonel Frye, writing from Fort Cumberland to the Governor of Nova Scotia says, "a French priest came with two Indian Chiefs, Paul Lawrence and Augustine Michael have received their submissions for themselves and for their tribe, to His Britannic Majesty, and sent them to Halifax have likewise received the submissions of two other Chiefs, who I dealt with as before mentioned, and was in hopes I had no more treaties to make with the savages...but I was mistaken, for there would be a great many more upon the same business, as soon as their spring hunting was over, and upon my inquiring how many, he gave me a list of fourteen Chiefs...I was surprised to hear of such a number of Indian Chiefs in this part of America..and that they were all of one nation...".
8 - 2001 - Micmac Maliseet Nations News reports Tonia Sylliboy is awarded the Medal of Bravery for her efforts in rescuing two boys from drowning. Her father Maxim lost his life during the rescue attempt and is awarded the Medal of Bravery posthumously by the Governor General. Moran and Arlene Sylliboy also accept a posthumous Medal of Bravery on behalf of their daughter Anastasia, who died in an attempt to rescue two boys on July 15, 1999, at Castle Bay beach.
2001 - Nova Scotia Provincial Court finds 35 Mi'kmaq guilty of cutting logs on Crown land. The case would be appealed the following month.
9 - 1951 - The Chronicle Herald reports that 93-year old Mi'kmaw Joseph C. Cope died Wednesday (March 7) in Shubenacadie. Cope had been a photographer, prospector, and one of Nova Scotia's most renowned citizens. His father, Peter Cope, had met with Queen Victoria before Confederation to discuss Mi'kmaq issues.
10 - 1760 - Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed by Governor and Commander in Chief of Nova Scotia and Paul Laurent, Chief of the Le Heve tribe of Indians at Halifax.
11 - 1989 - Four Mi'kmaw students are inducted into the University College of Cape Breton Honours Society, Na Gaisgich: Douglas Brown, husband and wife Patrick and Eleanor (neé Paul) Johnson, and Joe B. Marshall.
12 - 1992 - Launch of the book, "L'nu and Indians We're Called" by Rita Joe is held at the Micmac Heritage Gallery in Halifax.
13 - 1978 - Helen Martin receives award from the province of Nova Scotia for exemplary volunteer service and significant contribution to the community. She was the daughter of Chief Ben Christmas of Membertou.
14 - 1976 - Annie Mae Aquash is buried at Wounded Knee.
15 - 1855 - The Christian Messenger prints a letter from Silas Rand in which he speaks of the Europeans' treatment of the Mi'kmaq: "We seize upon their country. We rob them of their lands. We drive them from their homes."
1932 - Rita Joe is born in Whycocomagh, Cape Breton. She would become a leading Mi'kmaw poet and author, gaining both national and international recognition.
1994 - Main courtroom at the Annapolis Royal Court House is dedicated in the name of Grand Chief Membertou. Current Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy makes the dedication and Cathy Martin performs the gathering song.
16 - 1991 - Four Mi'kmaw students are honoured for outstanding academic achievement at University College of Cape Breton at the 9th Annual Honours Society Banquet: Katani Julian, Patrick Johnson, Noel Johnson, and Paul James Prosper.
17 - Pa'tliksite'wimk - St. Patrick's Day
1971 - Federal government's White Paper is withdrawn because of determined opposition from Aboriginal communities across Canada.
1989 - First Wally Bernard Memorial Youth Hockey Tournament takes place March 17 - 19.
1990 - The Confrontation of Micmac and European Civilizations by Daniel N. Paul is published by the Confederacy of Mainland Micmacs (now out of print).
18 - 1888 - Josephine Luxey is born at Bear River. A daughter of Louie and Mary Luxey, she was a skilled craftsperson. Married to Jim Pictou in 1906, she was widowed in 1918 and later married Wintfred Robinson. Josephine Robinson made and sold baskets all her life and often walked through southern Nova Scotia to sell her wares. She celebrated her 100th birthday in 1988 - a strong Mi'kmaw woman who triumphed over a childhood condition that left her deaf and mute for 93 years, from the age of seven onward!
1947 - Joseph Arthur Francis is born on Lennox Island, P.E.I. He would go on to be awarded the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation, Purple Heart, and Bronze Star for "heroic achievement". He served in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps and in 1967 was wounded twice.
19 - 1842 - The province of Nova Scotia passes an act to provide for the "Instruction and Permanent Settlement of Indians". Joseph Howe is appointed Indian Agent.
1939 - On a Sunday night Noel Julian and three other children run away from Shubenacadie Residential School. In a letter to Indian Agent W.J. Cameron, Rev. Jeremiah Mackey writes,
"On Monday morning the RCMP picked up their trail on the other side of the River, and we traveled miles after them. Whenever they found themselves near the main highway, they went back into the woods. I am getting over a cold and all this traveling on Sunday and Monday, getting overheated and coming back and sitting in the car, has given me another, so I am in bed today.
There is no need to tell you what to do if they turn up in your agency.
This is the fifth time for Noel Julian in the last two years, and I feel that Saint Patrick's Home is the only place for that imbecile."
2008 - Keptin Frank Nevin of Indianbrook passes away and the Grand Council loses an esteemed member in 'Walking Eagle'.
20 - 1842 - Grand Chief John Denny Jr. is born in Eskasoni. He was able to read Mi'kmaw hieroglyphs and was a noted prayer leader.
2007 - Mi'kmaw poet and recipient of the Order of Canada Rita Joe dies in hospital at age 75. The legacy of her writing however, remains: "'I am gone, the word is all that is left'".
21 - The March 1994 issue of the Micmac Maliseet Nations News shows Anthony Morris of Eskasoni singing, with the caption, "Maintains the title of 'keeper of the longest held note in a Mi'kmaw chant'".
22 - 1925 - The Sunday Leader shows photograph of "Dr." Jeremiah Lone Cloud with his son and nine partridges shot in a single day between Elmsdale and Guysborough Road. The photo was made into a postcard, as were a number of photographs of Mi'kmaq in the 1920's.
1971 - Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Jean Chretien is in Membertou to sign an agreement bringing municipal services to the reserve, the first agreement of its kind in Canada.
1989 - National Council of Mi'kmaw Chiefs signs the Mi'kmaq Declaration of Rights in Moncton. The historic meeting was the first since 1776 - 213 years earlier. Its demands included the Mi'kmaq right to self-government, treaty recognition, Mi'kmaw title to land, and the right to educate Mi'kmaw children in the ways of the Mi'kmaq. Twenty chiefs including Grand Chief Donald Marshall Sr. and Head Chief Peter Barlow sign.
23 - 1672 - Nicholas Deny's Geographical Description of the Coasts of North America includes this assessment of the Mi'kmaq: "They refused nothing to one another".
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25 - 1987 - Noted Mi'kmaw healer Jessie Gould passes away on this date.
26 - 2007 - A funeral for Mi'kmaw poet Rita Joe is held on a sunny Monday at Eskasoni Holy Family Parish Church. Over 500 people attend the ceremony to say farewell to the much loved and respected lady.
27 - 1945 - Annie Mae Pictou Maloney Aquash is born in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia.
1991 - The March issue of the Micmac News reports that a Mi'kmaq grammar called "Micmac Grammar of Father Pacifique" reworked by Bernie Francis and John Hewson has been published. Hewson translated the material from French to English while Francis applied the Smith-Francis Orthography he and Doug Smith devised in 1980 to the work.
2001 - Cathy Martin's film, "Spirit Wind" premieres on national television on the Vision Network.
28 - 1966 - Ben E. Christmas, chief of Membertou, dies. He was also the father of noted women's rights activist Helen Martin.
1990 - The Native Council of Nova Scotia holds the first meeting of what would become The Nova Scotia Native Seniors Group in Truro. Attendees included Genevieve Lowe, Ellen Robinson, Mary Brooks, and Doris Peters.
29 - 1982 - Donald Marshall Jr. is released from Dorchester Prison to begin a conditional 6-month day parole.
30 - 1931 - 100 year old Chief Ben Pictou of Bear River dies on this date. Pictou was once saved from drowning by a dog that dragged him to shore when his canoe overturned on Grand Lake. He is also credited with killing a bear in a stream armed only with a hatchet.
1983 - Federal Indian Affairs Minister gives a copy of the Order in Council to Chief Alex Christmas declaring 46 acres of land purchased from Sydney as reserve land. This was the first time in Canadian history that land annexed to a reserve was not part of a treaty commitment or land claim settlement.
31 - 1975 - Union of Nova Scotia Indians Year End Combined Statement of Revenue & Expenditure reads: Total Revenue - $1,067,235. Total Expenditure - $1,081,737. Excess - $14,502.
2001 - Daniel N. Paul is appointed to the Nova Scotia Police Commission; on this same date seven years earlier he had been made a Justice of the Peace, the first Mi'kmaw named to that position in Nova Scotia.
April - Egg Hatching Time
1 - Na'qatpa'ltimk Na'kwek - April Fool's Day
1986 - Micmac News reports Leonard Paul of Eskasoni may be the first Aboriginal person named to the board of a Crown Corporation - Enterprise Cape Breton. Earlier, Mr. Paul was one of three Nova Scotians to win an award from the Federal Business Development Bank.
2 - The April 1996 issue of the Micmac Maliseet Nation News reports that Doreen Johnson is the first woman to graduate from the Level One Oil Burner Mechanic's Trade Course at Chapel Island. Seven other students also graduated. Two of the participants drove from Pictou Landing every day to receive instruction.
3 - 2002 - Erica Stevens and Semise'l Stevens, both of Eskasoni, come first in their categories - Grades 3 & 4 and 7, 8, & 9 - respectively at the Pictou Speech Festival. Both participants had perfect scores.
4 - 1993 - April edition of the Micmac Maliseet Nations News announces the Restigouche Band has officially changed its name to "Listuguj".
5 - 2002 - Official opening of the new premises of the Mi'kmaq College Institute at University College of Cape Breton.
6 - 1846 - The Nova Scotian newspaper describes recently deceased Chief Isadore of Musquodoboit, as a "venerable old hemlock, through whose branches the storms of ninety years had whistled."
7 - 1991 - Simon "Paksima" Paul dies in Eskasoni.
8 - 1713 - French Minister of Marine Affairs writing to the Baron de St. Caspin says, "The French and Indians of Acadia must look up to the Sun and the Stars from the same land; they must stand shoulder to shoulder on the same battlefield…live together in peace and harmony; and when the time comes, sleep side by side beneath the same sod of their common country."
9 - 1973 - April issue of the Micmac News reports opening of Church of St. Bernadette. It was built through a bequest left to Cambridge Reserve by noted Mi'kmaw guide Stephen Knockwood, who died in 1939 at age 104.
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11 - 1713 - The Treaty of Utrecht is signed by France and Great Britain. It includes a provision ceding Mi'kmaq land from the former to the latter.
1978 - Mi'kmaw children in Nova Scotia stage a boycott of school. Cuts to education without provincial consultation with the bands are cited.
12 - 1918 - Last of the hereditary Grand Chiefs John Denny Jr. dies at age 77. Nearly 300 mourners attend his funeral. He had asked that his young son not assume the Grand Chieftaincy. After consultation with Father Pacifique, it was agreed it would be wrong to ignore John Denny's wishes, so the Council held its first election for Grand Chief, and Gabriel Sylliboy was selected.
13 - 1852 - Through an Order-in-Council the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia granted title of all Indian lands to the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Province.
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15 - 1753 - Six Mi'kmaq scalps are brought to Halifax by two Englishmen so a bounty may be collected. Failure on the part of the British to prosecute this crime in contravention of the Treaty of 1752 ends peaceful relations between the two nations.
2002 - Dr. Vance Kruszewski of Millbrook First Nation completes 42 km. Boston Marathon with a time of 3:03:29, shaving 4 minutes off his previous time. Vance became the first Mi'kmaw chiropractor in Nova Scotia in 1998.
