by MMNN contributor

Despite many obstacles with the appearance of Hurricane Fiona, many Treaty Day and Orange shirt day celebrations still took place. Unfortunately, many events such as the awards ceremonies and Veterans parade had to be postponed as many people and communities were still without power.

I myself was very fortunate to witness the launch of a Mi’kmaw canoe made by artist Todd Labrador and his daughter Melissa. For years Todd has been making birch bark canoes at Kejimkujik Nation Park and this year the one he was commissioned to make, will make its way to Peterborough, Ontario to the Canadian Canoe Museum. We were very lucky to have the curator Jeremy Ward present at the launch who also talked about the Museum and the significance of the canoe making its way to Ontario.

Before the Launch we were entertained by Keji Park Staff Ursula Johnson who sang a welcoming song that actually gave me goosebumps it was so moving, followed by Todd’s not so shy Granddaughter Na’ku’set which means Sun in Mi’kmaq who sang a feast song, she was followed with his camera by her twin brother Tepknuset (Moon).

Before the actual Launch Todd and his daughter spoke of his connection to Keji as his family lived in that area for many years, dating back to their great, great, great Grandparents and what a special place it has in his heart.

And now the time had come for the launch, after a smudge by Todd and his Grandchildren, Melissa and Todd took the canoe out for a te ...

To view the full story, you must be a subscriber. Click here for information on how to subscribe.

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,