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MI'KMAW HISTORY |
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A CULTURAL LANDSCAPE The particular part of Nova Scotia where Kejimkujik has been set apart as a National Park was for many centuries a place of encampments, fish weirs, hunting territories, portages, trails and burial grounds. A cultural landscape is a geographic area that includes both cultural and natural resources, associated with a historic event or group of people. The cultural landscape at Kejimkujik attests to the presence of the Mi'kmaq since time immemorial, and the presence of the ancient petroglyphs lends a silent voice to the lives of those who made their home in this area. The earliest known traces of the ancestors of today’s Mi’kmaq date back more than ten thousand years. They came into the Maritimes around the end of the last great ice age, as retreating glaciers revealed an inviting and fertile land. These early people, referred to as the Archaic culture, arrived in the southwestern area of Nova Scotia about 5000 years ago. THE STOPPING PLACE With its abundance of caribou, moose, freshwater fish and other staple foods, the Kejimkujik area made an ideal living site for part of the year. The Mi’kmaq used the complex system of rivers and lakes as they traveled between the south and north coasts, with Kejimkujik a regular stop at the center of the network.
Because the Mi’kmaq lived in harmony with nature, they left very little imprint on the land. However, careful research has uncovered the remains of seasonal camps, burial grounds, fish weirs, portages and trails, whose traces are still present throughout the Park. In all, over 60 sites have been identified in this area, dating between the Late Archaic and Colonial periods. Numerous artifacts have also been recovered from within the Park. All of these provided vital clues to the nature of the cultural landscape of the area. |
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