Miꞌkmaꞌki or Miꞌgmaꞌgi is composed of the traditional and current territories, or

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, of the

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

people, in what is now

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is shared by an inter-Nation forum among Miꞌkmaq

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

and is divided into seven geographical and traditional districts. Today ''Taqamkuk'' is separately represented as an eighth district. Miꞌkmaꞌki is one of the confederate nations within the Wabanaki.

History

Each district was autonomous, headed by a '' Sagamaw''. He would meet with

Wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nort ...

readers and knowledge keepers called ''turkey keeper's'', a women's council, and the ''Kji Sagamaw'', or Grand Chief, to form the ''Santeꞌ' or ''Miꞌkmawey Mawioꞌmi (Grand Council). The seat of the Santeꞌ Mawioꞌmi is at Mniku in Unamaꞌkik. It still functions as the capital today in the

Potlotek Potlotek First Nation, also known as Chapel Island, is a Mi'kmaq, Mi'kmaw community in northeastern Nova Scotia. The community is situated in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Canada. As of 2022, the First Nation has approximately 800 band members livin ...

reserve. Following European contact, Miꞌkmaꞌki was colonized by the French and British in modern

, who made competing claims for the land. Siding with the French, the Miꞌkmaq fought alongside other Wabanaki warriors during the repeated wars between France and Britain in North America in the 17th and 18th centuries, between 1688-1763. These European powers divided Miꞌkmaꞌki in the treaties of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

(1715) and Paris (1763). After the latter, when France ceded its territories east of the Mississippi River to Britain, the British claimed Miꞌkmaꞌki as their possession by conquest. The defeated Miꞌkmaq signed the

Peace and Friendship Treaties The Peace and Friendship Treaties were a series of written documents (or, treaties) that Britain signed between 1725 and 1779 with various Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet), Abenaki, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy peoples (i.e., the Wabanaki Confe ...

to end hostilities and encourage cooperation between the Wabanaki nations and the British. They wanted to ensure the survival of the Miꞌkmaq people, whose numbers had dwindled to a few thousand from disease and starvation. The power held within Miꞌkmaꞌki faded further after the

Confederation of Canada Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion of ...

in 1867 united the colonies, establishing four provinces. The Dominion of Canada passed the ''

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

'' in 1876, which resulted in the loss of autonomous governance among the First Nations. The Miꞌkmaq had said that they never conceded sovereignty of their traditional lands. Some analysts have advanced legal arguments that the Peace and Friendship treaties legitimized the takeover of the land by Britain. For more than 100 years, until 2020, the ''Santeꞌ Mawioꞌmi'' (or Grand Council) was limited to functioning solely as a spiritual and dialogue forum. The Mi'kmaq and other First Nations were required to elect representatives for their governments. In 2020, however, by agreement with the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

, the Grand Council was authorized to consult on behalf of the Miꞌkmaq First Nations and all First Nations in the province.

Governance

Traditionally each Mi'kmaw district had its own independent government. Those governments were composed of a chief and a council. The council included the band chiefs, elders, and other important leaders. The role of the councils was similar to those of any independent government and included the ability to make laws, establish a justice system, divide the common territory among the people for hunting and fishing, make war, and search for peace. The overarching Grand Council ''Santeꞌ Mawioꞌmi'' was composed of the ''keptinaq'' (captains), or the district chiefs. The Grand Council also included elders, ''putus'' (historians reading the wampum belts), and a Council of women. The Grand Council was headed by a grand chief who was one of the district chiefs, generally the Unamaꞌkik chief. Succession was hereditary. The seat of the Grand Council was generally on Unamaꞌkik (

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

)..

Districts

The eight districts are the following: (names are spelled in the Franci-Smith orthography, followed by the Listuguj orthography in parens): *

Epekwitk Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

aq Piktuk (Epegwitg aq Pigtug) * Eskikewaꞌkik (Esgeꞌgewaꞌgi) * Kespek (Gespeꞌgewaꞌgi) * Kespukwitk (Gespugwitg) * Siknikt (Signigtewaꞌgi) * Sipekniꞌkatik (Sugapuneꞌgati) * Unamaꞌkik (Unamaꞌgi) * Ktaqamkuk (Gtaqamg).

References

* {{cite book , last=Paul , first=Daniel N. , title=We Were Not The Savages: A Miꞌkmaq Perspective on the Collision Between European and Native American Civilizations , url=https://archive.org/details/wewerenotsavages0000paul , url-access=registration , publisher=Fernwood Publishing , year=2000 , isbn=9781552660393 Mi'kmaq Cultural regions Human geography Former countries in North America

History

Governance

Districts

See also

References