Mi'kmaq Land Notes and Questions

Mi’kmaq Land
Ø In 1763 the government decreed that all land not purchased by the crown would by reserved for Indian hunting and fishing.
Ø Later, the government “gave” the Mi’kmaq families tracts of land to settle. These tracts of lands eventually became recognized as reserves by law.
Ø The government rarely enforced any of these laws when settlers broke them.
Ø The Mi’kmaq, for the most part, resisted living in these permanent communities.
Ø Many of the Mi’kmaq found that the easiest way to keep their communities and way of life together was to have as little to do with the government as possible.
Something Old, Something New
Ø Sometimes the traditional activities of the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet were able to be used to help the development of modern industries.
Treaty Rights
Ø Treaty rights affirm the rights of a people with a treaty.
Ø The first treaty between the British and the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet was meant to ensure lasting peace and to affirm the native people’s right to hunt and fish.
Ø The Mi’kmaq and Maliseet never signed away their right to hunt and fish in any treaty.
Ø After the large number of Loyalists arrived in the 1770s the government started to ignore the treaties.
Ø In 1999 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet still have their right to hunt and fish freely.

1. What decree stated that any land not purchased by the crown was reserved for hunting and fishing for the Mi’kmaq?
2. What was the old Mi’kmaq skill used in the Annapolis valley that aided a modern industry?
3. Why would it be important to the Mi’kmaq to remain separate from the non-Mi’kmaq communities?
4. Why do you think the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet continued to sign their peace treaties even though they were continually losing their land?
5. What did the government mean when it stated that some of these reserves “tend greatly to retard the settlement of the country”? Weren’t these areas already settled by the Mi’kmaq?