16 - 1989 - Nova Scotia Museum hosts program on the 16th century cedar bark weaving technique.
2002 - Annie Mae Aquash Award established by the Indigenous Women's Network is given for the second time in three years. Her daughters, Deborah and Denise, and sister, Mary (Hubba) Lafford, attend the ceremony in San Franciso. The award is given in recognition of the work of native women.
17 - 1985 - Section 15, the equality rights section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into effect. This necessitated amendments to the Indian Act, and sexually discriminatory sections of the Act were eliminated.
18 - 1990 - Mi'kmaw poet Rita Joe receives Order of Canada.
1991 - An exhibit of paintings by noted Mi'kmaw artist Leonard Paul opens at the Acadia University Beveridge Art Centre to a capacity crowd of 400 patrons. The show is dedicated to Paul's late father Noel.
19 - 1986 - After an 8-year absence from band politics, Charlie Labrador is elected Chief of the Acadia Band.
2001 - UCCB announces academic approval for the Integrative Science Program/Toqa'tu'kl Kjijitaqnn.
2007 - Waycobah and Wagmatcook high school students Earl Gould, Whitney Gould, Tara Pierro, Natasha Googoo, Tara Julian, Lauren Sylliboy, Levi Poulette, Even Toney, Vicky Googoo, Kadnii Johnson, Willy Johnson, Justine Googoo, Daniela Bernard, Leslie Isadore, and Brenda Peck take part in an event sponsored by Stora Enso in which the students learn how to read a compass and identify trees and calculate their ages.
20 - 1903 - Nigola Jeddore is born in Conne River, Newfoundland and buried April 20, 1991. A vast wealth of unwritten Mi'kmaq history of Newfoundland, the district of Taqamkuk, is lost with him.
1991 - A public forum is held to discuss the need for a Mi'kmaw treaty delegate in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, sponsored by the Union of Nova Scotia Indians, Native Council of Nova Scotia, Centre for International Studies, and the Grand Council.
Addressing the Treaty Delegate Forum at UCCB, Kji Keptin Alex Denny says, "Before any discussion of the topic of self-government in constitutional discourses can be meaningful, it is necessary to clarify the importance of the relationship between Treaty and other constitutional rights. If this is not accomplished, the solitudes between the Mi'kmaw people and the immigrant communities will continue to hamper our pressing tasks."
21 - 1994 - Daniel N. Paul is joint winner of the City of Dartmouth Writing Award for Non-Fiction for his book We Were Not the Savages.
22 - 1999 - The Mi'kmaq Education Act incorporates Mi'kmaw Kinamatnewey, formerly known as the Mi'kmaq Education Authority, in federal law.
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24 - 2001 - An agreement is signed between Membertou First Nation and Sodhexo Marriott Corporation, an international business conglomerate. It is a sign of Membertou's successful effort to expand its economic horizon in the 21st century.
25 - 1977 - Sante' Mawio'mi and the Union of Nova Scotia Indians present Aboriginal claims to DIAND minister.
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27 - 1992 - "Mi'kmaq", the first thesis entirely written in the Mi'kmaq language is submitted to the Anthropology Department at Saint Mary's University by Eleanor (neé Paul) Johnson of Eskasoni.
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30 - 1984 - The works of Mi'kmaw artists Phillip Young and Alan Sylliboy are featured at the Doomsday Gallery, Barrington Street, Halifax as its final exhibition.
May - Frog Croaking Time
1 - 1604 - French explorer Samuel de Champlain reaches the coastal waters off Nova Scotia. In the months that follow he will visit Mi'kmaq along the coast thus cementing a relationship that will last until 1761.
1978 - For the second year, Margaret Johnson captures the Craftwoman of the Year Award at the General Assembly of the Micmac Arts & Crafts Society.
2 - 1997 - Pictou Landing First Nation opens its band operated school, the motto of which is "Pride in Heritage; Success in Education". Grade One student Frankie Denny and Elder Mrs. Mary Bernard officiate at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
3 - 1987 - Cameron Paul has high score at 2nd Membertou Handicap Bowling Tournament with 130 points.
1991 - At a Powwow held at Indian Brook, George Paul urges those present to remember Mi'kmaw traditions and keep the old ways alive. The weekend features chanting and drumming.
4 - 1762 - Belcher Proclamation gives protection to Mi'kmaw treaty rights.
1995 - Mildred Milliea of Elsipogtog is appointed to the Order of Canada.
5 - 1985 - Kitty Gallagher receives honorary degree from St. Francis Xavier University in recognition of her 50 year teaching career at King's Road and Membertou reserves.
1999 - Singer/actor Tom Jackson kicks off his Dream Catcher Tour '99 with a 3 hour concert in the gym at Millbrook First Nation.
2008 - Zachary Croft, son of Noel Croft & Jill Wolfe performs an Honour Song for staff and students of the Dr. John C. Wickwire Academy as part of Music Day.
6 - 1982 - Austria recognizes Sante' Mawio'mi as a sovereign power.
2003 - Donald Marshall Jr. undergoes lung transplant surgery in Toronto.
7 - 1974 - Mrs. Theresa Moore is the first Mi'kmaw to be elected president of the Catholic Women's League at St. Anthony Daniel Parish in Sydney.
8 - 1820 - Indian Brook established.
1991 - Mi'kmaw skeletal remains that languished in the Archaeology Department of Memorial University for 32 years are returned to the Mi'kmaq in P.E.I. on this date for interment. The remains were originally found in Blooming Point, P.E.I, August 12, 1959.
1998 - Mount Saint Vincent University confers Honorary Doctorate of Humanities upon Mi'kmaw poet Rita Joe.
9 - May 2002 issue of the Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nations News reports Noel Knockwood has received the 2002 National Aboriginal Achievement Award. Knockwood was given the award for his work in re-establishing and encouraging Aboriginal spirituality in the Maritimes. He was also the first Mi'kmaw Sergeant -at- Arms of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 2000.
10 - 1986 - Former chief of Restigouche, Tony Dedam, graduates from the University of Southern California with a Master of Public Affairs degree at age 42. He served as chief from 1976-1980.
11 - 1978 - Joe B. Marshall sets up symbolic tollbooth near Eskasoni to protest failure of provincial government to make needed highway improvements. He is later charged.
1992 - At Convocation Exercises at St. Mary's University in Halifax, Eleanor Johnson of Eskasoni receives her master's degree. Her work, "Mi''maq" is the first thesis written entirely in the Mi'kmaq language.
12 - 1988 - Josephine Peck of Wagmatcook is the first graduate of the Mi'kmaq Bachelor of Social Work program during Convocation Exercises at Dalhousie University.
1997 - Former Big Cove Chief Albert Levi receives honorary doctorate from Mount Allison University. He served as chief from 1967-1993, and was instrumental in the formation of the Union of New Brunswick Indians. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1984.
13 - 1969 - First planning meeting of the Union of Nova Scotia Indians takes place in Amherst. From this a working committee was formed which would meet in July of that year.
1971 - Acadia First Nation gains official status. Prior to that the five reserves comprising it were represented by a spokesperson.
1979 - John Joseph Sark becomes the first Mi'kmaw in P.E.I. to graduate from the University of Prince Edward Island. He obtained a B.A. in Political Science.
14 - 1756 - Governor Lawrence authorizes his officers to "annoy, distress, take and destroy the Indians inhabiting the different parts of this Province, wherever they are found; and all such as may be aiding or assisting them".
15 - 1999 - Listuguj First Nation holds a special ceremony to mark completion of the translation of the New Testament in Mi'kmaq.
16 - May 1991 issue of the Micmac Maliseet Nations News reports a Mi'kmaq curriculum being developed by the Nova Scotia Department of Advanced Education will focus on stories based on the Paul family of Indian Brook. Featuring William Paul, 99, his daughters Jane and Mary, and granddaughter Violet Lewis, the series will cover 100 years of Mi'kmaq life in Nova Scotia. Mr. Paul raised 14 children in the First Nations community.
17 - 1988 - Yarmouth band hall completely destroyed by fire (Acadia Band).
2001 - Chief Mise'l Joe is appointed to the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board.
18 - 1986 - The first mass is celebrated at stylized wigwam design church, Sacred Heart, at Millbrook, Nova Scotia.
19 - 1982 - The May issue of the Micmac News reports there are no funds available to build a breakwater to protect the burial grounds at Malagawatch.
20 - 1991 - The Aroostook Micmac Basket & Basketry Tools Exhibit opens. Featured artisans include Eldon Hanning, Harold Lafford, Donald & Mary Sanipass, with basketry tools made by David Sanipass and Wilfred Sanipass.
2002 - Mi'kmaw and Acadian representatives attend the eight day "Festival Nouvelle France" in France. Featured are three documentaries telling the story of the Mi'kmaq in early Atlantic Canadian history.
21 - 1506 - Christopher Columbus dies.
22 - 2008 - Millbrook First Nation hosts the grand re-opening of the Millbrook RCMP Detachment.
23 - 1991 - Great-grandmother Rose Knockwood Morris of Gold River graduates from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Social Work.
24 - 1984 - Mary Rose Julian of Eskasoni is awarded the Governor General's Silver Medal for Highest Academic Standing during graduation exercises at the University of New Brunswick. Delores Sock of Big Cove, B. Ed., receives the Governor General's Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Education. The two native students are awarded the only education medals given by UNB that year.
25 - 2001 - Roderick Marshall of Millbrook First Nation receives Bachelor of Law degree from University of British Columbia.
26 - 1992 - Listuguj holds founding meeting of the Overseers Tribal Council. Gary Metallic is appointed spokesperson.
1993 - Mi'kmaw poet Rita Joe is awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree during Convocation at Dalhousie University, Halifax.
1996 - Indian Affairs and Northern Development announces plan to spend $1.3 million to upgrade water and sewer systems in five First Nation communities - Red Bank, Millbrook, Burnt Church, Afton, and Wagmatcook. Residents are relieved they will no longer have to control their output!
2009 - Mi'kmaw educator Thomas Leo Battiste dies after a battle with cancer at age 65. He received his master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Development in 1975.
27 - 1870 - Minutes of the Executive Council note "a grant of land [be given] to the Indians of Conne River, Bay d'Espoir; - The Council concurred in the propriety of the application and referred the matter to the hon:Surveyor General with the view of carrying its object into effect."
1944 - Indian agent at Eskasoni, J. A. Mac Lean, writes in a letter to the Director of Indian Affairs, "approximately 75 per cent of the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia were opposed to centralization".
28 - 1925 - Donald Marshall Sr. is born on the King's Road Reserve in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
1971 - Incident that took the life of Sandy Seale and sent Donald Marshall Jr. to prison for 11 years takes place in Wentworth Park, Sydney.
1992 - A traditional sweat lodge ceremony led by George Paul is held at Pont de Roche to commemorate unveiling of a plaque dedicated to five Mi'kmaq whose remains were finally laid to rest after spending over 30 years at Memorial University. Nine people participate in the event including two RCMP officers.
1998 - Exhibition of photographs of 12 Mi'kmaw artisans by Nancy Ackerman is officially opened by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
2008 - Eskasoni holds its second open forum on governance in the Eskasoni Cultural Centre featuring presentations by Joe B. Marshall, Viola Robinson, and Herb George.
29 - 1975 - Union of Nova Scotia Indians, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, and the Nova Scotia Department of Education sponsor symposium at Dalhousie University on the topic of race discrimination in school textbooks.
1992 - The Assembly of Nova Scotia Chiefs - Mi'kmaq Education Authority officially sign the framework agreement on education. Thirteen chiefs and Tom Sidden, Minister of Indian Affairs & Northern Development, sign the agreement in Eskasoni.
1999 - Kiana Mae Forsyth, granddaughter of the late Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, wins "Best Overall" in the Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Children's Parade. Eighteen month old Kiana of Indian Brook wore a white dress and rode in a modified birch bark canoe!
