Courtesy of Alanna Syliboy Culture, Education and Engagement Manager at CMM
Local Workshop Highlights Community-Led Research And Traditional Knowledge
This spring, 15 community members gathered in Membertou First Nation for a Mi’kmaq Ecological Knowledge (MEK) workshop to share stories and observations about Kaspalew (Gaspereau) in Pitu’pa’q (Bras d’Or Lake). The session was part of Apoqnmatulti’k (‘we help each other’)—a collaborative project that brings together Mi’kmaw, local, and western scientific knowledge to generate and share information on valued aquatic species in Mi’kma’ki.
The evening workshop began with supper at 5 p.m., followed by a roundtable and prayer led by a local Mi’kmaw Elder. Hosted by three members of the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR), Shae Denny, Skyler Jeddore, and Levi Denny, the workshop created space for community voices to guide ongoing research into the Kaspalew fishery.
The focus of the evening was listening and learning from local experience. Participants were divided into small groups, and each group was guided by a facilitator who asked a series of questions about topics, including migration timing, fishing locations, and natural signs that signalled when Kaspalew would be arriving in the lake.
Fishers shared that there is not much written information about Kaspalew in Pitu’pa’q. Instead, Mi’kmaw knowledge draws on observations about the species that have been passed down through generations. Many participants spoke ...
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