Food and its significance in Mi’kmaw culture

Food gathers us together for celebration, nourishment and comfort. It is central to our ceremonies, considered part of our medicines, and key to our resiliency. Sharing freely honours each other and blesses our families and communities so no one is harmed or struggles. The long-ago treaties with the first plants and animals of Mi’kma’ki require us to love and to protect msɨt no’kmaq (all our relations). Living through the values and ways of netukulimk over thousands of years has carried our communities through times of abundance and scarcity.

Water is life! Our cultural practices protect the shorelines, estuaries, and aquatic habitats, where so much of our food is harvested. This protection is extraordinarily important to the ongoing treaty relationships among all living beings in Mi’kma’ki.