30 - 1986 - Native Council of Nova Scotia President Viola Robinson attacks federal Conservatives for "perpetuating policies of apartheid and 'bantuism' in Canada" at the opening of the 12th Annual General Assembly.
31 - 1978 - Alex Christmas is returned as chief of Membertou.
June - Leaves Are Budding Time
1 - 1975 - Archaeological work begins in northern Cape Breton under Ronald Nash of St. F.X. University. Ten students are hired to help in the work - six of whom are Mi'kmaq.
2 - The June 1997 issue of the Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nations News reports that Melissa Labrador of the Wild Cat Reserve was refused entry to the House of Commons because she carried an eagle feather. The federal government later extended an apology to Melissa.
3 - 1978 - Mary Webb of the Codroy Valley dies at age 97. A Mi'kmaw midwife, she is credited with delivering over 700 children in Newfoundland.
4 - 1726 - The Treaty of 1725 Treaty is ratified by Mi'kmaq officials in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
1971 - Donald Marshall Jr. is arrested in connection with the death of Bobby Seale.
1976 - Nine New Brunswick natives from Indian Island, Big Cove, and Tobique, begin a 900 mile canoe trip from Big Cove to Montreal to unofficially open the 21st Olympiad. They take 36 days to reach Montreal, 10 days more than anticipated. Taking part were: James Knockwood, Jim Milliea, Joe Francis, Joe Simon, Vince Knockwood, Roland Augustine, Gary Simon, Alonzo Augustine, and Allison Nicholas.
1987 - Rick Simon of the Micmac News wins the Aboriginal Multi Media Excellence Award for Best News Photo at the Banff Centre, Alberta.
2002 - Mise'l Joe of Miawpukek First Nation is re-elected chief for his fifth consecutive term. The date also marks his birthday and he is "given" two eagle feathers by a group of five eagles he had fed earlier that morning.
5 - 1936 - Simon Marshall places 3rd in a 10 mile race in Halifax with a time of 56 minutes.
6 - 1986 - Horton First Nation separates from Annapolis Valley to become a reserve in its own right under Chief Rita Smith.
1988 - Nova Scotia Conservative Cabinet Minister Ron Giffen tells 2nd Annual Assembly of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq that the government believes the 1752 Treaty applies only to mainland Nova Scotia.
7 - 1992 - Ben Sylliboy is elected Grand Chief at Chapel Island Pentecost Sunday celebrations. His blessing is received later at the Chapel Island Mission in July.
1997 - Daniel N. Paul receives honorary doctorate at Université Sainte-Anne and gives Convocation Address.
2002 - Thirteen Mi'kmaw chiefs sign an Umbrella Agreement with Nova Scotia and Canada to begin to work together in good faith to resolve outstanding issues.
8 - 2001 - Tuma Young becomes the first Mi'kmaw speaking person to be called to the Bar of Nova Scotia and is sworn in at a special ceremony at his home reserve of Eskasoni First Nation.
2001 - Wagmatcook Culture & Heritage Centre opens, showcasing a display of Mi'kmaw artifacts, a Grand Hall, restaurant, craft shop, and meeting rooms.
9 - 1892 - Miss Elizabeth Frame compiles a list of Mi'kmaw place names in Nova Scotia for the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
1988 - Murdena Marshall of Eskasoni graduates from Harvard with a Master's Degree in Education. Marshall wears an eagle feather during graduation exercises as a "feather of accomplishment".
10 - 1918 - Rita (Toney) Smith is born in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, to Frank and Mary ( neé Bradford) Toney. She would become chief of Horton First Nation, and along with her husband was a noted basket maker.
1982 - June issue of the Micmac News reports the Grand Council - Sante' Mawio'mi - officially accepted the Smith-Francis orthography or writing system this month.
1983 - The Court of Appeal overturns Donald Marshall's conviction in the death of Bobby Seale.
11 - 1991 - John Joe Sark, a Captain of the Grand Council, writes to member of Parliament Ethel Blondin to protest Canada's proposed construction of a 33 million dollar pavilion in Spain for Expo '92 to honour Columbus. He calls Canada's theme, "Discover Canada" an insult to the First Nations people of Canada.
2008 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper addresses the Canadian House of Commons and indeed the whole country to apologize to former students of residential schools. He is accompanied by Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of First Nations.
12 - 1977 - Two-year-old Matilda Copage is lost in the bush near Cambridge Reserve. Nearly 500 volunteers participate in the search until she is found unhurt six hours later.
13 - 1982 - The Island View Restaurant operated by the Whycocomagh Reserve opens. It features traditional foods like eel and wild blueberries (but not together).
1987 - Debbie Robinson is elected chief of Acadia Band. She was also serving as President of the Yarmouth Native Women's Group, Vice-President of the Native Women's Association of Canada, President of the Native Women's Association of Nova Scotia, and as a member of the Yarmouth Affirmative Action Committee.
14 - 2002 - First Nations Governance Act is introduced in the House of Commons by Robert Nault, Minister of Indian Affairs & Northern Development. The Act would theoretically help First Nations vote on governance codes and make the Indian Act subject to the Canadian Human Rights Act.
2007 - Seventy per cent of eligible Metepenagiag community members vote in favour of an agreement that will settle a land claim involving 66 hectares that was taken in the early 1900s.
15 - 1982 - Benedict Pierro makes a successful bid as Chief of Wagmatcook, his third consecutive term.
16 - 1978 - Grand Council Captain Levi R. Denny passes away in Eskasoni. At one time he owned the largest Mi'kmaw operated store in Nova Scotia.
2008 - The Mi'kmaq Association of Cultural Studies (MACS) hosts a "tourism summit" to officially launch results of a market analysis study in tourism and cultural initiatives. Noted basketmaker Mary Rose Gould is able to sell many of her highly desirable baskets and other crafts at the event.
17 - 1984 - Marie Battiste of Potlotek is the first Mi'kmaw to receive a Ph.D. A graduate of the doctoral program at Stanford University in California, she will go on to develop a bilingual Mi'kmaq - English program for the Chapel Island School.
18 - 1982 - A special plaque is presented to the descendants of 22 Mi'kmaq who fought against Centralization in the 1940's in Chapel Island. The inscription on the plaque, in Mi'kmaq, says: "We thank the men who stayed and fought so that we would not be removed from our reserve in 1942. We will always teach our children to think a lot of our reserve, Chapel Island, and to continue to hold onto it very strongly in the future. Without you we would not be living in Chapel Island today."
Honoured at the presentation are: Peter Francis, Ben Marshall, Paul Nicholas, Stephen Paul, Thomas Battiste, Peter Battiste, Stephen Battiste, Joe Stephen, James Basque, Joseph Joe, Richard Johnson, Maurice Stephen, John Isaac, James Bernard, Richard Nevins, Alexander Marshall, Stephen Nicholas, Stephen J. Battiste, Noel Stephen, Noel Joe, Edward Johnson, and Captain Noel Marshall. The only surviving member of this group, Captain Noel Marshall, also receives a traditional Mi'kmaq costume.
2002 - Terry Paul is returned as chief of Membertou for his 10th consecutive term.
19 - 1974 - Newfoundland Non-Status Indians hold their First Annual General Assembly in Gander.
1998 - First meeting of the Mi'kmaq - Nova Scotia - Canada Tripartite Forum Executive Committee. Kji Keptin Alex Denny of the Sante' Mawio'mi is chair of the forum. The executive is composed of 13 Mi'kmaq chiefs, the Grand Chief, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and the Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs in Nova Scotia.
20 - 1972 - 18 year old Donald Marshall Jr. enters Dorchester Prison.
1991 - Wayne Denny of Pictou Landing receives Lieutenant Governor's Award from Nova Scotia Community College in Pictou. The award is bestowed for both academic performance and community service.
1998 - Lindsay Marshall is elected for a second term as chief of Potlotek, Chapel Island First Nation.
2008 - Caroline Gould, Bernie Francis, and Marjorie Gould share their knowledge of Mi'kmaw as they participate in the first Mi'kmaw Language Institute sponsored by the Aboriginal Peace & Friendship Project in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia.
21 - 1749 - Flotilla of British ships arrive in Chebucto Bay. They will establish a settlement on land the Mi'kmaq had been using for hundreds of years. The Mi'kmaq are heard to comment, "There goes the neighbourhood."
1750 - Governor Cornwallis and his Council increase the bounty on Mi'kmaq to fifty pounds sterling per head, up from the original bounty of ten pounds.
1996 - Beginning this year, Canada recognizes June 21 as National Aboriginal Day - L'nuk Nakwekmuew.
22 - 1974 - Mrs. Madeline Knockwood, born in Malagawatch in 1899 dies suddenly. A noted Mi'kmaw craftsperson, she was known for the exquisite wooden flowers she created and was the first Canadian to receive the Award of Merit from the Heard Institute, Phoenix, Arizona. The Institute housed the largest collection of native handicrafts in North America at the time.
1978 - St. Francis Xavier University graduates over 20 Mi'kmaw Alcohol and Social Counselors following a course of studies unique in eastern Canada.
1999 - The new chapel at Potlotek - Chapel Island is dedicated to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha by Bishop Colin Campbell. An Algonquin-Mohawk holy woman, Blessed Kateri was converted to Christianity in the early part of the 17th century and beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 22, 1980. A plaque is also unveiled honoring the late Noel Doucette, who was a driving force behind construction of the chapel.
23 - 1980 - Peter Poulette of Eskasoni is named Craftman of the Year by the Mi'kmaq Arts & Crafts Society.
24 - 1610 - Malpeltu Sikntasip -Chief Membertou is baptized by Abbé Fleché along with 21 family members. This union between the Mi'kmaw people and the Catholic Church will endure for over 400 years.
1910 - Grand Chief John Denny Jr. along with other Mi'kmaw leaders visits Ste. Anne de Restigouche, Quebec, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Membertou's baptism.
1987 - Re-enactment of 1776 Watertown Treaty in Massachusetts sees Kji Keptin Alex Denny speak before the State Legislature, a first for a member of the Sante' Mawio'mi.
25 - 1761 - British officials meet Mi'kmaq at Lieutenant Governor Jonathan Belcher's farm to ratify the Treaty of Peace & Friendship in a "Burying of the Hatchet" ceremony.
2004 - Albert Levi, former Chief of Elsipogtog, is appointed to the Order of Canada.
26 - 1993 - Donald Paul, Aroostook County legend, dies. Born in Laquille near Annapolis Royal in 1932, Don was a student of the Shubenacadie Residential School. He ran away nine times and was finally sent to Saint Patrick's Reform School, where, he said, he received better treatment. He worked in the woods of Maine for 21 years, refusing to cross the Canada - U.S. border again.
2002 - Harald Prins addresses the Wabanaki Confederacy gathering in Arroostook, Maine. A professor at Kansas State University, Prins is the author of the 1996 book, "The Mi'kmaq: Resistance, Accommodation, and Cultural Survival", and helped the Aroostook people gain band recognition in 1981. He also helped the Conne River Mi'kmaq of Newfoundland gain band status in 1985.
27 - 1996 - Mr. Justice John D. Embree issues his decision on the Donald Marshall Jr. eel fishing charge of 1993. It would be appealed the following year.
2009 - Terry Paul of Membertou First Nation celebrates his 25th anniversary as chief of the reserve.
28 - 1985 - Bill C-31 becomes law.
1991 - Over 1,000 dead fish - mostly gaspereaux and shad - are found in the Shubenacadie River. Tests would be run to ascertain the cause.
2007 - Front page of Cape Breton Post features "Aboriginal icon" Donald Marshall Jr. and his new wife, Colleen D'Orsay, who were married in June.
29 - 1987 - Peter Lewis Paul of Woodstock, New Brunswick is appointed to the Order of Canada.
1989 - Afton residents Chief Peter and Sophie Pierro die within a few hours of each other at St. Martha's Hospital. Married in 1936, Peter served as chief of Afton for 16 years and compiled an English - Mi'kmaq dictionary.
