Pjila’si – Winter 2006
Kesik: Winter, and the circle is complete. It was a gratifying moment to achieve the unity of the five Unama’ki Chiefs, the Mayors, and Wardens of Cape Breton, provincial and federal departments, all joining together to develop and implement a management plan for the Bras d’Or Lakes and watershed. An historic moment! As secretariat for...
Oyster Garden 6
A Story by Charlie Dennis My stories usually begin in Malagawatch or ‘Big Harbour Island’ as it’s called on the map. My principal Elders are Gabriel Sylliboy and Noel Francis. Other people were involved in some of the stories that were talked about around the campfire about the futuristic view of predicting the next day’s...
Ancient Brother Man
By Clifford Paul Armed with a series of maps, a compass, and a handy GPS device, Mi’kmaq archaeologist Roger Lewis attempts to recreate a 4500-year old story deep in heart of the Cape Breton Highlands. Using investigative techniques, combined with contour maps, Lewis is recreating a scene as to how a Mi’kmaq arrowhead made its...
Bras d’Or Lakes
Traditional Ecological Knowledge Workshop Proceedings For a taste of some of our findings, here are some quotes from the workshop. If the Elders before us were asked these questions about 50 years ago, they would have had all the answers. When they died, their knowledge died with them. We used to take home remedies from...
Young alumni award
Shelley Denny shares a moment with Dr. George Newsome (Buck) after receiving a Young Alumni Award from St. FX University this fall. From UINR Marten – Vol.2. Issue.4 – Winter 2006
Banff bound!
Lisa Young and Shelley Denny from UINR recently participated in the Banff Centre Aboriginal Leadership and Management Development Program. Lisa explains “I was more than impressed with the whole experience. The facilitators were knowledgeable and engaging. I would definitely recommend this program to any one of our leaders or managers who are interested in bettering...
Alyssia is back
Those of you with a good memory will remember Alyssia worked at UINR last summer, helping put together a brochure on best boating practices in the Bras d’Or Lakes. She worked with her brother Norman, researching clean boating initiatives, visiting local marinas, and other boating hot spots to bring boaters the message on what they...
Atlantic saury visit
The Atlantic suary (Scomberesox sarus), was found washed on shore and caught by fishers in East Bay. Sauries are also known as skippers because they skip along the surface of the water when escaping from their predators. Other common names include needlefish or billfish because of its distinct sharp beak. The saury is a schooling...
Scholarship winners
Eskasoni’s Angela Morris was the big winner when a series of cholarships were awarded to Unama’ki Science, Technology, and Natural Resources students. There are three separate scholarship categories–the Stora Enso/UINR Scholarship Fund, Stora Enso/UINR Forestry Scholarships and the Georgia Pacific/UINR Scholarships. Here are the winners: Georgia Pacific/UINR ($1,000): Lindsay Marshall, Membertou; Janice Basque, Waycobah; Angela...
Native rights balanced by science
by Shelley Denny The “peaceful” protest this fall in St. Peter’s between commercial lobster fishers from St. Peter’s and surrounding area and Chapel Island food fishers has been disheartening and infuriating. After 20 years of Treaty Day celebrations, it seems that our closest neighbors don’t accept Mi’kmaq food fishing rights. The irony in the situation...
Awakening publishing landmark
A new book has been published by the First Nations Forestry Program of Nova Scotia in cooperation with The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq. Awakening: Living with today’s forest is a comprehensive look at forestry in Nova Scotia from a uniquely Mi’kmaq perspective. It is a phenomenal achievement that has taken over three years to produce....