Artifact find key in filling gaps in First Nation history

[Rebecca Sinning]

Artifact find key in filling gaps in First Nation history

By MONICA GRAHAM
Mon. Sep 28 - 4:46 AM

PICTOU LANDING FIRST NATION — An archeological find of cattle and fish bones, part of an arrowhead, bits of ceramic pottery, metal scraps, dirt samples, and lots and lots of shells may not be as exciting as gold and precious jewels.

But for Michelle Lelievre, the items uncovered at a Mi’kmaq gathering site on an obscure Pictou County island are significant evidence in her quest to fill the gaps in recorded First Nation history.

"It’s less about the artifacts and more about the context," said Ms. Lelievre, a Nova Scotian doctoral candidate in the anthropology department at the University of Chicago.

She’s investigating Mi’kmaq settlement patterns and social life following their contact with Europeans, specifically the years between 1750 and 1900. Most previous studies of Nova Scotia’s first people focused on the period before European contact, when any artifacts could be said to be exclusively Mi’kmaq.

But it would be a mistake to assume that the Mi’kmaq gave up their own material culture when the Europeans began settling the area in the 1700s, Ms. Lelievre said. They continued using their own technology while adapting to that of the newcomers, so that artifacts of both cultures may be found in the same place. The difficulty is in proving who used what, which makes the island special from an archeological point of view.

Europeans didn’t live on the island, called Maligomish by the Mi’kmaq and identified as Indian Island on Nova Scotia maps. The island was first occupied at least 2,500 years ago. It is mentioned in some French documents at Louisbourg, and missionary Abbe Maillard ministered to the people there in the mid-18th century. Three churches have been built on the island, most recently in 1897.

[Rebecca Sinning]

Although it was once home to a handful of Mi’kmaq families, it’s now a retreat for residents of Pictou Landing, Waycobah and Millbrook First Nations, and as a centre for cultural and spiritual festivals.

"So if we find things from the post-contact period, then we can say these are things the Mi’kmaq used," Ms. Lelievre said.

The cattle bones give evidence of butchering domestic animals, and the ceramic bits indicate the use of manufactured pottery. Analysis of pollen and seeds in the soil samples will show what plants were present on the island and indicate the seasons when the island was occupied.

Tool marks on the partial arrowhead indicate it’s likely from the earlier pre-contact time, Ms. Lelievre said. If the metal turns out to be copper, it could also be from the pre-contact period. If it’s iron, it will fit into the time period she’s studying.

The items were all found in a shell midden, a pile of cast-off shells and other items, excavated by Ms. Lelievre and three assistants from Pictou Landing First Nation. The crew also found evidence of an earlier excavation carried out in the 1960s. The chemicals in the shells preserved items from being damaged by the acidic soil, said Ms. Lelievre, who is awaiting the results of carbon dating to determine the age of the artifacts.

The trash heap was the only spot excavated by Ms. Lelievre and her crew members, Mary Irene Nicholas and Elizabeth Nicholas. Maligomish has spiritual significance for the Mi’kmaq, raising concerns that digging would disturb the island. The women speculated about some five-metre mounds on the island, but they were outside their mandate so they remain a mystery.

"Because we didn’t know what they were, we didn’t disturb them," said Mary Irene Nicholas. "We treated everything on the island with a lot of respect."

[Rebecca Sinning]

That involved prayer, sweet grass ceremonies, and tobacco offerings, she said.

Along with Chapel Island in Cape Breton, Maligomish is one of two spots in Nova Scotia where Mi’kmaq have met regularly over the centuries for marriages, naming and spiritual ceremonies, and passing down information to the next generation, said Sadie Francis, a Pictou Landing elder.

"We were scattered everywhere, all over Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I.," she said.

Archeologists have a poor reputation among First Nations because, in the past, they’ve dug in sacred spots and removed items without permission, said Ms. Lelievre.

"That was 50 years ago, but the memory’s still there," Mary Irene Nicholas said.

Mi’kmaq historian Roger Lewis recommended to Ms. Lelievre that she meet often with the community and elders to introduce her purpose and discuss any concerns. She continues to keep the community aware of her findings.

The team began working at the site in the fall of 2007, continuing in the spring of 2008 and finishing last fall. Ms. Lelievre also recorded oral history at Pictou Landing First Nation and examined documents in Nova Scotia, the University of Maine, Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, and the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull. She’s currently analysing the data and expects to defend her doctoral dissertation in 2011.

Ms. Lelievre got interested in post-contact Mi’kmaq history while working at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton, where there was little information about First Nation people in the industrial age.

That’s when she realized that "not everyone came on the Hector," she said, referring to the ship that brought Scottish settlers to the Pictou area in 1773. She hopes her work creates a basis for future research.

"The goal in the end is to have Mi’kmaq people doing this work in their own communities," she said.

Ms. Francis said she hopes the research will help younger people, by scientifically proving that this has been their homeland since the last ice age 11,000 years ago.

"We could really, really put a claim on it," she said. "We could reaffirm, this is our land."

( mgraham@herald.ca)

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1144747.html