Amlamgog launches Mi’kmaq audio interpretation on Muin Medicine Trail
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.… Continue
Land donation contributes to growing Amlamgog First Nation conservation project
Amlamgog (also known as Fort Folly) First Nation has just announced another parcel of land to be protected under their Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA) project. The small, three acre strip of land along the Petitcodiac river was given to Amlamgog First Nation by a Memramcook family, after an annual ancestor ceremony held nearby at Beaumont. The latest parcel is part of a growing collection of land protected by the first nation.
Amlamgog cultural coordinator Nicole Porter says the band’s IPCA project is acquiring land through donations and purchases from a fund setup for that purpose. “We hold it in trust for everyone to be able to use in a good way, in a sustainable way,” says Porter. “It won’t be harvested or clear cut. It won’t be developed or anything like that. It is strictly for conservation.”
Three other groups in the province also have IPCA projects underway, and Porter says they work in concert to protect land, and make it open, “to the Mi’gmaq people all across Mi’gmaqi.”
Porter says Amlamgog has identified lands to focus on, including in the Tantramar area, as sacred or useful for gatherings and ceremonial purposes. Part of the plan with the IPCA projects is for the province to match or donate Crown land identified for conservation, but Porter says that hasn’t quite come to fruition.… Continue
‘Honouring the spirits of the children’ at Fort Folly sacred fire on the second annual TRC day
Canada’s second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation came and went last Friday, and thanks to Nicole Porter, people in the Tantramar region had a chance to reflect and learn.
Mi’kmaq knowledge keeper Nicole Porter and her son Zachary Dubé, a firekeeper, invited people to a sacred fire on Cherry Burton Road. CHMA stopped by to talk with Porter and Dubé, and some of the people who made their way to the fire:
Porter spent the whole day speaking to comers, helping them feel comfortable engaging with the fire and pointing them to ways to learn more, such as the nearby Fort Folly community walking trails which feature interpretive panels. Porter says a steady stream of families came to the fire, as well as larger groups such as daycares and the Mount Allison soccer teams.
“It’s good to see the public coming out and wanting to educate themselves,” says Porter. “We’re just so honoured that we can share the culture with every one.”
16-year-old Zachary Dubé tended the fire, and took the time to explain the customs around it to people who came, many of whom took the opportunity to offer some tobacco to the fire.
“It’s just like when you’re praying to God,” says Dubé. “There is no right or wrong way to do it. You just speak your mind or your heart.”… Continue
Every Child Matters bear and sacred fire offer an opportunity to honour, understand, and pray
Friday is National Truth and Reconciliation Day, also known as Orange Shirt Day. Public schools, Mount Allison University, and all government offices will be closed to mark the day.
At Fort Folly First Nation, knowledge keeper & Mi’kmaq cultural coordinator Nicole Porter has put together an opportunity for area residents to learn about Truth and Reconciliation, and to honour the Indigenous children who suffered and even died in Canada’s residential schools.
Porter says she has long admired the hay bale bears put together by Matt Beal, of High Tide Homestead and Cattle Company. Porter says she thought to herself, “wouldn’t it be nice if we could have something like that, a big teddy bear, to honour the children that went to residential school, but they never made it home?”
Porter approached Beal, and the result is sitting near the Gitpu Gas Station at Cherry Burton Road and the 106: the Every Child Matters Bear.
Hear Nicole Porter talking about the bear on CHMA’s Tantramar Report:
About three large bales tall, the bear is wearing an orange shirt with the words “Every Child Matters” written on the front. Porter says the bear is an opportunity honour and cherish the children lost to the residential school system, and to raise awareness of a history that is still being learned and understood by Canadians.… Continue