Our Mi’kmaq Cultural Activities

The FNI supports a range of cultural events and activities. Our goal is to stimulate interest in—and the revitalization of—Mi’kmaq culture in Newfoundland.

FNI and band activities are introduced in general form here.

To learn about specific upcoming events, check the Calendar.

• Craft
  The FNI and affiliated bands regularly offer instructional workshops in a variety of traditional crafts, including basket-making, drum-making, beadwork, and making dreamcatchers. For upcoming opportunities, check the Calendar.
  
  
• Drumming and Dancing
  The Sple’tk First Nation and Exploits Native Women’s Association created the Exploits Native Drumming and Dancing Group to help members learn or regain such traditional Mi’kmaq songs and chants as the honour song, feast song, round dance, and going away song.
  
  
• Feasts
  Many FNI and band events incorporate a traditional Mi'kmaq feast of bear, moose, beaver, caribou, salmon, trout, and assorted berries into their special events.

• The Mi’kmaq Flag
  The red on the white background symbolizes our unity with the Council of Fire. The star, "Wa'so'q", is an ancient hieroglyphic symbol that represents the spiritual light of the Creator who guides and protects our people, our land, and our nation. The crescent moon is for the land of the Mi'kmaq people which lay in a crescent over seven Mi'kmaq districts from the Gaspe peninsula of Quebec through Unama'ki (Cape Breton and Newfoundland).
  
  
• Language
  The FNI supports the use of Mi’kmaq language and encourages learning through the Mi’kmaq News (which translates selected vocabulary each issue), and a host of online resources.
  
  
• Ktaqmkuk Mi’kmaw Cultural/Historical Museum, St. George’s.
  Housed in the completely restored historic courthouse on Main Street, St. George’s, this Mi’kmaq cultural/historic museum and Intrepretation Center for Sandy Point and the Town of St. George’s, hosts displays that include photographs, artifacts, historical information, story lines, paintings and carvings.
  
  
• The Mattie Mitchell Historic Site, Deer Arm, Bonne Bay, Gros Morne National Park.
  Noted for his work as a skilled guide for numerous companies in their mineral and exploration endeavours, and consequently contributing to the development of Newfoundland’s economy, Matthew Mitchell has been recognized as a person of historical significance by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC).
  
  Commemorating Mitchell’s life and accomplishments, an exhibit has been installed at Deer Arm within the National Park. This site, chosen by Mattie Mitchell’s granddaughter Marie Sparkes, the FNI, the Miawpukek First Nation and Parks Canada, was Mitchell's preferred route into the Long Range Mountains when he was engaged in his guiding, prospecting, and exploration work.
  
  
• The Mi’kmaw People of Newfoundland: A Celebration
  In 2002, the FNI commissioned a curated exhibition, “The Mi’kmaw People of Newfoundland: A Celebration,” which was opened at the Corner Brook Museum and Archives on June 21, 2004, at the Newfoundland Museum, in November 2004, the Mary March Museum on June 21, 2005.  It also traveled to the Prince Takamado Gallery, Japan from in November 2005.
  
  A smaller traveling version of the exhibit was displayed in several local communities including Port aux Basques, Glenwood and Burgeo during 2004. This exhibit is still available for rental.
  
  The full exhibit catalogue is for sale in book and CD formats. Aboriginal photographer Jeff Thomas was commissioned to take a series of portraits of FNI leaders and youth as part of the exhibit process. Many of these images are reproduced in the catalogue; the originals have been donated to The Rooms Provincial Archives In St. John’s.
  
  FNI also acquired four lithographic prints by the Newfoundland Mi'kmaq artist, Jerry Evans for the exhibition. These prints, which use historical Newfoundland Mi'kmaq portraits, will be donated by the FNI to the new Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador.
  
  To buy a copy of the catalogue, or make arrangements for the rental of the traveling exhibit, please contact the main office.
  
  
• Aboriginal Artists and Craftspeople Database
  FNI is compiling a database of aboriginal artists and craftspeople with the intention of drawing attention to the creative talent within the Newfoundland Mi’kmaq community. Please contact the FNI office for details.

• Aboriginal Day – June 21
  Every year on this national day of honouring Canada’s Aboriginal peoples, we celebrate our Mi’kmaq history and culture through song, dance, ceremony, and ritual. We also give thanks to the Great Spirit Creator, the Sun, the Earth, the Environment, our Ancestors, and to each other.
  
  
• Elders Feast
  The St. George’s and Sple’tk bands celebrate their Elders with a feast every year.
  
  
• Powwow
  FNI youth continue to develop an annual powwow to celebrate Mi'kmaq culture. It is anticipated that this powwow will include a sunrise ceremony, traditional singing and dancing, and a traditional feast.
  
  
• St. Anne's Day – July 26
  On this day, band members gather to celebrate the Patron Saint of the Mi’kmaq people.