2005 - Noted Mi'kmaw educator Sister Dorothy Moore of Membertou First Nation is appointed to the Order of Canada.
2007 - National Day of Action - the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs meet at the Membertou Trade & Convention Centre to answer questions in the expectation of "building bridges, not blockades" with all of their neighbours.
30 - 1971 - Roy Gould, youngest Aboriginal chief in Canada (at age 21) resigns as chief of Membertou.
1995 - Listuguj Arts and Crafts Culture Centre opens the "Marks of a Mi'kmaq Nation" exhibit mounted by Montreal's McCord Museum. Many pieces in the exhibit had been collected by David Ross McCord between 1913 and 1919 and can be seen in the book "Wrapped in the Colours of the Earth: Cultural Heritage of the First Nations", published by the McCord Museum of Canadian History in 1992.
July - Animal Fur Thickens Time
1 - Kanata Ajipuna'q - Canada Day
1984 - Noel Doucette resigns as president of the Union of Nova Scotia Indians.
1995 - Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy officially opens the 400 meter Mi'kmaq Trail - Mi'kmaw- awti'j - at Louisbourg.
2 - 1762 - In his letter of July 2, Jonathan Belcher writes to the Lords of Trade, "If the Proclamation had been issued at large, the Indians might have been incited to have made extravagant and unwarrantable demands, to the disquiet and perplexity of the New Settlements in the Province."
1997 - Thirteen Mi'kmaw chiefs of Nova Scotia sign the Tripartite Forum Memorandum of Understanding with the federal and provincial governments. The forum is initiated to resolve issues among the three governments.
3 - 1991 - The Millbrook band council and the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq honour five elders: Bill Paul, Martha Julian, Rachel Marshall, Mary Ann Brooks, and Sandy Julian.
2008 - Miawpukek hosts its 13th Annual Traditional Powwow with MC Mike Doucette from Eskasoni.
4 - 1975 - Important archaeological site is found on Ingonish Island. A large site, it was occupied by Paleo-Indian and Early Archaic Indian people. Artifacts found date back 7,000 to 9,000 years ago. The site is named Geganisg, a Mi'kmaw word meaning 'remarkable place'.
5 - 1982 - Sister Veronica Matthews celebrates 25 years with the Sisters of St. Martha. She is the daughter of Michael and Agnes Matthews of Eskasoni.
1985 - The Union of Nova Scotia Indians signs agreement with the province of Nova Scotia giving the former control of their own family and children services.
1985 - Minister of Indian & Northern Affairs David Crombie makes a speech in Toronto on the occasion of the reinstatement of Mary Two Axe Early - the first person in Canada to officially regain the status she lost 47 years earlier. Crombie announces, "The Act is a first step toward recognizing in law self-government for Canada's native peoples." The Act abolished enfranchisement and recognized the right of Aboriginal communities to control their own membership.
2008 - Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy, Chief Misel Joe, and Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams attend the unveiling of a plaque in honour of Mi'kmaw guide and explorer Sylvester Joe at Miawpukek. Sylvester Joe lived in the Bay d'Espoir region in the first part of the 19th century and his help made the work of the Geological Survey of Canada possible in Newfoundland.
Included in the festivities was recognition of the sacred island site designated specifically for eagle burials. Deceased eagles from all over Newfoundland are brought to Saqamaw Misel Joe for a special ceremony and burial on the island, indicative of the eagle's importance in Mi'kmaw culture.
6 - 1982 - Micmac News reports in its July issue that contestants in a pie eating contest held in Membertou in the 12-14 year age category threw the remainders of their pies at acting judges of the event, Eleanor Ginnish and John Edward Kabatay, after they named Tina Paul the winner!
7 - 1998 - Crew of the Spirit Wind leaves Miawpukek - Conne River - Newfoundland to paddle to Potlotek - Chapel Island - Cape Breton in the hope of reaching it by July 26. The journey is later released as a documentary film made by Cathy Martin.
8 - 1724 - At a council meeting held this day at the home of Lieutenant Governor John Doucett in the garrison at Annapolis Royal, a motion is carried to execute a Mi'kmaw hostage at random to insure submission among the rest of the Mi'kmaq populace. As a result of this decision, a young Mi'kmaw warrior is later hanged.
1880 - Joseph Snake dies in Prince Edward Island. In 1859 he was appointed Head Chief of the P.E.I. Mi'kmaq by the Queen's Commission. He was born in 1786 near Murray Harbour.
9 - 1993 - John Joe Sark, representing the Grand Council attends a meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Working Group on Indigenous Populations. Several interventions on behalf of the Grand Council are made.
10 - 1988 - Powwow '88 closes in Halifax. Held at Seaview Park, July 6-10, the event attracts over 5,000 visitors.
11 - 1969 - First organizational meeting of the Union of Nova Scotia Indians is held, attended by chiefs and councilors. This followed from the original working committee established in May of that year.
12 - 1988 Michael Wayne Francis of Pictou Landing dies in a three vehicle accident on the Trans Canada Highway. A gymnasium honouring the Olympic torch bearer would later be opened in his memory.
1994 - Solicitor General of Canada, Herb Grey, Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy, and Nova Scotia Premier John Savage sign a Canada - Nova Scotia - Unama'ki Police Service Agreement to set up the first native police force in Atlantic Canada.
13 - 1971 - Charles Labrador elected as first chief of Acadia after it was officially given band status on June 8, 1965.
14 - 1896 - Benjamin Edmond Christmas is born in Port Morien, N.S., the son of Chief Joseph and Madeline (neé Richards) Christmas of the King's Road Reserve. Elected chief in 1919, he helped move the reserve from King's Road to its current location and changed its name in honour of the first grand chief, Membertou. Married Jane Denny, Ben learned much about Mi'kmaw prayer and hymns from her father Peter Paul Denny Sr. and was a respected translator and prayer leader until his death in 1966.
The July 1993 edition of the Micmac Maliseet Nations News reports a new office building constructed on Gottingen Street in Halifax will not be named "Cornwallis Court" as originally planned. Due to the efforts of Daniel N. Paul, the Cornwallis Court sign is removed and with it any homage to the late Lord Edward Cornwallis.
15 - 1606 - Marc Lescarbot sees his first Mi'kmaq:
"Having never seen any before, I did admire the first sight, their fair shape and form of visage. One of them did excuse himself for that he had not brought his fair beaver gown, because the weather had been foul."
1976 - President of the Union of New Brunswick Indians presents a petition to Queen Elizabeth II regarding "illegal abrogation of traditional and Aboriginal lands and rights of the Mi'kmaw and Maliseet people of New Brunswick". The petition urges the Queen to "redress the injuries perpetrated on the Micmac and Maliseet people."
16 - 1986 - Waltes Tournament is the highlight of the Nova Scotia Indian Summer Games at Cambridge Reserve in the Annapolis Valley.
17 - 1752 - Governor Edward Cornwallis and the Council revoke their earlier proclamations of 1749 and 1750 offering a bounty on Mi'kmaq scalps.
18 - 1991 - Launch of the newly published book, "Paqtatek - Policy and Consciousness in Mi'kmaq Life" at Pages Bookstore, Charlotte Street, Sydney.
1999 - The canoe Spirit Wind with its Mi'kmaw crew led by Sagamaw Mi'sel Joe arrives in Neil's Harbour, Cape Breton, after completing a journey from Newfoundland across the Cabot Strait to Nova Scotia. Such a journey had not been made in over a hundred years.
19 - 1776 - The Mi'kmaq and the United States government sign a friendship and alliance agreement known as the Watertown Treaty.
1998 - At the Third Annual Watertown Treaty Day Parade, there is a recitation of the poem "Sma'knis" written by the late Will Basque. He is credited with discovery of the Watertown Treaty in the 1970's and had passed away earlier in 1998 from a heart attack.
2007 - The Bear River Pride Group host a one - day information session.
20 - July 1991 Micmac Maliseet Nations News reports launch of the book, "Metepenagiag - New Brunswick's Oldest Village" at Red Bank First Nation. The book by Patricia Allen, illustrated by Roger Simon, is a history of Red Bank, where over 100 archaeological sites have been studied, including Oxbow and the Augustine Mound.
21 - 1974 - Clearing begins on land intended for the Abenaki Motel near Truro, N.S. This is the first wholly Mi'kmaq owned motel in the Maritimes.
22 - 1991 - July issue of the Micmac News reports Bernd Christmas, son of Elizabeth and Stephen Christmas, is the first Mi'kmaw student to graduate from Toronto's Osgoode Hall Law School the previous June.
23 - 1900 - Grand Chief John Denny makes Peter Paul Denny Sr. an elegeoit of Mi'kmaw prayers and hymns in a ceremony at Chapel Island. The son of Paul and Susan (neé Phillips) Denny of Eskasoni, he was a noted reader of hieroglyphics and taught Father Pacifique. He was the father of Jane Denny, who married Chief Ben Christmas of Membertou, who shared his father-in-law's interest in the Mi'kmaw language.
1978 - "Poems of Rita Joe" published by Abenaki Press.
24 - 1997 - 100th Anniversary of Merrigomish Island Mission. Many residents of Pictou Landing First Nation are descendants of the original Mi'kmaq on Indian Island.
1996 - Chief Noel Doucette of Chapel Island, formerly of Membertou, dies at age 58 in Victoria General Hospital. The son of Noel and Cecelia (neé Christmas) Doucette, he was a prominent figure on the Mi'kmaw political scene in Nova Scotia throughout his life.
25 - 1984 - For the first time in 65 years, more than 100 native people walk to the site of the old Fort Folly Reserve in New Brunswick to mark St. Anne's Day. Fort Folly was finally deserted in the 1930's. According to legend, gold coins seen on the shores of the Petitcodiac near Fort Folly during low tide were thought to be the last remains of pirate treasure buried in the area.
26- St. Anne's Day - Se't A'newimk.
1750 - Father Pierre Maillard settles in Chapel Island, where he made his first sermon eight years earlier. Father Maillard learned the Mi'kmaq language and later devised a written text based on it. Still remembered by the Mi'kmaq, one of the streets in Membertou First Nation was named after him nearly 240 years after his death.
1940 - Alexander Denny is born this day. He would go on to serve as the Kji-Keptin (Grand Captain) of the Grand Council until his death in 2004. His outstanding attributes of leadership, patience, honour, and humour and his activities on behalf of Mi'kmaw sovereignty on an international level have made him one of the most influential figures in the contemporary Mi'kmaw world, where his legacy continues to live on.
1964 - Donald Marshall Sr. is elected Grand Chief following the death of the former Grand Chief Gabriel Sylliboy, who had passed away the previous May.
1982 - Twins are reunited: the Cremo twins - Margaret and Mary - are reunited at Mission in Afton. Margaret Whitely who had lived in the United States for the past 25 years finally sees her twin sister Mary Sack of Shubenacadie again.
1992 - New Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy is sworn in at ceremonies at Chapel Island during 250th anniversary celebrations.
1997 - John Martin is elected chief of Gesgapegiag, defeating 19 other candidates. This would be the community's first public swearing in ceremony.
27 - 1989 - For the first time, a Catholic Bishop, Colin Campbell, leads Mission at Chapel Island.
28 - 1979 - Bob Rupert reports that Vivian Basque's (neé Denny) claim that it never rains on Chapel Island during the St. Anne's Procession on Sunday is true!
1987 - Darrell Googoo of Indian Brook wins a 5-mile race with a time of 28 minutes, 29 seconds in the 10th Annual Indian Summer Games held at Chapel Island. Stephen Marshall comes in second with a time of 29 minutes, 32 seconds, but later places first in the 10 mile run with a time of 62 minutes, 29 seconds.
1989 - For the first time in twenty years, the Union of Nova Scotia Indians executive is brought back for another two year term by acclamation, making it the third consecutive term for President Alex Christmas, VP Mainland Reg Maloney, VP Cape Breton Roderick Googoo, and Secretary/Treasurer Carl Gould.
