P.E.I. communities, business show pride in shared culture honoured by Mi’kmaq

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — When the Rural Municipality of West River amalgamated in 2018, the council had to decide on six new electoral wards.

The electoral commissioner steered they use two languages for every district, however not the everyday Prince Edward Island mixture of English and French.

As a substitute, West River went with English and Mi’kmaq, a nod to the neighbouring Rocky Level Reserve, mentioned Mayor Helen Smith-MacPhail.

On Might 20, Smith-MacPhail and three different non-Indigenous allies acquired considered one of 4 annual Reconciliation Recognition Awards handed out by the Epekwitk Meeting of Councils, which incorporates Lennox Island and Abegweit First Nations.

The undertaking has been a robust supply of group pleasure, Smith-MacPhail mentioned.

“We thought, pretty much as good neighbours, we ought to be honouring their tradition in addition to our personal. … We will’t change the previous. We will acknowledge points or wrongs that have been dedicated previously and attempt to transfer ahead in a extra optimistic manner.”

Concept

Darlene Bernard, chief of Lennox Island First Nation, who spoke on the ceremony, says the awards are about recognizing non-Indigenous Islanders who’re working in the direction of reconciliation.

“There are folks and companies, communities, municipalities who’re taking their very own initiative to do issues that they really feel are vital to acknowledge the Mi’kmaq folks and the struggles we’ve had and that now it’s time to study our shared historical past.”

At a look

Following are the recipients of the 2022 Reconciliation Recognition Awards:

• City of Stratford (accepted by Mayor Steve Ogden).

• City of Kensington (accepted by Mayor Rowan Caseley).

• Rural Municipality of West River (accepted by Mayor Helen Smith-MacPhail).

• Receiver Espresso – The Brass Store (accepted by Colleen MacKay).

Supply: Handout from Epekwitk Meeting of Councils

The awards, which come days earlier than Indigenous Consciousness Week, Might 24-28, are of their second 12 months.

One of many recipients that stood out to Bernard was the City of Kensington, which invited Bernard to talk on the unveiling of a mural about P.E.I. that features the Mi’kmaq tradition.

Rowan Caseley, Kensington’s mayor, says his group obtained extra engaged in reconciliation after the our bodies of the primary 215 kids have been discovered at a B.C. residential college final Might.

“Our function could also be small in the entire scheme of issues, however I believe reconciliation can be a sequence of small steps that each considered one of us should take individually and communities should take as effectively. It’s not (that) you do that huge factor after which it’s carried out.”

– Kensington Mayor Rowan Caseley

So, when the city employed an artist for a brand new public artwork undertaking, it instructed the artist to create what it known as an “artist’s view” of the world that would come with native tradition, Caseley mentioned.

“One of many issues that I had insisted we do (was) that we incorporate the Indigenous tradition and that we additionally … exit to the Mi’kmaq folks and discover out, what are the issues that we might put in there or that could possibly be a part of it.”

The city was additionally acknowledged for its resolution final 12 months to lift the Mi’kmaq Grand Council flag and preserve it raised completely, not like different locales that raised it for various lengths of time.

“Our function could also be small in the entire scheme of issues, however I believe reconciliation can be a sequence of small steps that each considered one of us should take individually, and communities should take as effectively. It’s not (that) you do that huge factor after which it’s carried out,” Caseley mentioned.

Logan MacLean is a range reporter with SaltWire Community

[email protected]

@loganmaclean94