Mi’kmaq (tribe)
The Mi’kmaq are a Native American tribe that belongs to the Algonquian language family, historically residing in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, parts of Quebec, and Maine in the United States. Their name translates to "allies" in their own language, reflecting their interconnectedness with one another and the wider world. Traditionally, the Mi’kmaq lived a migratory lifestyle, moving between the forest in winter for hunting and the seashore in warmer months for fishing and gathering. They constructed cone-shaped wigwams and made tools and crafts from natural materials, showcasing their artistic talents through basketry and porcupine-quill embroidery.
The Mi’kmaq have a rich cultural heritage marked by important rituals and communal games. They formed strong alliances with European colonists, particularly the French, which had significant impacts on their population and traditions. Despite experiencing challenges such as forced relocations and socioeconomic struggles, the Mi’kmaq have been active in cultural preservation, establishing language programs and celebrating Mi’kmaq History Month. Today, approximately 70,640 Mi’kmaq live in Canada, continuing to uphold their traditions and advocate for their rights, including hunting and fishing. With around thirty distinct First Nations groups, the Mi’kmaq remain committed to environmental stewardship and the well-being of their communities.
On this Page
Mi’kmaq (tribe)
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Algonquian
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Maritime Provinces, Quebec; Maine; Boston, Massachusetts
- POPULATION SIZE: 70,640 in Canada (2021 Canadian Census, Canadian Encyclopedia); 2,472 in US (2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates American Indian and Alaska Native Detailed Tables)
The Mi'kmaq (also spelled Micmac or Mi'kmaw), a branch of the Algonquian language family, once lived a migratory life in Nova Scotia, northern New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Their name, from their own language, means “allies.” The Mi'kmaq were traditionally divided into several clans, each with its own chief and identifying symbol. These symbols were tattooed onto members’ bodies, painted on canoes and snowshoes, and used as ornaments on clothing and jewelry.
During the winter, the Mi'kmaq lived inland in small groups in the forest; they hunted moose, caribou, and porcupine. In warmer weather, they moved in groups of two hundred or more to the seashore and fished, hunted seals, and gathered shellfish. They made cone-shaped wigwams and canoes from birchbark, wooden bowls and bows, and stone or bone weapons and tools. They also made beautiful baskets and porcupine-quill embroidery. They had a rich tradition of impressive rituals—for marriage, death, installation of chiefs, and passage to adulthood. They also enjoyed games, including a form of football.
The Mi'kmaq welcomed White visitors—traders and missionaries—from the first. They accepted Christianity from the Jesuits and traded and intermarried with the French colonists. They were strong allies of the French and fought with the French and English to eradicate the Beothuk Indians of Newfoundland in the late eighteenth century. However, this close association with Whites was costly to the Mi'kmaq in many ways. A third of their population was killed by typhus in 1746. They lost their traditional religious beliefs; they adopted agriculture as a means of livelihood, perhaps more reliable than hunting; they stopped practicing their traditional crafts; and they intermarried so freely that it is doubtful whether any pure-blooded Mi'kmaq members were left by the mid-twentieth century. In the 1940s, the Mi'kmaq in Canada, among other Indigenous groups, were forcibly relocated to reserves by the Canadian government. In the 2010s, twenty-eight of the thirty Mi'kmaq First Nations had reserves or reservations. By 1970, many men were employed in “high steel,” and government scholarships enabled Mi'kmaq men and women to learn skilled trades. At the end of the century, the Mi'kmaq were of lower socioeconomic status but generally no worse off than other people in the Maritime Provinces. The Mi'kmaq instituted language programs to promote language learning and cultural preservation. In the 2021 Canadian Census, around 9,000 people reported speaking the Mi'kmaq language.
In 2011, the Canadian government formally recognized the status of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq Nation in Newfoundland and Labrador, following much activist pressure and leading to controversy over membership qualifications when more than 100,000 people submitted applications. Mi'kmaq activists have also taken stands in defense of their hunting and fishing rights and against hydraulic fracturing for natural gas on nearby lands.
In the twenty-first century, the Mi’kmaq people continued to live in Canada’s Atlantic provinces in around thirty distinct Mi’kmaq First Nations groups. Many lived in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, parts of Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Maine in the United States. They continued to work to preserve their history, culture, and traditions through gatherings, ceremonies, and education. Each First Nations grouping of Mi’kmaw provided vital social services to its members, and all Mi’kmaq placed importance on environmental stewardship in relation to their Indigenous lands. Each October, the Mi’kmaw people celebrated Mi'kmaq History Month, an opportunity to put these plans to educate the community on the Mi’kmaq people and preserve cultural traditions into action.
Bibliography
Dorrington, Cynthia. "Statement from the Chair: Mi’kmaq History Month." Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, 1 Oct. 2024, humanrights.novascotia.ca/news-events/news/2024/statement-chair-mi%E2%80%99kmaq-history-month. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Gallant, David Joseph. "Mi'kmaq." The Canadian Encyclopedia, 6 Feb. 2024, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/micmac-mikmaq. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
"History of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Enrolment Process." Government of Canada, 28 Mar. 2017, www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1372946085822/1572460140499. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Hornborg, Anne-Christine. Mi'kmaq Landscapes: From Animism to Sacred Ecology. Routledge, 2021.
Pastore, Ralph T. "Traditional Mi'kmaq (Micmac) Culture." Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, July 2021, www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/indigenous/mikmaq-culture.php. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
"2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates American Indian and Alaska Native Detailed Tables: Micmac Tribal Grouping Alone." US Census Bureau, data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5YAIAN2021.B01001?q=micmac. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Wicken, William Craig. Mi'kmaq Treaties on Trial: History, Land and Donald Marshall Junior. U of Toronto P, 2001.