NewJourneys / Meet the artist behind the Mi'kmaq New Journeys theme

Lo​

ok

​ing​

to Mi'kmaq petroglyph tradition

https://newjourneys.ca/en/articles/meet-the-artist-behind-the-mi-kmaq-new-journeys-design

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Alan Syliboy is the artist behind the Mi'kmaq New Journeys design.

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 Syliboy looks to the Indigenous Mi'kmaq petroglyph tradition for inspiration and develops his own artistic vocabulary out of those forms.

​He

 incorporated traditional Mi'kmaq petroglyph themes into the New Journeys design: "I believe the Fiddlehead was where the Mi'kmaq double curve design originated. The double curve has many meanings. To some the curves represent plants which have the protective and curing powers of medicinal herbs. The mirror image of the double curve, reminds us to keep balance in our lives. Many curves together can symbolize community standing side by side, together in a special union.

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Mi'kmaq wind farm projects

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he power of Mi'kmaq participation in the energy sector.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mi-kmaq-energy-and-innovation-summit-wind-farm-turbine-1.3781065

"Mi'

kmaq communities in Nova Scotia are completing a four-stage project that will see them put more energy into the grid than they collectively use.

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Delegates at the Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Energy and Innovation Summit held this week in Membertou heard the final project in Amherst will soon come online.

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"With projects completed and planned, Mi'kmaq wind projects ‎would be producing more electricity than they use in their communities," Murray Coolican, deputy minister for energy, told CBC News.

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Nova Scotia working on posthumous pardon for Mi'kmaq grand chief

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n apology is forthcoming

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/treaty-rights-grand-chief-gabriel-sylliboy-pardon-posthumous-1.3789395?cmp=rss

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Grand Chief Gabriel Sylliboy was arrested in 1929 and convicted for hunting out of season after being found with muskrat pelts. While Sylliboy attempted to use treaty rights as his defence, it wasn't until the 1980s that those rights were recognized by the courts. Sylliboy died in 1963.

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Provincial Justice Minister Diana Whalen says an apology is forthcoming for the arrest and conviction of Mi'kmaq Grand Chief Gabriel Sylliboy. (CBC)

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N.L. Mi'kmaq artist's eBay fashion collaboration a sellout success

Mi'kmaq designs

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 the mainstream fashion world

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/jordan-bennett-mikmaq-ebay-fashion-collaboration-sells-out-1.3247442?cmp=rss

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cclaimed visual artist Jordan Bennett's first foray into the fashion world has been a sellout success within a matter of hours, and no one is more surprised than Bennett himself.

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"It's pretty amazing, a bit overwhelming, and exciting to see these Mi'kmaq designs go into the mainstream fashion world," Bennett said of the whirlwind launch of his two scarves, a collaborative project between the Stephenville Crossing artist and online giant eBay. 

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Sharing Circle: Mi'kmaq beliefs and heritage

First Nations culture and spirituality practices

http://birchbarkbooks.com/CatalogueRetrieve

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Sharing Circle includes seven children's stories about First Nations culture and spirituality practices. All seven stories, The Eagle Feather, The Dream Catcher, The Sacred Herbs, The Talking Circle, The Medicine Wheel, The Drum, and The Medicine Pouch explore First Nations cultural practices and teach children about Mi'kmaq beliefs and heritage. Researched and written by Mi'kmaw children's author Theresa Meuse and beautifully illustrated by Mi'kmaw illustrator Arthur Stevens, this book will engage and inform children of all ages.

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Mi'kmaq lexicon

​A handy word list​

http://firstnationhelp.com/ali/lexicon.pdf

S

​tuck​ for a word? Want to look up a particular term? This lexicon (searchable in the PDF) will help you find your way.

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Mrs. Universe speaks to First Nations youth in Membertou

Embrace your culture
http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2016-08-19/article-4620081/Mrs.-Universe-tells-First-Nations-youth-in-Membertou-to-embrace-their-culture/

 "The 2015 winner of the Mrs. Universe pageant, Ashley Callingbull, was a surprise guest of the Mi'kmaw Summer Games in Membertou this week where she served as a co-host for Thursday's princess pageant activities. The 25-year-old actress from Enoch Cree First Nation also gave a motivational speech and spent a portion of her Friday offering tips to the young participants to take through the pageant and their lives."

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A place called 'heaven' by Mi'kmaq

Partridge Island protected for generations to come 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/partridge-island-bay-of-fundy-protected-nova-scotia-nature-trust-1.3730905

The stories and teachings are about real places:

"A Mi'kmaq storyteller is celebrating the preservation of Partridge Island in the Bay of Fundy near Parrsboro, N.S. — called Wa'so'q, or heaven, in Mi'kmaq — saying the Nova Scotia Nature Trust has helped protect an area of cultural significance.

Gerald Gloade, with the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq, said the island is known as Glooscap's grandmother's traditional campsite. According to Mi'kmaq legend, Glooscap was the first human, created out of a bolt of lightning in the sand."

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A rediscovery of roots

Learning all of it for the first time
http://strangerinmynation.blogspot.ca/2012/04/28-community.html


Heather writes about her journey of discovery:

"After I had been there a few times, the "Chief" as we call him, whose name is Roland, took some time to talk to me about where he came from and explained a bit to me about what was happening with the drum group. I was thrilled for this because I had lots of questions. For those of you who may be reading this blog for the first time, I have only recently discovered that I am of Mi'kmaq descent through my grandmother. It is part of my heritage and sadly I know little of it. My ancestors hid their Mi'kmaq identity and with that hiding, came a disconnect with the culture. This is not an unusual story for many of First Nation descent.  I am learning all of it for the first time. I eagerly listen to and absorb everything that anyone tells me about Mi'kmaq culture or any native culture to which they belong."

Mi’kmaq canoe headed for national museum in Ottawa

A place in Canadian history
http://www.kingscountynews.ca/News/Local/2016-07-07/article-4581194/A-place-in-Canadian-history%3A-Mi%26rsquo%3Bkmaq-canoe-built-in-Keji-headed-for-national-museum-in-Ottawa/1

"Todd Labrador, a master Mi'kmaq canoe builder, from the Wildcat Community, near Molega Mines (near Caledonia) built the 18-foot, six-inch ocean-going canoe last summer at Kejimkujik National Park. The Canadian Museum of History (CMH), actually in Gatineau directly across the Ottawa River from the Parliament Buildings, is opening a renovated and expanded exhibit hall next year on Canada Day. The Canadian History Hall will be a 40,000-square-foot exhibition space tracing Canada's history from "the dawn of human habitation to the present day." And Labrador's canoe will be a part of it."

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