| YEAR |
HISTORICAL
EVENT
|
| 1398 |
According to Scottish legend,
Earl Henry Sinclair journeys across the Atlantic to Nova Scotia,
anchors in Guysborough Harbour, stays for a year, then
returns home. There is a great deal of
controversy about this claim. |
| 1490 | Fishermen from Bristol
are frequenting the Maritimes |
| 1493 | Pope Alexander VI’s "Inter
caetera" Bull divides the new world between Spain and Portugal |
| 1497 |
Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) claims Cape Breton Island
(Newfoundland? Labrador?) for England.
He brings back evidence of inhabitants, but claimed to meet none. |
| 1498 | Caboto and 4 ships lost enroute to North America |
| 1500 |
Gaspar Corte Real (Portugal)
explores east coast, and takes native (possibly Mi'kmaq) slaves; ship is lost at sea |
| 1521 |
João Álvares Fagundes
(Portugal) attempts a settlement in the Maritimes - the final
outcome is not known for certain. |
| 1524 |
Giovanni da Verrazano (Florence) and
Esteban Gómez (Portugal) explore Acadia - Gómez reportedly takes 58 natives from Maine or NS,
and Verrazano takes one. |
| 1534 |
Jacques Cartier explores Gulf of St. Lawrence - briefly trades with Mi'kmaq in Bay of Chaleur |
| 1537 | Papal bull
"Sublimis Deus Sic Dilexit" of Pope Paul III states Native peoples were "veritable men capable of reasoning and receiving divine grace", that they were not to be annihilated as adversaries or reduced to slavery, "like poor beasts of burden." |
| 1540 | French Bretons fishing off coast of Acadia, due to crowding on Grand Banks |
| 1566 |
Italian cartographer Paolo Forlani produces a
map of North America which first shows L'arcadia (Acadia) and
includes the name "Canada". (The map is sometimes inaccurately
accredited to Bolognini Zaltieri.) |
| 1581 | Organized fur trade
begins, a private venture of Breton and Norman merchants. |
| 1588 |
Henry III of France grants North American fur trade monopoly to consortium of
French merchants to secure his hold on the French throne.
|
| 1603 |
Sieur de Monts obtains charter to all the land lying between 40th-46th degree north latitude.
Samuel de Champlain publishes 'Les Sauvages', about the natives he met during his explorations
|
| 1604 | The French over-winter on an island in the St. Croix River,
Maine; many
die of scurvy and frostbite. |
| 1605 | The
French move to what will become Nova Scotia, and Port Royal, the first permanent French settlement in North America,
is founded. |
| 1606 |
Marc Lescarbot's first contact with the
Mi'kmaq. He writes the earliest detailed records of Mi'kmaw life.
|
| 1607 | Fur trade rivalry leads to Tarrateen War between the Mi'kmaq and the Abenaki - it will last 8 years.
|
| 1608 | French abandon most of their posts in Acadia and Maine in favour of lucrative fur trading
opportunities in Québec. |
| 1610 | The Concordat Wampum Belt with the Vatican
is created, affirming the Mi'kmaw right to choose Catholicism, Mi'kmaw tradition, or both.
Kjikeptin Pesamoet spends a year in France and realizes that good relations with a large number of French settlers would mean accepting and protecting the Catholic religion.
Kjisaqmaw Maupeltuk is credited with being the first Indigenous North American to be baptized as a sign of alliance and friendship. He
takes the name
Henri Membertou, and claims to be 100 years old at this time.
|
| 1611 | Kjisaqmaw Maupeltuk
(Membertou) dies. On his deathbed he refuses to go to the Christian heaven, because he
wants to be with the rest of his relatives. |
| 1615 | Mi'kmaw
warriors sweep south through the Abenaki villages in Maine, kill leader
Onemechin, and end the Tarrateen War. |
| 1617 | Mi'kmaw warriors returning from Maine bring plagues that kill almost three-quarters of the
Mi'kmaw population. |
| 1620 | Census puts
Mi'kmaw population at about 4000, from pre-contact population estimated at 35,000. |
| 1621 | James I of England grants Acadia to Sir William Alexander, who renames it New Scotland (Nova Scotia) |
| 1627 | Compagnie des
Cent-Associés (Company of One Hundred Associates) is founded to establish a French Empire in North America |
| 1629 | St. Anne's Chapel established by
Jesuit missionary
Barthélemy Vimont
at Vieux Point. St. Anne
is adopted by the Mi'kmaq as their patron saint.
