Canadian Studies: The Mi’kmaq People Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Introduction

This short paper is a discussion about the Mi’kmaq people of present-day Canada. The paper explores their historical background and how the Europeans influenced their ways of life. It also looks at Europeans’ description of the Mi’kmaq and how the Europeans’ greed led them to invade Mi’kmaqs’ land depriving them of their rightful land, wealth and how their culture was rudely disrupted and watered down by European civilization.

Mi’kmaq and European civilization

The history of the Mi’kmaq people dates back to some13, 000 years ago. Archaeological reports indicate that the Mi’kmaq found themselves living at the foot of the Cobequid Mountains, which are found at the present day Nova Scotia province of Eastern Canada (University of newfound land, 2013).

The Mi’kmaq people had a unique and distinctive culture and lifestyle in that they were semi-nomadic and also practiced agriculture. During the summer, they would do fishing while during winter they would do hunting and gathering. They had plenty of food and had a very cohesive community bond which held them together as one people. They were unique in that they shared equally what they had. They also collectively took care of the sick, the elderly and the disadvantaged and there were no destitute in their society.

Due to their cohesive nature and the spirit of brotherliness, the Mi’kmaq had relatively high levels of social, psychological, physical and emotional security and very low levels of stress. This made them live longer. Their good diet also enabled them to multiply very fast as compared to other people of the world who did not have this kind of affluent living.

When the Europeans came to their land in the early sixteenth century, the Mi’kmaq welcomed them and helped them learn ways of coping in the foreign land. However, some of their cultural practices were watered down as the Mi’kmaq adopted some of the European practices like commercial agriculture.

Early European descriptions of Mi’kmaq character

The early Europeans described the Mi’kmaq people as humble, polite and welcoming. They also perceived them as primitive and saw the need of enlightening them to abandon some of their traditional cultural practices such as hunting of the moose and gathering of wild fruits.

The Mi’kmaq people were also described by the Europeans as people with great potential as well as industrious. They were also perceived as very knowledgeable especially due to their ability to make oil from the whale fish, which they used during the summer to supplement their diet as they did hunting and gathering (Novascotia, 2013).

European Greed

When the Europeans came as explorers, they pretended to be very good people. Some disguised their ill intentions with missionary work which made the Mi’kmaq extend a welcoming hand to the Europeans. However, after becoming accustomed to the Mi’kmaq way of life, the Europeans embarked on a mission to deprive the Mi’kmaq of their land and resources.

They acquired huge tracks of land through legal, political and physical battles which they easily won due to their superiority in terms of education, weapons, and global networks. As a result, the Mi’kmaq people were pushed to less fertile and low productive areas in their own territory.

Conclusion

The Mi’kmaq people were very unique in that they had a cohesive lifestyle which enabled them to care for each other. Their hard working character and knowledge enabled them to do farming, hunting, and gathering, something which was not common during those early days. They welcomed the European explorers to their land, who ended up becoming their colonizers. Through colonization, the Mi’kmaq lost most of their wealth and land. Their unique cultural practices were also watered down by European civilization.

References

Novascotia. (2013). The Mi’kmaq. Web.

University of newfound land. (2013). Traditional Mi’kmaq (Micmac) Culture.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2020, March 21). Canadian Studies: The Mi'kmaq People. https://ivypanda.com/essays/canadian-studies-the-mikmaq-people/

Work Cited

"Canadian Studies: The Mi'kmaq People." IvyPanda, 21 Mar. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/canadian-studies-the-mikmaq-people/.

References

IvyPanda. (2020) 'Canadian Studies: The Mi'kmaq People'. 21 March.

References

IvyPanda. 2020. "Canadian Studies: The Mi'kmaq People." March 21, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/canadian-studies-the-mikmaq-people/.

1. IvyPanda. "Canadian Studies: The Mi'kmaq People." March 21, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/canadian-studies-the-mikmaq-people/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Canadian Studies: The Mi'kmaq People." March 21, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/canadian-studies-the-mikmaq-people/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1