“This Is What I Wish You Knew”: Mi’kmaq Identity and History at the Museum of Natural History in Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Here in Nova Scotia, I think many of us take advantage of our history. We grow up sitting through history classes that we write off as boring. Or maybe we dismiss Canadian history as a whole, chalking ourselves up as uninteresting in comparison to our American neighbours. Yet this is untrue. No history is plain and lifeless. And though I am happy to share with you my passion for the history of this province and actively prove to you that Nova Scotian and Canadian history is anything but uneventful, there is also a darker side of this conversation. How our disinterest in our own histories not only comes from a place of insufficient education, but also stereotypes. A notion that Canada’s history is uneventful and boring because we are polite peacemakers. A sentiment that we have always been nice and inclusive is often assumed as our international identity, yet history is not so simple.

In truth, Nova Scotia’s history has often purposely left of the voices of minorities. Yet Nova Scotian history is not colourless. Though white washed for centuries, Canada’s history is not only about settlers. The privileged may have written history books in the past, but this does not mean that they are the only creators of history. In fact, the history of this province starts thousands of years before colonization or the name Nova Scotia even surfaced. It starts in the territory of Mi’kma’ki, the land of the Mi’kmaq. If you live in Nova Scotia, you live on the unceded land of Mi’kma’ki. And where the typical textbooks start off with Europeans landing on the shores of this peninsula, known as Kjipuktuk, is where the horrors of colonialism set in. Racism, violence, persecution, isolation, genocide, theft, and dehumanization have followed the Mi’kmaq in the centuries since.

Click here to visit the Mi’kmaw Place Names Digital Atlas

It is easy for many of us white people to separate ourselves from history. To say “well that was then, and this is now”. But in doing so, we deny responsibility. We put ourselves up on a pedestal, disassociating from the effects of systematic racism. Though the actions of our ancestors were not directly our fault, we still benefit from a society built on prejudice. We, as settlers, need to acknowledge that our privilege, wealth, and opportunities have often come at the expense of other’s equality. That the effects of racism are intergenerational and the privilege of our ancestors still trickles down today. And for those in our country who were treated inhumanely, that this past has created a world where Indigenous histories have been pushed aside and denied as part of public history.

Yet this is changing. In the past decades, more historical organizations have taken responsibility for racism in archives and exhibitions, starting changes to make collections more diverse. Institutions like the the Nova Scotia Museum have shared Mi’kmaq history front and center. And an exhibit focusing on Mi’kmaq history can be found right here in Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia) at the Museum of Natural History.

Getting to the Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural History is located in Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia), at 1747 Summer Street. There is onsite paid parking available, as well as street parking and a bus stop nearby. The museum is close to both the Commons and the hospital, making its location central.

Accessibility

There are both stairs and ramps at the front of the museum. Most of the exhibition spaces inside the museum are flat. Elevators and ramps are available inside the building.

The exhibit detailed in this blog post is predominately written in English, with some short phrases translated into the Mi’kmaq language. No French is available in the exhibit.

Pandemic Changes

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum is currently one way. If you want to go back and look at something again, you are welcome to circle around.

Admission

Entry fees for the museum (and all other Nova Scotia Museums) are waved for July and August of 2021! Now is the perfect time to visit those museums you have been eyeing during lockdowns.

You can find out more about hours and admissions after the period above on their visit us page.

Netukulimk

Another exhibit also shares its space with This Is What I Wish You Knew. Netukulimk, according to the Museum of Natural History’s website “Mi’kmaq concept that celebrates the connection and balance between the natural and human worlds”. This exhibit shows off the wonders of nature in Mi’kma’ki through six interactive displays. This space includes live critters, from reptiles to bees.

This Is What I Wish You Knew

The exhibit “This Is What I Wish You Knew” was created through a partnership between both the Museum of Natural History (run by the Nova Scotia Museum) and Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre. Named after an art-based reconciliation project that included Indigenous people in Halifax, the project and now exhibit focuses on Indigenous self-identity. Each artist was given a clay title to mold into a representation of their personal stories as well as what they wish others knew about Indigenous culture. Themes of strength, courage, and diversity of the city’s Indigenous community are key.

These clay tablets, once finished, were eventually mounted and put on display in the circles below. Quotes representing the art can be found below the 14 tablets on the wooden surface of the circles. These pieces accompany panels introducing a timeline the history of Indigenous peoples in Mi’kma’ki.

You’ll also notice that the panels and tablets are coloured coded. Each colour represents a different theme throughout the timeline, such as “wisdom”, “humility”, and “honesty”. Many of the tablets relate to themes or events mentioned in the panels.

The project stems from the Truth and Reconciliation Act of 2015, which focuses on the history and legacy of the Residential School System in Canada.

You can find out more about the project and see photos on New Journeys or about the exhibit from the Museum of Natural History’s website.

Quilt and Eight Point Star

Featured at the beginning of the exhibit is a quilt featuring a star. This eight point star has been a Mi’kmaq symbol for centuries. From my understanding, it seems as though one of the earliest found depictions of the star was this petroglyph found in Bedford, Nova Scotia. The star represents the sun.