1992 - Eskasoni ambulance drivers Noel Joe and Marcus Simon rescue an abandoned baby beaver on the Northside East Bay Highway. "Wally" as he is later named will be cared for at the home of Eugene and Sylvia Denny until he can be returned to the wild.
29 - 1727 - English forbid any trading between the Mi'kmaq and the French in Acadia.
30 - 1991 - Micmac Maliseet Nations News reports that Graydon Nicholas of Tobique is the first Aboriginal person in Atlantic Canada to be appointed to the Bench. He was sworn in as Judge of the Provincial Court of New Brunswick.
31 - 1986 - Former chief of Restigouche, Alphonse Metallic dies at age 58. He rose to national attention in 1981 when he refused to accept provincial jurisdiction over fishing rights. A published linguist with two Mi'kmaw dictionaries to his credit, he was also a member of the National Council of Elders, the Grand Council, Assembly of First Nations, Council of Quebec Indians, Mi'kmaq Association of Cultural Studies, and the Membertou Signtasimegeoeim Advisory Board.
August - Ripening Time
1 - 1722 - Richard Philipp, British Governor of Acadia, proclaims it illegal for any Acadian to "entertain" a Mi'kmaw person; Prudane Robichau is subsequently imprisoned and put in irons for entertaining a Mi'kmaw in his home.
1918 - Captain Gabriel J. Sylliboy is the first elected grand chief of the Mi'kmaq, at age 44. He is chosen from among five other candidates: Frank Gould of Eskasoni, Samuel Joe of Malagawatch, Joe C. Marshall of Membertou, Stephen Paul of Barra Head, and Isadore Pierro of Wagmatcook.
1985 - Micmac News reports Dalhousie University has received $100,000 from the estate of a non-Aboriginal private donor to improve native education.
1995 - Patty Doyle-Bedwell is hired by Dalhousie University Law School as an assistant professor. She is the daughter of the late Harriet Battiste of Chapel Island and Frank Doyle of Rochester, N.Y.
1996 - John Basque passes away at age 74. He is the first chief elected in Chapel Island, 1958-1960.
2 - 2008 - Listuguj hosts its 16th Annual Traditional Powwow with Derek Barnaby as Master of Ceremonies. Glen Gould and Jeff Ward star in the comedy production, "21 Ways to Scrap an Indian".
3 - 1960 - Johnstown's Sacred Heart Church celebrates its 100th anniversary. The church houses the French altar brought to St. Peter's (Port Toulouse) in 1691. It was hidden by the French when the English captured Port Toulouse, only to be found by the Mi'kmaq and used by them for many years thereafter.
2008 - RCMP Corporal Troy Julien presents a set of commemorative pins to the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet during the latter's unexpected stop-over in Halifax.
4 - 1896 - William Gabriel Paul is born in Mushaboom, N.S. Two of his 14 children would go on to be Chief of Millbrook First Nation - Lawrence Paul - and Executive Director of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq and publisher of the Micmac Maliseet Nations News - Daniel Paul.
1993 - Eleven year old Amelia Peter Paul protects her grandmother Mary Jane Jadis from a knife attack in their home in Scotchfort, P.E.I. The little girl suffers 26 stab wounds and a partially severed finger but saves Mrs. Jadis. Amelia recovers from her injuries and is later awarded the Canadian Bravery Award.
5 - 1972 - Noel Doucette is elected chief of Chapel Island. He would resign March 21, 1973, after it became a paid position.
6 - 2009 - Mi'kmaw icon Donald Marshall Jr. passes away six years after a double lung transplant from apparent kidney failure. Wrongfully convicted of murder in 1971 and released in 1982, a Royal Commission inquiry stated "The criminal justice system failed Donald Marshall Jr. at virtually every turn." He was the primary petitioner in a 1999 eel fishing case in which the Supreme Court affirmed Mi'kmaw treaty rights regarding hunting and fishing.
For his August 10th funeral city streets were blocked off so that more than 1,000 mourners could make their way to St. Anthony Daniel Church and later march to the Membertou Cemetery. In attendance were the Lieutenant Governor and premier of Nova Scotia, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, chiefs from Nova Scotian reserves, civic officials, and family and friends. Ironically, it was nearly six years to the day - August 10th, 2003 - that a dinner had been held at St. George's Church Hall in his honour after his successful lung transplant. Junior would have been 56 on September 13th.
7 - 1991 - Union of New Brunswick chiefs meet provincial representatives to discuss preservation of a Mi'kmaw cremation site on Skull Island in the Shediac Bay. The cremated bones of at least 7 people dating back to 1680 were found there.
8 - 1995 - Stephen Labobe passes away. He was the last surviving veteran of WWII in Epekwitk, P.E.I. Gunner Labobe served in England, France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany.
9 - 1970 - Noel Doucette, president of the Union of Nova Scotia Indians, demands compensation for loss of Mi'kmaw lands.
10 - 2003 - A celebratory dinner is held in honour of Donald Marshall Jr. at St. George's Hall in Sydney after his successful recovery from a double lung transplant in May. Over 400 guests attend to wish him well. Donald and his mother Caroline are featured on the front page of the Cape Breton Post the next day.
11 - 1860 - The Halifax Reporter describes the whites attending a reception for the Prince of Wales as "ladies and gentlemen", and refers to the Mi'kmaq present as "children of the forest".
12 - 1762 - Abbé Maillard dies in Halifax and is buried in St. Paul's Cemetery.
1997 - Charlie Greg Sark of Lennox Island leaves for Nepal, Katmandu, where he will work. He founded the First Nations Youth Society at Mount Allison University in 1992 and successfully lobbied for a Native Studies course in Aboriginal issues at Mount A.
13 - 1735 - Abbé Maillard comes to Louisbourg to begin his work on behalf of the Catholic Church among the Mi'kmaq.
1971 - Union of Nova Scotia Indians Research Director Stu Killen is quoted as saying, "The time has come my friends to re-write Indian history to talk among the Indian people about a whole concept of Indian Rights and Treaties to have the white men understand, acknowledge, and accept the whole field of Aboriginal Rights."
1997 - Canada's first elected female chief of an Aboriginal community dies at age 87 after a battle with cancer. Rachel Mary Marshall was elected chief of Millbrook in 1969 - a first in this country. Always concerned with the welfare of others, at age nine she wrote a letter to Ottawa to complain about a fellow band member not receiving enough food. Years later she met then Indian Affairs Minister Jean Chretien in Sydney and complained to him that Mi'kmaq were starving and needed improved aid. He said, "You don't look like you're starving to me." Her famous retort was, "Well, sir, you'd be fat too if all you could afford was Kraft dinner every day."
The mother of ten children, Chief Marshall was honoured for outstanding service by the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association in 1981, given an award from Millbrook First Nation for her years of service to the community in 1991, recognized by the Union of Nova Scotia Indians in 1994 for her active role in bettering conditions for Mi'kmaq in the province, and awarded the Grand Chief Donald Marshall Sr. Elders Award in 1995.
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15 - 1993 - A friendship protocol is signed between the Société Nationale de l'Acadie and Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy, commemorating the close link between the Mi'kmaq and the French.
16 - 1784 - Nova Scotia is divided into two provinces - Nova Scotia and New Brunswick - by the British Parliament. This partition means the Mi'kmaq are now under four different English administrations.
1874 - Gabriel J. Sylliboy, son of John and Mary (Barrington) Sylliboy is born on the Whycocomagh Reserve. He would become the first Mi'kmaw to be elected to the position of Grand Chief. Prior to his election the position had been hereditary.
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18 - 1937 - Grand Chief Gabriel Sylliboy is congratulated by the Director of Indian Affairs on receiving the King's Coronation Medal. He would resign from his position as grand chief six years later in 1943 over the centralization issue.
2008 - Recipients of the 2008 Sammy Gehue Achievement & Scholarship Awards included Juliana Paul from Millbrook, Dylan Francis from Pictou Landing, and Aaron Prosper and Libby Alex from Eskasoni. The award originated in 1993 in honour of Sammy Gehue's courage in his struggle with a rare and ultimately fatal blood disease.
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20 - 1920 - Peter J. Barlow is born. He will be Chief of Indian Island for 49 years, and once leaving office will be appointed Head Chief of the province by the other New Brunswick chiefs.
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22 - 1838 - On behalf of the British government, Lord Glenelg asks for a report on the conditions of Mi'kmaq living in Nova Scotia. The resulting report chronicles their shrinking population numbers and the deplorable circumstances in which they live.
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24 - 1993 - Donald Marshall Jr., Jane Mac Millan, and Peter Martin are seen eel fishing by a Department of Fisheries and Oceans officer in Pomquet Harbour, N.S. Later that day they are charged with violating federal fishing regulations.
25 - 1991 - Grand Chief Donald Marshall Sr. passes away.
26 - 1754 - A council is held at Fort Beauséjour by Mi'kmaq and Maliseet who had not signed the Treaty of 1749. Their offer of peace with the British was submitted to the Governor in Halifax by Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre.
1971 - Thirteen year old Basil Joe, son of the noted poet Rita Joe, rescues four year old Bridgett Marshall from drowning at Eskasoni. He later receives the Bronze Medal for Bravery given by the Royal Canadian Humane Association.
27 - 1991 - Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announces establishment of a Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
1992 - Indian Brook band council is removed by an Order -in-Council. The Privy Council ruled the February 18, 1992 election invalid, the first time this had happened in Nova Scotia band history.
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29 - 1987 - Former students of the Residential School at Shubenacadie hold first reunion August 29th to 30th.
2008 - Indian Brook resident Catherine (Ka'tln) Sylliboy, along with RCMP Indian Brook Detachment Commander Stephen Gloade make a presentation on a Community Watch Program for Indian Brook First Nation.
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31 - 1983 - Sante' Mawio'mi authorizes Professor Russell Barsh to act on its behalf before the United Nations. Kji - Sagmaw Donald Marshall Sr., Putu's Simon Marshall, Kji-Keptin Alex Denny, and Keptin Noel Marshall are re-affirmed by the Grand Council.
September - Mate Calling Time
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2 - 1986 - Fire destroys the Residential School in Shubenacadie.
2009 - Champion of Aboriginal and treaty rights in Nova Scotia, Viola Robinson is named a recipient of the province's highest award, the Order of Nova Scotia. Robinson received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Dalhousie University and actually graduated with a law degree in 1998. Recipients of the Order of Nova Scotia may use the initals after their names, so she will be 'Viola Robinson O.N.S.'
3 - 1995 - An estimated 5,000 people gather in Tobique, New Brunswick for a two day festival featuring Native North American talent at the Wabanaki Music Festival. Charlen Paul, who attended with her children said they loved having their own native festival...as well as having their own soda pop.
4 - 1783 - Ignoring the fact that the Mi'kmaq already own the land, the British government sets aside 10 land grants for the Mi'kmaq under "licenses of occupation" at St. Margaret's Bay, Sheet Harbour, St. David's Bay, and along the Stewiacke, Remsheg, Antigonish, Philip, Merigomish, Macan, and Shubenacadie rivers.
1985 - Micmac News reports the graves of Mi'kmaq buried in North Sydney's Holy Cross Cemetery have long been neglected and are obscured by grass. The paper also publishes the names from twenty grave sites.
5 - 2000 - In the month of September, Barbara Johnson is awarded her Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Foundations from Dalhousie University. She also became the Board Administrator for the Potlotek Board of Education in that year.
6 - 1988 - The Micmac News reports Chegoggin Site in Yarmouth is the second oldest archaeological site in Nova Scotia, proving the southern part of the province had an indigenous population 4,000 years ago.
2002 - Official opening of the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources in Eskasoni. Its aim is to monitor and protect the sustainability of the Brad d'Or Lakes.
