Walking With Our Sisters Art Exhibit at MSVU
In January, Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery opened an exhibit to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The exhibit, created by Metis artist Christi Belcourt, features pairs of moccasin vamps donated by families and loved ones of the missing and murdered.
- January 16: Family members of missing, murdered women contribute moccasin vamps to art exhibit at MSVU
Ongoing occupation at Alton Natural Gas Project site
Eskasoni First Nation resident Dale Poulette has been camping out at the Alton Natural Gas Storage Project site along the Shubenacadie River since September 2016. In an interview with Ku’ku’kwes News, Poulette explained he’s there to exercise his hunting and treaty rights and to protect the river.
Loretta Saunders’ killer loses appeal of murder conviction
Miriam Saunders, the mother of Loretta Saunders, speaks to reporters after three Nova Scotia appeal court justices dismiss Victoria Henneberry’s request to have her second-degree murder conviction overturned.
Henneberry is one of two people serving life sentences in the murder of 26-year-old Inuk Loretta Saunders from Labrador.
Sipekne’katik Chief and Council hold community meeting on proposed Alton Gas benefits deal
Sipekne’katik Chief and Council held a meeting with band members in Indian Brook First Nation, N.S. to discuss the possibility of accepting a benefits package from the company responsible for the Alton Natural Gas Storage Project near Stewiake, N.S.
Sipekne’katik has been opposed to the company’s plans to use water from the Shubenacadie River to create underground salt caverns and dump the salty water mixture back into the river.
Trevor Sanipass runs for a seat in the Nova Scotia Legislature in May 30 election
Trevor Sanipass hoped to become the first Mi’kmaw person elected to the Nova Scotia Legislature in the May 30 provincial election. He ran for the NDP Party in the riding of Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank.
Sanipass came in third behind incumbent Liberal candidate Bill Horne who won the seat and Progressive Conservative Party candidate Dan McNaughton.
Indigenous Youth in Halifax participate in photo project to mark 100th anniversary of Halifax Explosion
Sabrina DiMattia from Halifax and Kehisha Wilmot from Millbrook First Nation were among a group of Indigenous youth chosen to take part in a photo project to mark the 100th anniversary of the Halifax explosion.
Both DiMattia and Wilmot took photos of Turtle Grove where a Mi’kmaw encampment was located at the time of the explosion. The photo project was organized by Photopolis: The Halifax Festival of Photography.
Rally held in Halifax to ‘remove’ Cornwallis statue
A rally was held in Halifax on July 15 to ‘symbolically’ remove the statue of Edward Cornwallis, the city’s founder. Instead of actually removing the statue, city workers draped a black tarp over the statue for a few hours.
Cornwallis issued a scalping bounty of Mi’kmaw people, including women and children.
Peace and Friendship gathering at Grand Pré National Historic Site
For four days in August, hundreds of people gathered at Grand Pré National Historic Site near Wolfville, N.S. to take part in the Peace and Friendship gathering. The gathering was organized by Morley Googoo, Assembly of First Nations Vice-Chief for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. The event highlighted the relationship between the Mi’kmaq and French.
Archaeologists exploring trade between Mi’kmaq and French in Port La Tour, N.S.
Katie Cottreau-Robins, an archaeology curator with the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History in Halifax, spent a month during the summer of 2017 researching the trading relationship between the Mi’kmaq and the French at Fort St. Louis in the 1600s.
Cottreau-Robins lead a team of archaeologists in digging up artifacts at the national historic site in Port La Tour, N.S. Among the items her team uncovered included trade beads.
Potlotek residents frustrated with ongoing water quality issues in community
Members of the Potlotek First Nation in Unama’ki like Bernadette Marshall and Lynn Boyce were frustrated when they learned Health Canada issued a “Do Not Consume” order on the community’s drinking water in September.
Residents were unable to use their tap water to drink, bathe or wash their clothes. The federal government provided bottled water and trailers for showers and laundry to community members.
- September 19: Potlotek residents frustrated with latest water advisory
Membertou First Nation welcomes National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
The Membertou First Nation in Sydney, N.S. held a welcoming ceremony on Oct. 29 for the participants taking part in hearings with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Oct 30 to Nov. 1.
Family members and loved ones of MMIWG marched from the shores of Sydney Harbour to Membertou First Nation.
- October 30: Membertou welcomes the MMIWG Inquiry
Family members of Virginia Sue Pictou-Noyes testify at MMIWG community hearings at Membertou First Nation
Family members of Virginia Sue Pictou-Noyes cried and laughed while sharing stories of their sister who went missing in Maine on April 24, 1993. The 26-year-old mother of five was last seen at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine.
Pictou-Noyes, originally from Membertou First Nation, N.S., was taken to the medical centre by a police officer after she was badly beaten by her husband and brother-in-law outside of a bar in downtown Bangor earlier that evening.
Two men from Waycobah receive the Nova Scotia Medal of Bravery
Shane Bernard and his friend, Liam Bernard, received the Nova Scotia Medal of Bravery during a ceremony at the Nova Scotia Legislature on Nov. 8. Both men saved two tourists from a burning truck following a fatal traffic accident in Sept. 2016.
Rally held to protect Kluscap Mountain in Unama’ki from mining activity
Approximately 40 people gathered at the base of Kluscap Mountain, also known as Kelly’s Mountain, in Cape Breton, N.S. to hold a rally against mining activity in the area.
The Mining Association of Nova Scotia wants the Nova Scotia government to reconsider its classification of protected areas throughout the province, including the mountain. However, Mi’kmaw activist Elizabeth Marshall says Kluscap Mountain is sacred to the Mi’kmaq and should remain protected.
Kukukwes.com urgently needs your support in order to continue providing news coverage of Indigenous issues in Atlantic Canada. We need $999 more in monthly pledges/ subscriptions in order to reach our first goal of $1,500. If you enjoy our news coverage, please consider signing up for a monthly subscription. Go to Patreon.com/Kukukwes and become a monthly patron/subscriber.