From Where We Sprouted

The exhibit starts off with a map of both Kjipuktuk on the left and Mi’kma’ki on the right. The panel shares some key information about the landscape of Mi’kma’ki, such as that it was divided into seven districts across what is now know to many as Atlantic Canada.

The Mi’kmaq have been in Mi’kma’ki for more than 13 500 years, yet despite this British colonizers claimed their land. They did this through a “Doctrine of Discovery” and the legal concept of “Terra Nullius”. Simplified, the British claimed that the Mi’kmaq were uncivilized as they did not cultivate the land or have a centralized government. They used this diagnosis to claim that as the land of Mikma’ki was not “civilized”, stating that “uncultivated” land did not belong to anyone and therefore could be settled by the British.

In this section, two of the tablets are featured. Each tablet is numbered as well as includes the name of the creator and a quote underneath.

Changing Landscapes

European contact meant that the landscape of Mi’kma’ki changed.

The French first settled and called the land Acadia (Acadie). Typically, the French were seen as Mi’kmaq allies.

As the British arrived and colonized, this dynamic changed. The French and British were involved in their own war over colonizing land. After the loss of Acadia by the French in 1713 (marked by the Treaty of Utrecht) and the Deportation, a diaspora which exiled thousands of Acadians from the province to locations around the world, British contact with the Mi’kmaq increased.

The Mi’kmaq, who had been accommodating to the presence of Europeans, increasingly saw challenges and conflict arise. Coordination was the first strategy, and a treaty of Peace and Friendship was created. The articles never involved surrendering land rights.

As the panel describes, “What begun as a conflict of cultures turned into a conflict for space, control, for power, and politics – a contested landscape.”

Two more artworks are featured in this section. One of my favourites from the collection, by Eugene Barry, can be seen below.

Political Landscapes

The British focused their attention in the 19th century on “fixing the Indian problem” and “civilizing” Indigenous people. These were disguises or excuses created to control and discriminate against the Indigenous population.

In 1821, Nova Scotia implemented the Reserve System, used to re-settle Indigenous peoples to specific pockets of land. This system was meant to strengthen the cause of “civilizing” Indigenous people.

When Canada became a Dominion in 1867, the Constitutional Act and then the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869 further stripped away Indigenous political power by granting the Canadian government control of governance on reserves.

This space has three tablets. I find number five, “my reconnection” by Corey Paul quite striking.

Broken Landscapes

Covering the horrors of Residential Schools. From the 1830’s to 1996, children in Canada were stolen from their families and forced to go to Residential Schools. This was done to assimilate the Indigenous culture by separating children from their parents.

When the 1920 Indian Act was passed, attendance at Residential School became mandatory for Indigenous children. Parents who did not send their children were threatened with imprisonment.

The Shubenacadie Indian Residential School in Nova Scotia has its first children arrived by February of 1930.

Residential Schools were specifically built away from Indigenous communities or reserves, in order to prevent “cultural interference”.

This panel at the museum concludes by stating that the children at these schools were not offered the same education as other or encouraged to continue their studies. It shares that this was a sad chapter of our history.

But I wish this panel said more. I know that museum must constantly keep being family friendly in mind, but the horrors of Residential Schools are not expressed thoroughly. Nowhere is mentioned the role of the Catholic Church (other than that they ran the schools), the abuse and neglect of children by teachers, or how the systematic racism mentally tortured most. I personally feel as though this panel should go into detail about exactly what happened at the schools to better educate the public about why Residential Schools were so horrendous. Especially at a time where hundred’s of children’s bodies buried outside of these schools are being unveiled, I feel as though this panel could use revisions and additions.

Below you will find two more tablets. Number eight appears to show a Residential School.

This Land Would Not Let Me Go

In the twentieth century, the government’s focus on “solving the Indian” problem continued. Many were threatened with disenfranchisement and loss of government supports if they did not move to reserves. By 1919, 55 people from Halifax were moved to the Millbrook Reserve.

Though the Canadian Citizen Act was implemented in 1947, making British Subjects living in Canada officially Canadian Citizens. Indigenous people were not included, meaning that they were not considered citizens. On August 10th, 1961 First Nations people were finally given the right to vote.

The “White Papers” were introduced by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1969. The proposition included abolishing the Indian Act, moving Indigenous affairs to become a provincial responsibility instead of federal, and to close the Department of Indian Affairs. While this may seem positive on the surface, it was a move to eliminate responsibilities to Indigenous communities across Canada and threatened to remove the supports owed to them by the federal government. The White Papers were introduced without consulting First Nations and was not approved by them. Once the legislation was challenged by those across Canada, it was withdrawn.

Previously, women who married someone non-Indigenous lost their legal status as Indigenous. However, in 1985 this was amended in the Indian Act.

There are also three accompanying tablet pieces to this part of the exhibit, numbers 10 through 12.

Voices Heard

In this panel, the exhibit is concluded by a call to listen, share, and learn. One of the most important parts of reconciliation is to listen and respect the voices of First Nations peoples.

