MDCC holds community gatherings to share Mi’kmaw artifacts

Mawa’tumkeweyminal, a’tukaqnminal, aq wtanminal: Our Collections, Our Stories, Our Communities

The future Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre will be a place where we, as Mi’kmaq, can celebrate who we are, who we have been and who we will be. It will be a stepping-stone to understanding our past so that we can walk comfortably into our future. Over the past five years, our Elders’ Advisory Council and Mi’kmawey Debert staff have visited various Mi’kmaw collections that are being held internationally and nationally at the National Museum of American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (Washington DC), the Canadian Museum of Civilization (Gatineau PQ), and the Nova Scotia Museum (Halifax NS).

While we visit these collections, we photographed and recorded historical notes that we hope will engage the knowledge and experiences of our Elders and communities, so we can reflect, learn and explore our history and culture.

With this is mind, the MDCC project held three community gatherings (Wagmatcook, Bear River, and Pictou Landing), bringing the collections and opening discussion around memories of tradition, and cultural and community knowledge. With the assistance of the Atlantic Canada’s First Nation Help Desk, we streamed the Wagmatcook and Bear River gathering online to audiences who were not able to come. With an eye to the future, we hope to continue this work and share our journeys with other communities.

We look forward to working with all museums to bring our collections home so that our collective knowledge is shared with the world.

Exploring our Histories