First Nation

When Two Worlds Met
By: Wanda Joudry- Finigan

From a far and distant land you came searching
For land to claim
Your journey was rough,
Troubles were plenty
Disease and starvation
Took lives of many.

The Mi`kmaw were not shocked
By your presence
The old ones foreseen it in a vision.

You called our land a paradise
Oh.. the beauty, delighted the eyes
So different from your home in France
The people, the culture, music and dance.

That first winter here you all would have died
Had the Mi`kmaq not shown you how to survive
The friendships they formed. with one another
Remains strong today a bond like no other.

The British Army came that day
Expelled from this land. took your men away
Tears of despair.. from the women and children
But safe they were with the Mi`kmaq Nation.

Your journey has brought you home again
To live on this land with your Mi`kmaq friends
Together again, in peace and splendor
It's the tie that binds.. a bond like no other.

Ta Ho!

Sacred items from Mi'kmaq culture... click here for more details.

Ash Splint Baskets

4 Sacred Medicines

Eagle Feather

Drum

Peacepipe

As I walk along the same paths that my ancestors traveled many moons ago, a sense of warmth and oneness engulfs me as a Mi'kmaq woman from Mi'kma'ki. Reflecting on days long past, the stories of what life was like for my ancestors cannot be told in books, but by 'experiencing' the story through 'our' eyes.

April
Owner of Mikjikj Nkij ~
Turtle Mother Cultural Awareness Program

Excerpt from text written by:
© Lucie LeBlanc Consentino
Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home
2005 - Present

"Métis is one of several terms used to describe people of mixed native and European origin. The word Métis is an old French word meaning "mixed." Other terms that have been used include mixed blood, bois brûlé, michif, and country-born. Today the term Métis refers to a distinct group of people who have a common history and heritage."

Métis in New France

"The first Métis were the children of European fishermen and native women along the Atlantic coast of Canada. In Acadia, many French men took native wives. Some villages became largely Métis. During the 17th century, both the French and the native people encouraged mixed marriages. For the native people, these marriages strengthened their bonds with their allies and trading partners. The French authorities came to oppose these unions. The church in particular was concerned that the young men preferred the freedom of life in Native country. Métis children either stayed with their native mothers or were raised in French society. The Métis population increased farther inland. Fur traders and soldiers settled around the tiny forts and fur-trade posts. These communities formed the basis of many future towns and cities, such as Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Detroit, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois."