We remember

As we continue to celebrate Canadian Library Month in October, we also share the month with Mi’kmaq History Month (MHM).

The theme for this year’s celebration honours our many Mi’kmaw veterans, or ‘sma’knish,’ as we mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War together.

More than 200 Mi’kmaw from Atlantic Canada enlisted to serve and at least 89 soldiers were from Nova Scotia. Nine members of the Pictou Landing First Nation served abroad – Benjamin Francis, Noel Francis, Michael Prosper, Joseph Frank Sappier, Matthew Sappier, Frank Thom, Stephen Toney, Roland Wilmot and Thomas Wilmot. Some returned home, while others made the ultimate sacrifice for their families and communities.

Coming from isolated communities where Mi’kmaq was the first language, they overcame language barriers and cultural differences during their military service. Many drew on their hunting skills and wilderness experiences acting as guides, snipers and scouts; and many received high honours for their service – including Stephen Toney, MMM (Pictou Landing First Nation, Lennox Island, P.E.I.). Pte. Toney was presented the Military Merit Medal in March 1917 for his remarkable skills as a sniper. Cpl. Sam Glode (Milton/Bear River First Nation, Queens County) received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for personally disarming 450 landmines in 1918. Private Tom Morris (Cow Bay/ Middleton, Halifax County) was also awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, as well as the Military Merit Medal, after he was wounded by shrapnel in three different battles.

The library is fortunate to have a MHM 2018 poster on display at each of our library locations. Several of our larger libraries also have a featured display of library holdings recognizing Mi’kmaq heritage and culture. The research for this year’s poster was compiled by Mi’kmaw historian and human rights activist, Dr. Donald M. Julien from Millbrook, N.S. (and the executive director with the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq). Mr. Julian is a peace time veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces and has served in the United Nations on a peacekeeping tour in Cyprus. He continues to work with the Canadian Armed forces in a community advisory role for the RCMP Aboriginal Advisory Group, as well as the auditor general on Aboriginal matters.

The poster artwork was created by award-winning Mi’kmaw artist and scholar, Gerald Gloade. (Mr. Gloade also created the eight-pointed quill work star emblem (or book spine sticker that our library has to recognize our Indigenous collections.) For more information about Mi’kmaq History Month, and a list of events from across the province, visit www.mikmaqhistorymonth.ca.

Coming up this week on Thursday, Oct. 25, we have the NFB Film Club @library in River John starting at 6:15 p.m. The documentary film featured this month, “The Spirit of Annie Mae” (2002| 1 h 13 min) is by Mi’kmaw-Nova Scotian filmmaker Catherine Anne Martin.

“The Spirit of Annie Mae” is the story of Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, a 30-year old Nova Scotian born Mi’kmaq who became highly placed in the American Indian Movement (AIM), a radical First Nations organization that took up arms in the 1970s to fight for the rights of their people. The documentary is about her remarkable life, and brutal murder. In 1975, Annie Mae was shot dead, execution style, on a desolate road in South Dakota. Nearly three decades later the crime remains a mystery. The film is a moving tribute from the women who were closest to her; her two daughters who fled with their mother as she hid from the FBI, the young women she inspired to embrace First Nations culture, and other activists, including singer-songwriter Buffy SainteMarie and investigative journalist, Minnie Two Shoes. All are still trying to understand why she met such a violent death. Follow them on their journey as they celebrate the life of a woman who inspired a generation of Indigenous people.

For more information on upcoming library programs, special events and services, please drop by your local library branch, follow us on Twitter, find us on Facebook, or visit us online at www. parl.ns.ca.

Trecia Schell is community services librarian and branch librarian – Books-by-Mail, River John, Stellarton and Trenton Public Libraries.