Every year on Oct 1, Nova Scotians mark Treaty Day to celebrate the rich history, proud culture and important contributions of Mi’kmaq people.
These centuries-old treaties honour the enduring bond of friendship and respect between Nova Scotia’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and reaffirm the historic presence of the Mi’kmaw who have occupied the land for thousands of years.
October 1 also marks the beginning of Mi’kmaq History Month in Nova Scotia.
From all of us at the collegiate to our friends and family in Miꞌkmaꞌki, Happy Treaty Day!
We are all treaty people.
Hamid Yasir FRSA | Halifax, NS
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“The eighteenth century agreements between the Mi’kmaq nation and Britain were, and still are, regarded by us as a form of brotherhood. When there was some injury or threat of conflict we met to exchange reassurances and renew our engagements. That is why, over several decades, one finds half a dozen or more seemingly separate treaties between the Mi’kmaq and the British Crown. The surviving documents are often incomplete summaries of meetings that typically required many days and were repeated every few years as necessary. By themselves, the documents are fragments; considered together, they constitute a great chain of agreement.”
-The Mi’kmaq treaty handbook by Grand Council of Micmacs, Union or Nova Scotia Indians and Native Council of Nova Scotia, 1987, p. i.
Source(s): NS Archives, halifax.ca