The text also explicitly states that this exhibit was not created by historians, ethnologists, or anthropoligists but instead 14 people who shared “This is What I Wish You Knew”.

Shown are orange shirts worn as a sign of remembrance and honouring those who attended Residential Schools. Contemporary photos of group activities and celebrations are displayed.

Below are the last two installments in the collection.

Jewelry and Clothing

Across the room from This Is What I Wish You Knew and Netukulimk is a display case with pieces made by Mi’kmaq artists.

Wooden Flowers

On the bottom shelf of the case are flowers and baskets made from slivers of wood. The museum opted for a contemporary pieces to not dictate the narrative of the display. The wood pieces below were made by Dusty Meuse.

Beaded Purses

On the left side of the bottom shelf are beaded purses and shoes.

The styles shown below were particularly popular during the Victorian period. This work was largely done by women. Some materials such as cloth and beads were obtained through trade, but still traditional patterns such as flowers were prevalent. The curved pattern seen on the bottom middle purse is called a “double-curve motif” and continued to be very popular.

Peaked Cap

Due to access to different materials through trade, new ideas, and adaptation in the 1700’s, Mi’kmaq women began wearing pointed Peaked Caps. To some these Caps symbolize respect. On the Peaked Cap below, you can see the double-curve motif pattern was used.

Presently, Peaked Caps are often given to girls by their mother or grandmother as a coming of age gift.

This Peaked Cap reminded me of the one worn by Ka’kwet’s mother in “Anne With An E” (A television show based on the book “Anne of Green Gables”). I would highly recommend this show, especially season 3, to learn more about the life and hardship experienced by Mi’kmaq people in Mi’kma’ki.

Archaeology

There is a whole section of the museum dedicated to Mi’kmaq artifacts and archaeology. As the section is quite large and the focus of this blog post was “This Is What I Wish You Knew”, hopefully I’ll be covering these displays in a future post.

Thoughts and Suggestions

I think this exhibit is a great introduction to Mi’kmaq history. It’s an approachable exhibit for people of many backgrounds to begin learning about Indigenous history in Canada and what reconciliation means.

The collaboration of both panels and art proves to be informative and engaging. The exhibit is communicated through a non-conventional approach of educating through stories in a variety of mediums.

As this exhibit is explicitly not made by historians but rather members of the community, I respect how the Mi’kmaq history has been shared by its own people. While I do think that more detail should be included about the horrors of Residential Schools, I understand and respect how the community has decided to tell their story.

I do still have some suggestions on how I think the space could be improved.

The first is languages. Though some phrases are shown in the Mi’kmaq language, why not translate the whole text? I understand that space is limited on panels, that translators are expensive, and that there can be a time crunch to finish projects such as these. However, I do feel as though this would help to encourage learning about Mi’kmaq language and culture. Alternatively, installing speakers that with the press of a button would demonstrate how to pronounce key phrases would go a long way. I am not sure why the panels do not feature any French, but this could help to make the exhibit more accessible.

Alternatively, I recently found out about a free app called “L’nui’suti” that has pronunciations of Mi’kmaq language words and phrases. You can learn more on the Public Library’s website here or download it from here.

Another is the height of displays. Especially on the top shelf of display cases, I was unable to read or see items very well. Though I will admit that I may be shorter than average, I would imagine if I can not see and read it, that those shorter than me, children, or those with different abilities would have a tough time seeing this information as well.

Thirdly, I think it would be interesting to learn more about history within the Mi’kmaq community. Significant community figures, events, trends, and conflicts within the Mi’kmaq community or with other Indigenous groups are not explored here (though this is not necessarily the focus of this exhibit). It would be great to learn more about this through a local exhibition in the future. The Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre is set to open in the coming years, and will hopefully be one of many sources on this history.

Conclusion – Go Visit the Museum of Natural History!

We are very lucky to have free access to the Nova Scotia Museums for the next two months, including the Museum of Natural History. Though museums are free these next couple of months, I would highly suggest making donations to these organizations (if you are able to).

I do not write these blog posts as a substitute for museum visits, but instead to encourage every person who reads this to explore the heritage sites, museums, and places of historical significance featured here.

And most importantly, I want to push people (including myself) to learn about different histories. To listen and educate yourself on different cultures than your own and aspects of history than you may not be familiar with.

The settler population has denied, pushed aside, and criticized Mi’kmaq history for long enough. Instead of turning a blind eye, I urge you to put yourself in uncomfortable situations to learn about different perspectives and experiences. To ask questions in museums and find ways to relate, sympathize, and understand those who are different than yourself.

When we expose ourselves to different histories, we gain a better understanding and respect for those that we share Mi’kma’ki with today.

Learning More

If you would like to learn more, I highly suggest watching videos available by Roger Lewis, Mi’kmaq Cultural Heritage Curator at the Nova Scotia Museum. Here is a great place to start.

Have you been to the Museum of Natural History?

What is an aspect of Mi’kmaq history that you find interesting?

Let me know in the comments section below!

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