7 - 1891 - Apocryphal Tales Department: Narrows Bridge built over Halifax Harbour collapses during a hurricane. The area is believed to be "cursed" according to Mi'kmaq legend. (A young bride was caught with another man and killed there by her husband, a chief). It was prophesied the first bridge would collapse in a hurricane while the second would go down in silence - which it did 18 months after its construction. Marine geologists say in the case of the first bridge, the cribs were not strong enough to support the structure. In 1970 at the Mac Kay Bridge opening, a Mi'kmaw medicine man was asked to remove the curse.
1981 - Daniel N. Paul is appointed Nova Scotia District Superintendent of Lands Revenues & Trust by the Department of Indian Affairs.
1989 - Wallace Bernard Memorial Centre opens in Membertou.
2001 - Eskasoni celebrates the christening of its new million dollar vessel, The Dr. Granny. The boat is named in honour of Margaret Johnson, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Francis Xavier University in 1994. Dr. Granny said she was proud and honoured to have the boat named after her and quipped in her usual style, "I wish it could be mine!".
8 - 1970 - Bus service is inaugurated in Bear River for school children and school attendance correspondingly becomes higher.
9 - 1983 - Norman John Dennis is born in an ambulance en route from Eskasoni to St. Rita's Hospital in Sydney.
10 - 1988 - Native Council of Nova Scotia releases the third in their series of language books.
1996 - New Brunswick Telegraph Journal carries this quote from lawyer Henry Bear about logging in the province, "This is another chapter in a true New Brunswick story involving relationships between its people and those of the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet peoples. Relations between Mi'kmaq and Maliseet peoples and non-Aboriginal peoples have, with some exceptions, been seen as painful and unjust by the Aboriginal peoples. This was because before their very eyes, and even up to the present day, territorial lands have been illegally occupied, converted and wasted, regardless of Mi'kmaq and Maliseet protests and reliance on these same lands for their economic, social, political and cultural survival. Their ongoing protests to various government bodies were made regarding these illegal encroachments by non-Aboriginal squatters and foreign businessmen, but no action to intervene and protect Maliseet and Mi'kmaq interests occurred until recently, even though the government was and is bound to do so under its promises and guarantees contained in King George's Royal Proclamation of 1763, a document now forming part of the Canadian constitution."
2006 - Fernwood Publishing brings out its third edition of We Were Not the Savages by Daniel N. Paul.
11 - 1611 - Though the actual date of Grand Chief Membertou's death is not known, this day is the one most generally held to be accurate - slightly more than one year after his baptism.
1749 - Governor Edward Cornwallis builds a fort and says, "If the Indians do begin [hostilities] we ought never to make peace with them [but] root them out entirely."
1992 - Chief Frank Meuse Jr. of Bear River re-buries 2,000 year old bones given to him by the Nova Scotia Museum for proper interment. Meuse respectfully buried the remains in the Mi'kmaw cemetery in Kejimkujik Park and later was to see a black bear which he took as a sign he had conducted the affair properly.
12 - 1971 - Stephen Maloney of Millbrook captures the Maritime Cat & Coon Hunt Association Championship for the second consecutive year.
13 - 1969 - Union of Nova Scotia Indians is organized as the representative body for all Aboriginal people in Nova Scotia.
1982 - Administration for the Burnt Church School is turned over to Chief Wilbur Dedam signing on behalf of the band in an official opening ceremony.
14 - 1984 - Grand Chief Donald Marshall Sr. has audience with Pope John Paul II in Halifax. Visiting the Isaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital, the Pope touches Reggie James Poulette of Eskasoni, who was a patient there at the time of the Papal visit.
15 - 1993 - The Mi'kmaw Grand Council convenes for the first time since 1902 in Big Cove, New Brunswick. Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy is invited to swear in Chief Vincent Simon.
16 - 1808 - In a letter to G. Sproule, William Odell writes, "The result of their [the Mi'kmaq] continued effort was that Eel Ground…[was] reserved for them in 1807; but of the original 20,000 acres only 10,000 remained at this point."
1994 - The literary efforts of seventeen First Nations women are featured in the book, "Kelusultiek: Original Women's Voices of Atlantic Canada" launched on this day by the Institute for the Study of Women, Mount Saint Vincent University.
17 - 1999 - Supreme Court of Canada releases its decision on the Donald Marshall Jr. eel fishing case appeal of 1997. Five justices - Binnie, Cory, Lamer, Iacobucci, and L'Hereux-Dube overturn decision of the lower courts, dismissing charges against Marshall. Justices Gonthier and McLachlin do not agree. Justice Binnie commented: "In my view the 1760 treaty does affirm the right of the Mi'kmaw people to continue to provide for their own sustenance by taking the products of their hunting, fishing and other gathering activities, and trading for what in 1760 was termed necessaries."
18 - 1611 - Grand Chief Membertou dies in Digby County, Nova Scotia. Though he is over 100 years old, his exact age is unknown.
1980 - New school officially opens in Whycocomagh.
1987 - 88-year-old Kitty Robinson presents David Sanipass, president of the Aroostook band of Mi'kmaq with a property deed for 12 acres in Maine, giving the Mi'kmaq band a land base. Mrs. Robinson asks his permission to be buried on the land.
19 - 1991 - Ben Sylliboy is chosen as interim successor to the late Grand Chief Donald Marshall Sr. Mr. Sylliboy would be elected Grand Chief the following year.
20 - 1943 - The war ship HMCS "Micmac" is blessed in Halifax. A number of Mi'kmaw leaders are present to witness this event and pray and sing in Mi'kmaq, including Chief Joseph Julien and William (Dowie) Paul.
21 - 1968 - Lance Corporal Vincent Bernard USMC is killed in action in Vietnam; Will Basque writes the poem "Sma'knis", dedicated to Bernard.
22 - 1779 - Several Mi'kmaq bands in New Brunswick sign the Treaty of 1779 with the British.
23 - 1996 - Kerry Prosper of Afton First Nation takes down a moose with a single arrow on Hunter's Mountain. The shot is made with a 65-lb. pull, recurved bow handmade by Jack Howard.
24 - 1808 - The Minutes of Council for New Brunswick set aside reserves for Eel Ground, Big Hole, Indian Point, Red Bank, Tabusintac, Burnt Church Point, and Burnt Church River and order that "licenses of occupation be given to the Indians…".
1982 - Chief Alex Christmas presents a $257,000. cheque on behalf of Indian Affairs and Membertou to the city of Sydney for purchase of 45.6 additional acres of land for the Membertou reserve.
2008 - A letter from the Deputy Minister of Fisheries & Oceans Canada indicates the Canadian Coast Guard does not intend to use the name of Edward Cornwallis on any new vessels, while the ship already named "Cornwallis" will be replaced.
25 - 1971 - Linkletter Hotel in Summerside, P.E.I. refuses accommodation to Mr. Cyrus Sark and family.
1989 - Mi'kmaq hold peaceful protest at a proposed gravel mining quarry on the eastern side of Klu'skap's (Kelly's) Mountain in Cape Breton. The whole dispute would later be the subject of a book in the Lund Series in the History of Religions called "A Landscape of Left-Overs: Changing Conceptions of Place and Environment Among Mi'kmaq Indians of Eastern Canada" by Anne Christine Hornborg and published in Stockholm in 2001.
1998 - Morley Googoo of Waycobah First Nation begins fourth consecutive term as chief.
2008 - Historic meeting is held in Eskasoni First Nation when Premier Rodney Mac Donald and his cabinet travel to Cape Breton to meet the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs. Among their discussions is the issue of the Sydney Tar Ponds.
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27 - 1993 - Nova Scotia Amateur Hockey Association announces it will penalize players who made racist remarks at a hockey game in Oxford with suspensions. The ruling came after a complaint by 14 year old Justin Johnson.
28 - 1997 - Elders Pearl Googoo and Caroline Gould are honoured in Waycobah for their years of service to the Friends of St. Anne organization.
29 - 1983 - Mi'kmaw Tannery, the first commercial smoke tannery, opens in Gander, operated by the Glenwood Band of Newfoundland.
1993 - Representatives of the Mi'kmaq meet with Parks Canada officials at Kejimkujik National Park to discuss designation of rock carvings at the Park. These petroglyphs form one of the largest sites in North America.
30 - 1971 - September's Micmac News quotes linguist Paul Proulx as saying "being a Micmac today is like having all the history of North America written in German. The first thing that happens is a sense of alienation and foreignness about your own culture and identity."
2001 - First Nations Art Gallery opens at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
October - Animal Fattening Time
1 - Kisaknutmamkewey Na'kwek - Treaty Day
1749 - Governor Cornwallis, in a Council meeting, gives this response to a Mi'kmaw declaration of war: "to declare war formally against the Micmac Indians would be a manner to own them a free and independent people, whereas they ought to be treated as so many Banditti Ruffians, or Rebels".
1944 - St. Anne's Mission Church is established in Membertou First Nation by funds raised by people in the community. Chief Ben Christmas spearheads fund drive through his ticket sales.
2000 - Historic plaque ceremony takes place at Kejimkujik to celebrate Mi'kmaw habitation in the area.
2002 - Tripartite Forum ratifies the Smith-Francis Orthography as the official Mi'kmaw writing system.
2 - 1749 - Governor Cornwallis issues orders to "annoy, distress, take or destroy the Savage commonly called Micmac", and offers a reward of 10 guineas for every Mi'kmaq taken or killed.
1998 - New high tech high school is opened in Eskasoni by Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jane Stewart.
2002 - Daniel N. Paul becomes the first Mi'kmaw to be inducted into the Order of Nova Scotia.
3 - 1829 - In the Minutes of Council, it is noted Lord Dalhousie wrote to the Legislative Council to figure out a plan "to protect [Mi'kmaw lands] from encroachment and trespass the Indians now complaining that a great part of their land had been settled by intruders, and that others had stripped them of their wood."
1991 - Official opening of the multi-million dollar resort complex at Kingsclear First Nation.
4 - 1900 - Mi'kmaw flag is raised for the first time in Restigouche, Quebec.
1971 - John Leonard Toney and Vincent "Frenchy" Bernard begin their duties as police in Eskasoni. They have no car, no office, no supplies, and no weapons.
1986 - Helen Martin retires from the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association after 15 years.
5 - 1985 - The October issue of the Micmac News reports Alan Toney of Cambridge shot a rare 29 point buck in the first week of the hunting season in the Annapolis Valley.
2004 - Donald M. Julian of Millbrook First Nation receives the Order of Nova Scotia.
6 - 1981 - In October of this year at the request of Pictou Landing Chief Raymond Francis, Daniel N. Paul sets in motion the legal action that would later see the band awarded additional lands and 35 million dollars in compensation for pollution at Boat Harbour.
7 - 1763 - King George III's Royal Proclamation protects Mi'kmaw hunting grounds. It stated the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia would not be "...molested or disturbed...".
1985 - Fifteen basket 'peddlers' take part in an historic train ride through Nova Scotia to commemorate the practice of Mi'kmaq crafts people who rode the trains to sell their wares from door to door. Some of the people taking part were: Victor Christmas, Keith Christmas, Angeline Phillips, Pearl Googoo, Mary Bernard, Rita Smith, William and Alice Googoo, Rita Roadknight and her mother Nancy Christoff, Caroline Gould, Margaret Johnson, Martha Lewis, Mary Rose Gould, and Mary Paul.
8 - 1985 - 97 year old Nancy Christoff of Indian Brook shares traditional Mi'kmaw culture with 5 year old great-grand-daughter Sherry Nevin at Arts & Trade Show in Halifax, October 8-10.
1994 - Lorne Simon, 33, of Big Cove passes away. His first novel "Switches and Stones" would be published later that fall by Theytus Books in British Columbia. Lorne had been awarded the Simon Lucas Scholarship for Achievement in Creative Expression.
2008 - The late Nora Madeline Bernard of Millbrook First Nation receives a posthumous Order of Nova Scotia. Founder and president of the Shubenacadie Residential School Association in 1987, she was also instrumental in launching a class action suit on behalf of residential school survivors.
