A crowd gathered at the head of the Fort Folly Muin Medicine Trail on June 21 to mark National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and celebrate the trail’s new Mi’kmaq language audio interpretive panels.
Chief Rebecca Knockwood told the crowd that the inclusion of Mi’kmaq language on the trail is a fundamental part of the process of bringing back the First Nation’s culture and identity.
Amlamgog cultural coordinator Nicole Porter organized the event, which was held at Amlamgog for the first time. Porter led the crowd in a prayer, and accompanied Amlamgog youth who drummed the Mi’kmaq honour song.
CHMA spoke with Amlamgog land manager Michelle Knockwood, who coordinated the trail upgrades through a partnership with Parks Canada.
The Muin Medicine Trail dates back to 2011, and included text panels in French and English. Bringing Mi’kmaq language to the trail is “something I’ve wanted for a very long time,” says Knockwood. “And it’s so nice that it’s finally come to fruition.”
Knockwood is particularly excited that Amlamgog youth and visitors will be able to hear spoken Mi’kmaq (recorded by Elsipogtog elder Kenneth Francis) and follow along with text on the panels.
“It’s really inspiring to see all the work that’s being done now,” says Knockwood, “compared to when I was first doing this 20 years ago, it’s a complete change.”
Knockwood says that her generation is making strides in reviving Mi’kmaq culture in Amlamgog, pointing to the work of Fort Folly Habitat Recovery (FFHR) and cultural coordinator Nicole Porter.
“She wanted to learn,” says Knockwoood of Porter. “So on her own, she started learning and bringing that knowledge back.” Porter has spearheaded a number of cultural projects for Amlamgog such as a ribbon skirt library, and a youth powwow which comes back for a second year on September 28, 2024.
Over at Fort Folly Habitat Recovery, the salmon recovery program is seeing some success with returns to Fundy rivers this year. Under Michelle Knockwood’s leadership, FFHR has also developed a ‘healthy country plan’, based on a participatory process used by Indigenous communities around the world to plan for protection of land and water.
One of the projects coming out of that plan is the study of eels in Palmer’s Pond, with the goal of bringing back eel harvest as a local food source. Knockwood also helped create a healing garden, designed to provide access to traditional plants and medicines.
“No one’s ever asked us as a community, what’s important to you? What do you want to see happen? What things are important to you that we need to protect or save?” says Knockwood. “So I’m on that side now. And with that plan, all the projects we have going forward are to bring back something to our community that they want.”