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December 17, 2020 11:19 AM   Subscribe

On September 17th, the twenty-first anniversary of the Marshall Decision, Sipekneꞌkatik First Nation on Nopa Sko'sia declared a “moderate livelihoodfishery (photos) as a community exercise of their rights as Indigenous people. In response, non-Indigenous have escalated campaigns of harassment against First Nations people, the Mi'kmaq fleet, and their supporters, cutting lobster traps, firing flares at fishing vessels, engaging in arson, plundering catches, scattering improvised caltrops on shore to burst the tires of cars and trucks, discriminating against Mi'kmaq fishermen in retail stores, and making violent threats on social media.

By most ancient right, even under settler conventions of law and tradition, the Mi'kmaq people of Nopa Sko'sia / Nova Scotia / Megâmaage / Mi’kma’ki and other East-Coast Indigenous have rights to fish and hunt. These rights exist without settler government licensing and outside of the “seasons” defined by Canadian fishery management laws; though they were recognized in treaties beginning in the eighteenth century as most recently affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada at the end of the twentieth century in the “Marshall decision”. But of course, exercising these rights always ends up being a point of contention with non-Indigenous people.
Elsewhere on Nopa Sko'sia, at St. Peters Bay, Potlotek First Nation has also declared a fishery. The Canadian government's Fisheries and Oceans Canada department (DFO) has been removing Indigenous traps from the water.
The Eskasoni and Bear River First Nations have formally launched their own fisheries as well.

A related event at the turn of the century was the Burnt Church Crisis of 1999–2002 in New Brunswick, depicted in Alanis Obomsawin's 2002 documentary Is the Crown at War with Us?—full film on YouTube.

Maw-lukutijik Saqmaq / Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs: Moderate Livelihood Fishery Update fact sheet, August 2020.

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Mi'kmaq districts of Nopa Sko'sia include Epegoitnag / Epekwitk / Epegwitg, Esgigeoag / Eskikewaꞌkik / Eskíkewaq / Esgeꞌgewaꞌgi, Gespopoitnag / Kespukwitk / Kespékewaq / Gespugwitg, Sigenigteoag / Siknikt / Sikniktewaq / Signigtewaꞌgi, Segepenegatig / Sipekniꞌkatik / Sipekneꞌkatik / Sipeknékatik / Sugapuneꞌgati / Shubencadie, and Onamag / Unamaꞌkik / Unamákik / Unamaꞌgi. Mi'kmaq communities of Nopa Sko'sia include Waqmɨtkuk / Wagmatcook, We'kopekwitk / Truro, Piktuk / Pictou, Potlotek / Port Toulouse, Kluskap / Glooscap, Sɨpekne'katik, and L’sɨtkuk.

From the beginning, the Miꞌkmaq people resisted the incursions of French, English, and British imperial forces. By the 1670s, long experience with European contact led them to take the part of the Wampanoag in Metacom's War, successfully holding the English and allied Indigenous military at bay in the Acadian theatre. However, as with other opponents of the settlers (and, in fact, some allies of the settlers), in chevauchée-style raids, “state banditry”, and quasi-military activities that would prefigure war crimes and crimes against humanity in coming centuries, combatant and non-combatant men, women, and children were kidnapped and sold into slavery, often transported to Caribbean destinations.

In the mid-eighteenth century British encroachment on Nopa Sko'sia increased. The Mi'kmaq were allied with the Kingdom of France, but in a pivotal disaster, the crew manning a French shipment of matériel spread multiple simultaneous epidemics. This would prove to be a cusp in Mi'kmaq ascendancy, marking the beginning of a decline in independence and military power.
posted by XMLicious (6 comments total) 70 users marked this as a favorite
 
If you have 96 minutes to spare, or even less, the linked documentary Is the Crown at War with Us? about the similar 1999-2002 Burnt Church crisis in New Brunswick is fabulous.

The FPP title is from about 86 minutes in—a bit of artistic license on my part to juxtapose it with the 2020 events.
posted by XMLicious at 11:21 AM on December 17, 2020 [3 favorites]


Brava on this comprehensive post, XMLicious! Lots to dig into here.
posted by suelac at 1:23 PM on December 17, 2020 [6 favorites]


The RCMP and Canada's governments are such blatantly racist organizations. Their militarized response to peaceful FN protests vs standing aside when violent white mobs descend on native fishers makes this all too obvious.

For all the white fishers and their supporters who are claiming their actions aren't racist, but instead trying to protect depleted fishing stocks: Seafood giant Clearwater was convicted of 'gross violation' in the lobster fishery - doing more impact to the lobster stock than all of the off-season fishing done by native fishers. But we don't see the same white fishers protesting Clearwater, do we?

That part of the story has taken an interesting twist as a group of Mi'kmaq First Nations are buying Clearwater. The same people fighting for their right to fish to provide a moderate livelihood will now own the largest seafood firm in Atlantic Canada.
posted by thecjm at 1:40 PM on December 17, 2020 [22 favorites]


A great post and great additional links. Sorry this is happening but thank you for the rich information sources.
posted by Bella Donna at 3:26 PM on December 17, 2020 [2 favorites]


This is an amazing post, thank you
posted by warriorqueen at 3:42 PM on December 17, 2020 [2 favorites]


This post is fantastic. Thank you. There's a lot to dig through here.

Pam Palmater just put out an episode of her Warrior Life Podcast today that's an interview with Sipekne'katik Chief Mike Sack.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:08 AM on December 18, 2020 [2 favorites]


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