Mi'kmaq Legends

Native American Indian Legends - Index

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/

Links to Mi'kmaw stories from the "FirstPeople" site. I'm not sure how "authentic" all of them are. Some do sound familiar but have probably been reworked to sound more "mystical".

A Micmac Legend

                Aplíkmuj, The Lazy Rabbit - See Algonquin

                Fish-Hawk And Scapegrace

                Glooscap

                How A Certain Wicked Witch Sought To Cajole The Great And Good Glooskap, And Of Her Punishment

                How Glooskap Became Friendly To The Loons, And Made Them His Messengers

                How Glooskap Had A Great Frolic With Kitpooseagunow, A Mighty Giant Who Caught A Whale

                How Glooskap, Leaving The World, All The Animals Mourned For Him, And How, Ere He departed, He Gave Gifts To Men

                How Glooskap Made A Magician Of A Young Man, Who Aided Another To Win A Wife And Do Wonderful Deeds

                How Glooskap made his Uncle Mikchich the Turtle into a Great Man, and got him a Wife. Of Turtles' Eggs, and how Glooskap vanquished a Sorcerer by smoking Tobacco.

                How Glooskap Sailed Through The Great Cavern Of Darkness

                How Kluskap Created Sugarloaf Mountain - See Abenaki

                How Kluskap Found the Summer - See Algonquin

                How Kluskap Made The Birds

                How Kluskap Sang Through The Rapids And Found A New Home

                How Master Rabbit Gave Himself Airs

                How Master Rabbit Went Fishing

                How Master Lox Played A Trick On Mrs Bear, Who Lost Her Eyesight And Had Her Eyes Opened

                How Rabbit Got His Long Ears

                How The Rabbit Lost His Tail - See Ojibwa

                How Win-pe the Sorcerer, having stolen Glooskap's Family, was by him pursued, and how Glooskap for a Merry Jest cheated the Whale. Of the Song of the Clams, and how the Whale smoked a Pipe

                Kluskap Fights The Water Monster - See Passamaquoddy

                Kluskap Turns Bad Into Good - See Abenaki

                Legend Of The Turtle

                Little Burnt-Face

                Micmac Creation Story (version 1)

                Micmac Creation Story (version 2)

                Míkmaq Legend Of The Shooting Star

                Míkmaq Legend Of The Turtle

                Míkmaq Legend Of The Wild Goose

                Míkmaq Women Who Married Star Husbands

                Muin, The Bear's Child

                Nukumi And Fire

                Of Glooskap And The Three Other Seekers

                Of Other Men Who Went To Glooskap For Gifts

                Of The Great Works Which Glooskap Made In The Land

                Of The Surprising And Singular Adventures Of Two Water Fairies Who Were Also Weasels, And How They Each Became The Bride Of A Star. Including The Mysterious And Wonderful Works Of Lox, The Great Indian Devil, Who Rose From The Dead

                Rabbit And Otter, The Bungling Host

                Rabbit And The Moon Man

                Raccoon Learns A Lesson

                Robbery And Murder Revenged

                Snowshoe Island Legend

                Story Of The Three Strong Men

                The Adventures Of The Great Hero Pulowech, Or The Partridge

                The Bird Whose Wings Made The Wind

                The Changing Of Mikjikj

                The Chocolate Waters Of The Petitcodiac River aka The Legend Of The Tidal Bore

                The Creator Visits

                The First Pine Trees

                The Girl-Chenoo

                The Invisible One

                The Legend Of Kluskap's Departure

                The Legend Of The Big Bear

                The Legend Of The Islands

                The Little People

                The Mikumwess

                The Reversing Falls Legend

                The Hidden One

                The Tale Of Glooskap As Told By Another Indian. Showing How The Toad And Porcupine Lost Their Noses

                The Tide

                The Water Fairies

                The Wind-Blower

                The Woodpecker Girls

                Tumilkoontaoo, Or The Broken Wing

        

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Putting indigenous identity at heart of Grade 7/8 program

Miyo Pimatsowin: Cree for "the Good Life"

http://thestarphoenix.com/news/saskatchewan/culture-class-thunderchild-puts-indigenous-identity-at-heart-of-grade-78-program

Read how a school and community are using language and cultural heritage to envigourate the educational program for their students.

"...The knowledge students gain in Miyo Pimatsowin is practical and helps them connect to their home and history. Children are excited to go to school again, Chief Wapass said, because they are rediscovering who they are.