9 - 1910 - Father Pacifique blesses the new prayer house at Eskasoni - the Chapel of the Holy Family. Copies of historic documents in Mi'kmaq and English are laid under its cornerstone.
1986 - Attorney General Ron Giffen announces a public judicial inquiry into wrongful conviction of Donald Marshall Jr.
10 - 1976 - "Micmac Magazine" radio show goes on air on CHER Radio in Sydney and CIGO in Port Hawkesbury. A half-hour show, it was hosted by Conrad Paul of Sydney.
1977 - There is currently no Mi'kmaq presence at the Fortress of Louisbourg and officials say that if the Mi'kmaq can provide historical documentation, they will consider employing Mi'kmaq as animators.
1999 - Talented Mi'kmaw fiddler and performer Lee Cremo passes away.
11 - 1872 - Joseph Julien is born in New Glasgow, N.S. to Noel and Madeline (neé Sylliboy) Julien. He would be a leading figure on the Mi'kmaw religious and political scene until his death at age 85.
1993 - Official opening of the new wigwam shaped church at Indian Island, New Brunswick. The community had been without a church for nearly 37 years.
12 - 1972 - First exhibit of the costumes, tools, crafts, and paintings of the Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Iroquois, Woods Cree, Plains Cree, Sioux, Blackfoot, Nootka, and Eskimo peoples opens at the Nova Scotia Museum.
13 - The October 1996 issue of the Micmac Maliseet Nations News features photographs by Clayton Paul. One is of Indian Brook resident Norman Brooks, who won a job in a logging camp when he was 15 by cutting down ten more trees than the camp foreman!
14 - 1923 - The Sunday Leader reports Charlottetown Mi'kmaw Barney Francis, competing for the Abegweit Amateur Athletic Association made history by "registering a thrilling upset victory at the mile race at the Canadian Track & Field Championships in Halifax". His time of 4:32:05 upset the previous Maritime record and was to stand until 1938.
15 - 1982 - Dalhousie University Arts Centre is the venue for the first Atlantic Indian Arts & Crafts Festival.
2008 - Len Thomah Sr., of Woodstock, New Brunswick, dies today after a long struggle with cancer. He was one of the founding members of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Secretariat and will be remembered for his positive energy and attitude.
16 - 1989 - Eugene Denny bags first moose under the one-year conservation agreement. The moose weighed 970 pounds and had a 32-point rack.
1998 - The Micmac Native Friendship Centre in Halifax celebrates its 25th anniversary.
17 - 1986 - Holland College, P.E.I. graduates nine native constables from the Atlantic Police Academy.
18 - 1749 - Excerpt from a letter transcribed by Père Maillard from the Mi'kmaq to the government of Nova Scotia: "The place where you are building dwellings, where you are now building a fort, as it were, to enthrone yourself, this land of which you wish to make yourself now absolute master, this land belongs to me. I have come from it as certainly as the grass, it is the very place of my birth and of my dwelling, this land belongs to me. It is God who has given it to me to be my country forever."
19 - 1741 - Governor De Quesnel awards medals and commissions to Mi'kmaw chiefs - helpful allies against the English.
1744 - Massachusetts Governor William Shirley declares war on the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet in response to a request from the Governor of Nova Scotia, Jean Paul Mascarene. A bounty is offered for the scalps of Mi'kmaq and Maliseet men, women, and even children.
1993 - Chief Noel Doucette of Chapel Island is reported in the Chronicle Herald as asking the Nova Scotia Transport Minister to share the cost for a sidewalk after three people are injured in three separate traffic accidents October 16, 17, and 18. Despite speed limits there is a tendency for vehicles to speed along the stretch of highway.
1997 - Nova Scotia Museum launches its web site "Mi'kmaq Portraits Collection".
20 - 1987 - As of October 20, 1987, after passage of Bill C-31, band membership at Afton First Nation rises by 104 members, going from 476 as of December 31, 1986 to 537 by October, 1987.
2001 - Ada Benoit of the Miawpukek First Nation, Newfoundland, becomes the first Aboriginal person to graduate from the Dalhousie University Nurse Practitioner Program.
21 - 1988 - Angry picketers demonstrate outside a Nova Scotia cabinet meeting in Truro to protest violations of Mi'kmaw treaty rights. President and Vice President of the Nova Scotia Native Council, Viola Robinson and Dwight Dorey lead the protest. Mr. Dorey is resplendent in a suit of prison stripes.
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25 - 2007 - Launch of the book "The Stone Canoe: Two Lost Mi'kmaq Texts" by Elizabeth Paul, Peter Sanger, and Alan Syliboy takes place at Cape Breton University as part of a Maritime tour.
26 - 1971 - The Cape Breton Post notes that Mi'kmaw children are advised not to speak Mi'kmaq in school. With the resurgence of interest in Mi'kmaw culture, a mere 13 years later the language is promoted and taught to children at the Chapel Island school. Things can change.
1995 - Josephine Peck from Wagmatcook becomes the recipient of the Stephen Hamilton Outstanding Achievement in Education Award.
2001 - Chief Lawrence Paul and Fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal cut the ribbon to officially open Millbrook First Nation's new 1.25 million dollar wharf in Sheet Harbour. It can house up to 10 boats and has ice making capability.
27 - 1996 - Rita (Toney) Smith passes away having served as chief of Annapolis-Horton for three terms. She and her husband Abraham were also known for their skill in basketry. Their work is displayed at the Indian Arts Centre, Ottawa.
28 - 1993 - Donald Marshall Jr. is formally charged with illegally fishing eels on August 24, of that year.
1999 - Donald Marshall Jr. is quoted in the Globe & Mail, "We belong on this land, we're going to live on this land, and we're going to stay on this land."
29 - 1838 - In response to a questionnaire on the number and living conditions of Indians in Cape Breton, Joseph Howe writes: "There are about 130 families in the island - the Micmac tribe - generally degraded - attributed to the loss of their hunting grounds - the aged and helpless are very miserable."
30 - 2001 - Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Robert Nault publishes a piece in the Halifax Herald advising replacement of the Indian Act with a "First Nations Governance Act."
31 - Skitekmujuia'timk - Hallowe'en
1872 - Joseph Julien is born in Pictou County. He would later become chief of Membertou in 1911 and chief of Millbrook in 1917. He died February 6, 1957.
November - Frost Month
1 - Nepkik Alasutmelsewujik - Prayers for the Dead - All Saints Day
1993 - Under the authority of the Grand Council, Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy and 13 members of the Afton, Membertou, and Shubenacadie First Nations participate in a Mi'kmaq Atlantic Salmon Harvest on the Margaree River in Cape Breton. Department of Fisheries and Oceans had offered the Mi'kmaq 1,000 salmon from the Margaree if they would sign communal license agreements. The Mi'kmaq refuse to sign, choosing instead to take no more than 15 salmon because of declining stocks.
2 - 1990 - First issue of the Micmac Maliseet Nations News is published this month.
3 - 1984 - Charles Blaise Young's deer kill scores 172 Boone & Crockett Record Club points - an unofficial record. Elders call the animal a 'swamp buck' which means he could eat well and easily conceal himself, thus accounting for his large size.
1998 - The Assembly of Nova Scotia Chiefs declare the planned tree clearing associated with the Sable gas pipeline is an infringement on Aboriginal title and may disturb sacred and archaeologically significant sites.
4 - 1993 - Nimbus Publishers launch Daniel N. Paul's ground breaking book, "We Were Not the Savages". Nearly 300 people attend the event including Nova Scotia Premier John Savage, who apparently, was one of the Savages.
1994 - Official opening of the Eskasoni Mi'kmaq Recreation Centre. Elder Dan K. Stevens cuts the ribbon to officially open the rink.
5 - 1971 - Donald Marshall Jr. is found guilty in the death of Bobby Seale.
6 - 1972 - The November issue of the Micmac News reports Clarence Gloade is the lone resident of the Gold River Reserve. He wonders what will become of the reserve if the Nova Scotia Department of Highways goes ahead with its planned highway through Gold River.
7 - 1985 - Indian Affairs Minister David Crombie tours Eskasoni and is presented with a list of demands.
8 - 1973 - Crane Cove Oyster Farm Ltd., which opened in Eskasoni two years earlier, harvests its first crop.
9 - 1925 - Several Mi'kmaq families move from the King's Road Reserve to Caribou Marsh as a result of a 1915 court order.
10 - 1987 - Sod is turned for a new multi-purpose, $500,000 facility at Millbrook.
11 - Sma'knis Na'kwekm - Remembrance Day - We recall that during World War I, every eligible Mi'kmaw male in Sydney enlisted.
1945 - Leo Cope of Millbrook First Nation loses his life on the last day of the Second World War.
1985 - War Memorial is unveiled at Membertou inscribed with 178 names of Mi'kmaw veterans of World War I, World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
12 - 1985 - Dr. Marie Battiste is named Woman of the Year by the Sydney Business & Professional Women's Club.
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14 - 1978 - Allison Bernard is elected chief of Eskasoni after an unsuccessful bid in 1976.
15 - 1995 - Margaret Pictou LaBillois of Eel River Bar First Nation, is appointed to the Order of Canada.
16 - 1995 - Mi'kmaw Education Authority changes its name to Mi'kmaw Kina'masuti (Mi'kmaw Education).
17 - 2000 - Head Chief of New Brunswick, Peter J. Barlow passes away.
2005 - Daniel N. Paul, author of We Were Not the Savages: 21st Century Edition is appointed to the Order of Canada.
18 - 1997 - Ronald Jacques is elected chief of Listuguj First Nation, while sons Paul, Rodney, and Roland are elected as councilors.
2005 - Sister Dorothy Moore, originally from Membertou First Nation, is officially invested into the Order of Canada.
19 - 1794 - Signing of the Jay Treaty by Great Britain and the United States means Mi'kmaq may pass freely between Canada - U.S. border.
1975 - Supreme Court of Canada upholds 1763 Proclamation in Stephen Isaac case.
2001 - Eskasoni High School students choose Elder Wilfred Prosper as Role Model of the Year, exemplifying the Mi'kmaw attributes of wisdom, humility, honesty, patience, truth, and love.
2004 - The largest conference centre in Cape Breton officially opens in Membertou. The Membertou Trade & Convention Centre cost $7.2 million and spans 47,000 square feet in total.
2007 - Former Chief of Eskasoni Allison Bernard Sr. passes away after an extended battle with cancer. A chief for 22 years, Bernard was instrumental in the creation of social and educational programs in the community.
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21 - 1985 - The Supreme Court of Canada finds in favour of James Simon of Shubenacadie First Nation, who appealed his conviction of illegally possessing a rifle and cartridges. He contended the 1752 Treaty exempted him from such prosecution and the Supreme Court concurred.
1996 - Final report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is made public after being tabled in the House of Commons.
2001 - Archaeologists and staff of Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq find an 11,000 year old scraper on the Mi'kmawey - Debert site. The scraper would have been used to clean caribou hides.
22 - 1752 - Treaty is signed by Jean Baptiste Cope (Chief Copit or "Beaver"), Andrew Hadley Martin, Gabriel Martin, and Francoise Jeremie and His Majesty and subjects and the Governor of Nova Scotia Peregrine Thomas Hopson Esquire.
23 - 1991 - Grand Chief Donald Marshall Sr. receives posthumous Tom Miller Award for Human Rights.
1998 - Charges are laid against 22 Mi'kmaq for logging on Crown Land in Colchester and Hants Counties, Nova Scotia.
24 - 1994 - Prosecutor Michael Paré comments to Mr. Justice John D. Embree: "It is probably inevitable however this case resolves itself, that this case will be on its way to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal and perhaps, in all likelihood, on its way to the Supreme Court of Canada." - regarding the trial stemming from the 1993 illegal fishing charges against Donald Marshall Jr.
2007 - A 10 mile walk from Red Bank to Eel Ground takes place in New Brunswick. The walk is organized by Natasha Patles to begin the healing process as the communities recover from the effects of suicide earlier in the year.
