"Born in Stephenville Crossing Ktaqamkuk and of Mi'kmaq descent, Jordan Bennett's ongoing practice utilizes painting, sculpture, video, installation and sound to explore land, language, the act of visiting and familial histories. His work challenges colonial perceptions of indigenous histories, stereotypes and presence with a focus on exploring Mi'kmaq and Beothuk visual culture of Ktaqamkuk. Over the past ten years, Bennett has participated in over 75 group and solo exhibitions, both nationally and internationally."
"In his new exhibition at Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, "Ketu'elmita'jik," Jordan Bennett has created something truly remarkable. Bennett, who is of Mi'kmaq descent from Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland and Labrador, is now living in the Halifax region at Terence Bay, Nova Scotia. In this show—whose title term translates as "they want to go home"—Bennett makes full use of the gallery's architectural quirks to create an immersive environment where traditional Mi'kmaq and Beothuk design motifs take on new life through physical, graphic and conceptual extensions in time and space...."
"The Mi'kmaq version of the Canadian national anthem is being sung by Island children in schools across the province. ... Dunk River Sound studio [made] a professional recording of the national anthem in P.E.I.'s first spoken language.""The nine-minute film, entitled "Oh Kanata", is a call to action for educators and parents to download the recording so that any school in Canada can listen to the anthem in Mi'kmaq in the daily morning rotation as a way of making steps along the road to reconciliation."
Nitap is an interactive First Nations legend & storytelling app, combining traditional legends and stories told by Mi'kmaq and Wolastoqiyik Elders with animation created by First Nation Artists in a digital game format available on Android & IOS."
Chief Leroy Denny of Nova Scotia's largest First Nation would like to declare Mi'kmaq an official language in the province....The main hope, he said, is that an official language designation would prompt the province to protect and preserve Mi'kmaq, and to support language programs. "People have to understand the Mi'kmaq language is the core of our nation," he said. "That's the heartbeat, our language, from our elders.
"Truth and Conviction: Donald Marshall Jr. and the Mi'kmaw Quest for Justice is an ethnography of the Canadian legal system with respect to Indigenous rights and criminal justice. It is written from the critical lens of legal anthropology and is a reflection on the unparalleled life and legacy of Donald Marshall Jr., a Mi'kmaw from Membertou, Nova Scotia. "
