An enchanted Island
A new children’s picture book has hit P.E.I. bookshelves about the Mi’kmaq creation story of Prince Edward Island
Sandra L. Dodge’s new book “Minegoo: the Mi’kmaq Creation Story of Prince Edward Island” is a story that has been told as long as Mi’kmaq people have lived on P.E.I.
The children’s picture book, retold and illustrated by Dodge and translated by Georgina Francis, is written in both English and Mi’kmaq and is the creation story told from a Mi’kmaq point of view.
“For me personally, I believe in the Great Spirit, I believe there is a creator so I hope that if they are not already a believer that they will at least consider that there might in fact be a creator, if they are believer, it will enrich their own spiritual life,” said Dodge, who lives in Barrington, New Hampshire but is a summer resident in Augustine Cove.
It begins with the Great Spirit who “decides to do a thing” and creates the universe, the world, the sun and the moon.
The Great Spirit then creates Kluskap, his special helper, as well as people in his image, the Mi’kmaq people.
He then uses leftover clay to make an enchanted Island called Minegoo (P.E.I.).
Kluskap then searches the earth to find the most beautiful spot in the world and comes upon the Gulf of St. Lawrence and gently places Minegoo in the bright blue “singing waters”.
Dodge said she was inspired to write the story 20 years ago following a visit to a P.E.I. museum.
She listened to a recording of the Mi’kmaq creation legend, a version by former Chief “Jack” John Joseph Thomas Sark of Lennox Island First Nation, and was fascinated by it and decided to look for other versions of the story.
When she first approached Ragweed Press, a former publishing company in P.E.I., they had no interest in publishing her book, so she put the story away.
It wasn’t until four years ago that she pulled it out again and sent it to Acorn Press who showed interest in publishing the book.
The book was published this past July and is available at Indigo in Charlottetown.
The Minegoo story she tells is a mixture of all the versions she found during her research.
“I think that it’s made me look deeper into my own roots,” said Dodge on her experience of writing this book. “One of the things I’ve done, because of getting involved in this process, has made me go to my DNA.”
Dodge says she has Acadian, Celtic and Indigenous roots.
However, she admits there was some nervousness to telling the story since she belongs to a different tribe (Abenaki) and she wanted to make sure that she was respectful and that she didn’t leave anything out.
After the book circulated with members of the Mi’kmaq community, including the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of P.E.I., Dodge said it was met with their approval and received their blessing for publication.
She says she hopes to write more books about the Mi’kmaq people in the future.
“I would love to do more,” said Dodge.