Midwinter celebrations in Millbrook, N.S., honour Mi'kmaw culture and history

When a white blanket covers MotherEarth and animals are hibernating in their dens, Mi'kmaqtraditionally honourtherestful sleep of winter with a midwinter gathering.

It's atime of reflection, gratitude and renewal and these values were echoed in the teachings, feasts and ceremonies hosted by the MillbrookFirst Nation near Truro, N.S.,on Sunday.

TheMidwinter Mawio'mi Gatheringtook place at the Millbrook Culture andHeritage Centreand the Millbrook Community Hall tocelebrate Mi'kmawtraditions with bothceremony and laughter.

The event included a game tournament, feast, pipe ceremony, storytelling and a traditional dance competition, but the emphasis wasn't on the competitive elements it was on conservingauthentic Mi'kmaw culture.

Organizer Michael R.Denny put theevent together through his work at Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey, an educational organization that focuses on language and cultural revitalization in Nova Scotia.

Kina'matnewey serves 12 of the 13 Mi'kmaw communities in Nova Scotia and supports schools curriculum throughout the province.

Muiwalu'kik skwijinu'k

"Muiwalu'kik skwijinu'k: you're honouring the people, honouring the elders" said Denny.

Denny said elders havekeptthe culture alive by protecting and sharing their teachings and having the foresight to record it.

"We're not reinventing anything. It's always been there, it's been sleeping and this is the younger generation bringing it back, waking it up," Denny said.

The gathering beganwith a waltes tournament,a traditional Mi'kmaw game played with a hardwood bowl, six flat disc dice that are typically made of moose bones, and scoring sticks, some called old men and old women.

Madeline "Sugar" Paulette is an elder from Eskasoniin Cape Breton who has a long-held passionfor thegame.

"It's one of our oldest traditional games It's over 5,000 years old," said Paulette.

Paulette is filled with pride when she watches the youth now able to openly play thegame that was once taken away.

European missionaries called walteswitchcraftbecause the bowls were also used infuture-telling or divination ceremonies.

The waltes games were outlawed due to a 1895 amendment to The Indian Act, banning all Indigenous ceremonies and cultural practices.

"Waltes was underground for such a long time and now it's out in the open and a lot of families have them now at their homes and they're playing," said Paulette.

"That's a big, big stepWe've been here and nobody noticed, but people are now noticing our games."

The community also hosted a feast alongside Apuknajit teachings from Gerald Gloade, researcher and historian from Mi'kmawey Debert Centre.Apuknajit is the spirit of winter who represents a time when survival is the most difficult due to the challenges of hunting and gathering in the cold weather.

Traditionally a feast is offered to the spirit of Apuknajit in hopes of appeasing him in order to have a safe passage to springtime.

Mi'kmaw oral traditions and legends describe Apuknajitas a Mi'kmuesu:a Mi'kmawwizard and shape shifter who can take on the appearance of any animal.

This winter offering was integral to Mi'kmaq, not only for appeasement of thewinter god but also to offer thanks for what you've been given thus far in both nutritional and emotionalsustenance throughout the cold months.

Following the feast, a pipe ceremony was held by fourelders, knowledge keepers and pipe carriers to ground the event in sacred ceremonial energy.These powerful pipe carriers carried out this nourishing ceremony to honour the significance of the winter months and carry the prayers of the people who gathered to take part.

The evening ended in a kojua competition. Kojua is a traditional Mi'kmawsong and dance performed with a ji'kmaqn,a traditional Mi'kmawinstrument,made of split ash wood.

Sarah Prosper is a dancer from Eskasoni who took part in thekojua competition.

Prosper saidthese types ofgatherings have beenmissed in communitiesand elders shared some teachings about how people used to attenddance gatherings that would go all night long.

"You could really feel the people proud of who they are" said Prosper."We invited the sacredness of our own social dances to midwinter."

OrganizerDenny said the event left him feeling quite emotional, with itsstrong turnout of community members and elders from across the Atlantic provinces.

To see all the people dancing left him thinking back totimes when kojua was something that wasn't so widely celebrated.

"If [the elders]didn't record these songs ... if they didn't think about kojua, It wouldn't have survived," said Denny.

"I've been singing, I've been putting in my work into this. It's paid off and in such a good way I recognize my elders who I get those teachings from because if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be able to do this."

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