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26 - 2007 - Membertou welcomes the Cape Breton Regional Police Service - Membertou Division, a seven man squad which replaces the RCMP who had been a presence on the reserve for the preceeding five years.
27 - 1982 - Terry Paul and Bernie Francis of Membertou receive awards from the Cape Breton Running Circuit.
28 - 1792 - Lt. Governor Macarmick grants Chapel Island to the Mi'kmaq. Chiefs Francis Baske and Michael Tomma receive permission to construct a church there. Baske and Tomma resided in what is now Westmount, Nova Scotia.
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30 - 1851 - News is received today that Chief Michael Dennie, aged 90, had died earlier in November at Crow Harbour, Guysborough.
1992 - The Burnt Church Training Centre is officially opened by Chief Wilbur Dedam and New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna.
December - Winter Month
1 - 1979 - Opening of show at Albert White Gallery features wall hangings by Suzanne Swannie based on Mi'kmaw designs executed by Margaret Johnson, Patricia Dennis, Phyllis Denny, Francis Paul, and Marlene Christmas.
1995 - Over 150 Big Cove residents gather at the local school to participate in World Aids Day.
2 - 1985 - The first meeting of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq takes place with Chief Rita Smith of Glooscap (Horton), Chief Lawrence Paul of Millbrook, Chief Roderick Francis of Pictou Landing, Chief John Knockwood of Shubenacadie, and founding Executive Director Daniel N. Paul. The organization is officially registered 3 days later on December 5, 1985.
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5 - 1938 - Daniel N. Paul is born in a small log cabin on Indian Brook Reserve. He would go on to become a commissioner of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission and the Nova Scotia Police Commission, founder/publisher of the Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Nation News, founding executive director of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq, inductee of both the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada, columnist for the Halifax Chronicle Herald, and author of We Were Not the Savages, first edition published in 1993, updated twentieth century edition published in 2000, with another updated edition released in 2006 entitled First Nations History - We Were Not the Savages - Third Edition.
2004 - Much loved and respected former journalist, publisher, entrepreneur, and politician Roy Anslem Gould dies in Membertou, Nova Scotia. Founder of the Micmac News, Native Communications Society of Nova Scotia, Native Friendship Centre (Halifax), and one of the founders of the Union of Nova Scotia Indians, Roy was also the youngest chief in Canada when he was elected in 1969, and the first Mi'kmaw in Eastern Canada to be named to the Sydney Board of School Commissioners in 1976. Roy was co-ordinator of the annual Treaty Day observances and past co-ordinator of the Wallace Bernard Memorial Youth Hockey Tournament.
6 - 1752 - Treaty Articles of Peace and Friendship renewed in enclosure in letter of Governor Thomas Hopson to the Earl of Holdernesse.
1917 - "Turtle Grove" a Mi'kmaw community at Tuft's Cove is destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. The history of Tuft's Cove remains unknown and the village is never re-built. An oil painting of a Mi'kmaw encampment at Tuft's Cove, circa 1837, still exists, attributable to William Eager (1796-1839). In 2007 Mi'kmaq gather in Dartmouth on this day to remember those who perished.
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8 - 1985 - Micmac News reports Dr. Paul Robinson, speaking at a Mi'kmaq Association of Cultural Studies Conference, says Mi'kmaq should realize their language is being replaced by English.
9 - 1985 - Simon Denny rescues Junior Johnson, who had fallen through the ice at Eskasoni.
10 - 1976 - "No Trespassing" sign erected at 3:15 p.m. at entrance to Membertou is removed 45 minutes later. Discriminatory nature of sign is cited as reason for its removal.
1987 - Premier Brian Peckford of Newfoundland is quoted in the St. John's Evening Telegram, "The Micmac people were no more Aboriginal to the island of Newfoundland than were the Peckfords, who came here in 1791." This attitude led to many problems with recognition of Mi'kmaw land claims on the part of the provincial government.
1991 - Noel Raymond Knockwood receives a Meritorious Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Rights at Province House, Halifax.
1992 - The late Chief Richard McEwan is honoured at the 25th Anniversary Dinner of the Human Rights Commission held at the World Trade and Convention Centre. Daughter Judy McEwan accepts a certificate on behalf of the family. McEwan was chief of Bear River First Nation from 1963 - 1975 and died in 1991 at age 83. He compiled a Mi'kmaw dictionary and published "Memories of a Micmac Life" in 1987.
2007 - The Bear River community Christmas dinner is held at the Cultural Centre. Chief Theresa Meuse and councillors Holly Meuse and Lorraine Melanson entertain celebrants with a carol sung acappella.
1997 - Danny Christmas of Membertou First Nation receives the Tom Miller Human Rights Award at City Hall in Sydney.
11 - 1976 - Fire destroys St. Anne's Church at Chapel Island.
12 - 1989 - Chapel Island band enters funding arrangement with the Government of Canada. Days later a $51,000. pumper is purchased to enhance the reserve's fire fighting capability. Fire Chief Lindsay Marshall says the converted Ford F450 1.5 ton truck can pump 3,000 gallons of water per minute.
1991 - Judge Graydon Nicholas receives the 1991 Human Rights Award from the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission. Nicholas grew up in Tobique First Nation.
1999 - Horton First Nation hosts its Elders Christmas Tea and honours past chiefs Louis Peters/ Bear River, Michael Francis/ Annapolis Valley Band, Rita Smith/ Horton, and Joseph Peters/Horton.
1999 - Seymour Doucette of Eskasoni represents Canada at the World Bench Press Championships in Vaasa, Finland. The Mi'kmaw flag is raised among the flags of other participating nations.
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14 - 1985 - The film, "Our Lives in Our Hands" produced by Harald Prins and Karen Carter premieres in New York at the Kaufmann Theatre. The film shows traditional basket making among the Aroostook County Mi'kmaq.
1995 - William Julian "Checker" Bernard, age 81, dies in Eskasoni. He was the last surviving WW II veteran in Eskasoni and served for 64 years as Chief of Police for the Grand Council at the St. Anne Mission, Chapel Island.
15 - 1725 - Agreement is signed in Boston ending 3 years of war between Massachusetts, North Hampshire, Nova Scotia, and the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Mi'kmaq.
1964 - A final Christmas party is held for students of the school at Membertou Reserve. In 1965, students would move to the non-Aboriginal schools in Sydney.
16 - 1971 - The December issue of the Micmac News reports the jackpot at the Eskasoni Parish Bingo is $460. and rising!
17 - 1986 - Nova Scotia Aboriginal Affairs Minister Edmund Morris says the province will oppose Mi'kmaw sovereignty, comparing the Mi'kmaq to Separatists in Quebec.
2008 - Keptin Walter Daniel Denny of Eskasoni passes away at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital on the anniversary of his mother Clara (Gould) Denny's death. His father was Keptin Levi R. Denny.
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19 - 1995 - Halifax District School Board passes a motion to implement the first Aboriginal, Black, and Visible Ethnocultural Anti-Racism Policy in Nova Scotia.
20 - 1985 - Micmac News celebrates its 15th Anniversary at a party for past and present employees.
21 - 1878 - Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper features a drawing rendered by H.A. Ogden depicting the presentation of Mi'kmaw men to the Marquis of Lorne in the Council Chamber of the Provincial Building in Halifax, November 26, 1878.
22 - 1955 - Mrs. Sally Sark of Pictou Landing, upon returning from a selling trip in Amherst, loses her footpath in a blinding snowstorm and perishes. Known as "Old Sally", Mrs. Sack was 101 years old. When asked about her health Old Sally said, "I am an old tree. I withstood the storms almost 100 winters, but my eyes are a little dim and my hands are becoming lazy, and if God calls me, I will go like a wind."
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25 - Nipialasutmamk - Christmas Day.
1975 - Boston Globe reports the 250 year old remains of an Aboriginal child currently on display at the Phillips Academy's Peabody Museum will be buried in a Waponoag graveyard. This was largely due to the lobbying of Mi'kmaw Gill Gallant who said, "Speaking as an Indian for Indian people, we're not extinct and we don't like being treated as though we were."
2004 - Kji Keptin Alexander Denny passes away. Grand Captain since 1968, he was a founding member of the Union of Nova Scotia Indians, National Indian Brotherhood, and recipient of the Tom Longboat Award, to list but a few of his accomplishments. A proponent of Mi'kmaw language and culture throughout his life, he leaves behind a significant legacy for his people and a sense of loss for those who knew and loved him.
26 - Poqtamkiaq Pestie'wa'taqatimk - Boxing Day.
27 - 1824 - The Halifax Journal reports that Chief Andrew Meuse of Bear River had journeyed to England to request a land grant from the British government so his family and friends could farm in Nova Scotia.
1978 - Peter Wilmot dies at age 106. He is estimated to have killed over 300 moose in his lifetime, the last when he was 98. He also served as chief at Pictou Landing.
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31 - 1784 - Cape Breton is a separate colony. Mi'kmaq on the island give assistance to the settlers to help them through the cold winter months.
1993 - Native women's rights activist Helen Martin passes away on New Year's Eve. Mrs. Martin, aged 71, was the daughter of Chief Ben Christmas and Jane (Denny) Christmas. Mrs. Martin served as the first president of the Native Women's Association of Nova Scotia, and Vice President of the National Native Women's Association. A ribbon cutting the following month at the Millbrook Family Treatment Centre was dedicated to her memory.
Acknowledgements/Sources
Micmac News 1970-1991
Micmac Maliseet Nations News 1992 - 2009.
Mi'kmaq Past and Present: A Resource Guide N.S. Dept. of Education
Guide to Bill C-31: An Explanation of the 1985 Amendments to the Indian Act Native Women's Association of Canada, 1986.
Nova Scotia Virtual Archives Mi'kmaq Photo Collection On-Line
Dictionary of Canadian Biography On-Line, Vol.1 produced by University of Toronto & Laval University, 2000.
Species at Risk Calendar Based on the Mi'kmaw Lunar Cycle produced by Environment Canada, Fisheries & Oceans Canada, Parks Canada Agency, & Indian & Northern Affairs Canada, 2007
Mac Leod, Heather. Past Nature: Public Accounts of Nova Scotia's Landscape, 1600-1900
1995 St. Mary's University Ph.D. Thesis.
Mac Millan, Leslie Jane. Mi'kmawey Mawio'mi: Changing Roles of the Mi'kmaq Grand Council from the Early Seventeenth Century to the Present" 1996 Dalhousie University M.A. Thesis.
Mi'kmaq Association of Cultural Studies. Micmac Hymnal 1984.
New Brunswick Telegraph Journal Saint John, New Brunswick September 10, 1996.
Bartlett, Richard H. Indian Reserves in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada Studies in Aboriginal Rights No.9, University of Saskatchewan Law Centre, 1986
Newton, Pamela. The Cape Breton Book of Days 1984 Sydney: University College of Cape Breton Press.
Paul, Daniel M. We Were Not the Savages: 21st Century Edition 2000 Halifax: Fernwood Publishing; and personal correspondence, 2006, 2007, 2008.
Paul-Martin, Patsy. Mi'kmaq Months of the Year From a series of posters produced for the Millbrook Literacy Center by Eastern Woodlands Publishing.
Reid, Jennifer. No Man's Land: British and Mi'kmaq in 18th and 19th Century Acadia
1994 Ph.D. Thesis University of Ottawa.
Ricker, Darlene A. L'sitkuk: the Story of the Bear River Mi'kmaw Community 1997
Lockport, N.S.: Roseway Publishing Co. Ltd.
Whitehead, Ruth Holmes Micmac Quillwork Halifax: The Nova Scotia Museum 1982.
Wicken, William. Mi'kmaq Treaties on Trial 2002 Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
We have striven to be as accurate as possible in the dates provided. Please contact the
Mi'kmaq Resource Centre if you feel there has been an error or omission. Your suggestions are most welcome.