"I told them Miyo Pimatsowin is a very special program. You're going to learn respect, to love yourself as a Cree person and language and culture is number one here. We have to love ourselves for us to grow," she said. "They'll carry that knowledge on for the rest of their life." said Doreen Carrier, Grade 7 and 8 teacher.

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Canadian "Native" Flag Design

Created by Curtis Wilson, a Kwakwaka'wakw artist

https://nabdllc.com/products/canadian-native-flag

"An important piece of symbolism contained in the flag design includes red side bands, which represent K'utala-Salmon. Salmon seemed the perfect way to convey the importance of family, friendships, and strength in numbers. Salmon are known for dependability and renewal. Kwakwaka'wakw people think of them as a provider and a symbol of fertility and good health. The salmon is the source of life for our people and we depend upon the salmon as our main food source in the past, present, and hopefully the future. Also, the design within the maple leaf symbolically represents the head of a killer whale in the shape of an oval. The killer whale head is surrounded by some traditional use designs called split "U" shapes."

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Native American artist tackles hero icons

Jeffrey Veregge: Art, Design and Mischief

http://jeffreyveregge.com/

"My origins are not supernatural, nor have they been enhanced by radioactive spiders. I am simply a Native American artist and writer whose creative mantra in best summed up with a word from my tribe's own language as: "taʔčaʔx̣ʷéʔtəŋ", which means "get into trouble".  A member of the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, I was raised and spent a majority of my life on our reservation known locally as Little Boston, which is located near Kingston, Washington. Although I am enrolled there, I am also both of Suquamish and Duwamish tribal ancestry."

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American Indian Youth Literature Award

Books that feature FNMI writing and illustrating

http://ailanet.org/activities/american-indian-youth-literature-award/

Although these titles often fit an American context more than a Canadian one, there are some good titles to explore. (The 2016 list is here.)

"The American Indian Youth Literature Awards are presented every two years. The awards were established as a way to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians. Books selected to receive the award will present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts."

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Micmac News - Beaton Institute Digital Archives

An important example of Mi'kmaw print culture

http://beatoninstitute.com/micmac-news

"The Micmac News (1965-1991) is an important example of Mi'kmaw print culture... This invaluable research tool covers historical and contemporary issues and events, including Aboriginal rights cases, social and labour history, material and intangible culture, and celebrations of Mi'kmaw life. The newspaper provides a means of language preservation; prayers and myths were printed in the paper, and simple language lessons in Mi'kmaq were also a regular feature."

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Mi'kmaq artifacts at MOA

Images from L'nuk culture

http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/collection-online/search?keywords=mi%27kmaq

Beautiful photographs of Mi'kmaq artifacts online at the BC Museum of Anthropology. View close-ups to explore the colours and designs.

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Bannock: A brief history

Light, fluffy and golden brown - delicious!

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/bannock-wild-meat-and-indigenous-food-sovereignty-1.3424436/bannock-a-brief-history-1.3425549

"The Inuit call it 'palauga,' it's 'luskinikn' to the Mi'kmaq, while the Ojibway call it 'ba`wezhiganag.' Whatever they call it... just about every indigenous nation across North America has some version of bannock. ... Nancy Turner, a professor ... at the University of Victoria, says indigenous people already had their own version made from a wild plant called camas. The camas bulb would have been baked for long periods of time, dried and then flattened or chopped and formed into cakes and loaves, similar to modern bannock."

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17 Ways to Promote Culturally Aware Classrooms

Include and preserve FNMI cultures in our classrooms

http://www.ictinc.ca/17-ways-to-promote-culturally-aware-classrooms

"First Nations, Metis & Inuit peoples are THE fastest growing populations in Canada! This has many implications for our Education systems. The FNMI peoples are also incredibly diverse, both linguistically and culturally. There are literally hundreds of different First Nations and Aboriginal populations, therefore, we as Educators are faced with many challenges with regards to how we can adequately include and preserve these cultures in our classrooms."

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30 Indigenous Leaders - The Canadian Encyclopedia

From activists to politicians to artists and more

http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/30-indigenous-leaders/

"Many Aboriginal leaders have influenced Canadian history, both before and since Confederation. From activists to politicians to artists and more, Aboriginal peoples have protected and promoted their heritage, asserted Aboriginal rights and inspired change. [Here] is a list of 30 Indigenous leaders that the Encyclopedia has generated to help celebrate its 30th anniversary."

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