The Mi'kmaq Anthology by Lesley Choyce

Author:Lesley Choyce
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pottersfield Press

Bibliography

Battiste, Marie. (1984). An historical investigation of the social and cultural consequences ofMicmac literacy. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

Rand, S. Legends of the Micmacs. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., (1894).

Rich, A. as cited in R. Rosaldo. Culture and Truth. Boston: Beacon Press, (1989).

* Mi'kmaq is the plural term used in this essay, while Mi'kmaw is used in its singular connotation.

Theresa Meuse

The Chief

During an excavation survey, near an old abandoned gypsum mine, bones were dug up. The bones were taken to the city’s museum where they were examined. The archaeologist found that the bones were of pre-European time and that they were North American Indian. The bones could not be identified as being Micmac, but the archaeologist could make the assumption that they were. The bones were the remains of three people: a woman of child-bearing age, a child probably about nine years old, and an infant child.

The Chief from the Reserve nearest the survey site was contacted about the remains. The Chief was unsure of what to do with them. He, himself, was soul searching his ancestry and he didn’t know what was the best thing to do with the remains. He did know that he wanted to avoid media publicity and since the bones were from pre-Christian times, they should not be buried in the reservation cemetery.

For quite a while he spoke with as many people as he could, trying to find the answer as to what was the best and most appropriate way to deal with the remains. Meanwhile, the bones remained in the museum.

Finally, the Chief made a decision to bury them in a traditional burial ground set aside not far from the Reserve. On the day when the remains arrived at the Reserve, he asked numerous people to go with him to the burial ground, but no one was available, or willing to go with him. So he decided to go by himself.

The Chief placed the small boxes on the back of his truck and drove off to the site. Upon arrival, he carried the remains to the grave sites, which were previously dug by the owners of the land. The graves, however, were not big enough and since no one was around to help, he had to make the graves bigger using his hands as a shovel. He laid the boxes containing the remains in the graves and covered them with dirt. Then he placed leaves and twigs on top so that no one would know that anyone had been buried there. Unsure of what exactly to do next, he continued on to the best of his knowledge. He lit a braid of sweet grass and said what he thought were appropriate prayers: he spoke from his heart.

The Chief left the grave site not really sure if he had done the right thing. As he walked up the path to his truck, he asked the Creator to show him a sign which would tell him that he had done the right thing. Shortly after, the squirrels began to chatter and the birds began to chirp loudly.

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