|
| 1631 |
Charles de la Tour builds Fort La Tour (a.k.a. Fort Saint Marie) at the mouth of the Saint John River |
| 1632 | British lose control of Acadia due to the Treaty of
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Isaac de Razilly sails from France with 300 people hoping to establish a permanent French settlement in Acadia
Capuchins establish a school at LeHave for Mi'kmaw children.
|
| 1667 | France, England and the Netherlands sign the Breda Treaty,
and with this, England gives Acadia to France |
| 1675 | Abenaki drawn into the King Philip's War with the New England colonists. |
| 1676 |
Father Chrétien Le Clercq began his work in Gaspesia. He was the first to use
ideographic (so-called 'hieroglyphic') characters to teach
the Mi'kmaq.
Maritime Indigenous Nations re-organized into the Waponahkiyik (Wabanaki Confederacy). Its major members included the
Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, and Abenaki.
In Dover, New Hampshire,
Major-General Richard Waldron invites 400 Wabanaki delegates to a peace conference. Once there, the delegates are captured, 8 are hanged and many more are sold into slavery.
|
| 1689 | The
Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, and Maliseet attack the frontier towns in Maine and New Hampshire;
Maj-Gen Waldron killed. Sixteen other English forts in New England are also destroyed.
The English declare war on all "Eastern Indians" and offer a bounty on scalps. The English, with the help of the Kanien'kehá:ha (Mohawk), attack the Wabanaki settlements on the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers, and the Wabanaki retaliate by attacking New York and Falmouth, Maine. The French encourage the Wabanaki to continue their fight with the English, but
provide little support.
|
| 1697 | Treaty of Ryswick restores the status quo between France & England; Acadia is returned to the French |
| 1699 | Treaty executed at Mare's Point in Casco Bay Maine. |
| 1700 | Population of Acadia is 1,400 |
| 1702 | The Queen Anne's War
breaks out. |
| 1703 | 200 Mi'kmaq and 30 Frenchmen
attack squatter-settlements along the St. Croix River and the coast of Maine. The English
declare war on all Wabanaki nations and offer bounties for their scalps. The Indigenous village of Pigwacket
is attacked and destroyed. |
| 1704 | An Abenaki raid from Canada
destroys Deerfield, Massachusetts. |
| 1705 | The French and their Wabanaki allies attack Deerfield,
Massachusetts. The English retaliate by attacking and destroying the Indigenous settlement of Norridgewock, Maine. The English
raid Mi'kmaq and French settlements along the coast of Nova Scotia. |
| 1710 |
Port Royal surrendered to
General
Francis Nicholson; renamed Annapolis Royal. The British use
Mohawk warriors to track Mi'kmaw and Abenaki raiders. |
| 1711 | First
Battle of Bloody Creek, near Annapolis Royal: a small detachment
of British soldiers, sent to harass an encampment of Mi'kmaq, find
themselves badly outnumbered by recently-arrived Acadian and
Penobscot allies, and are beaten. |
| 1713 | Treaty of Utrecht cedes French Acadia to England; Mi'kmaw land claims are ignored.
Treaty of Portsmouth signed with the St. John River
Maliseet, Mi'kmaw and Abenaki Nations. This includes a clause which
recognizes that the aboriginal Nations were not to be molested in their lands and were "to enjoy free liberty for hunting, fishing, fowling, and all other lawful liberties and privileges."
The Wabanaki regard the Treaty of Portsmouth as the reaffirmation of the Treaty of 1699 at Mare's Point, limiting English settlements to west of the Kennebec River, while the English keep Port Royal (Annapolis Royal). The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet state that Acadia belongs to them, and the French King cannot give it to the English, since he does not own it. The English make efforts to win over the Wabanaki by using superior goods and ceremonial presents for the
fur trade. They also try to get the Wabanaki to expel French soldiers and Priests from their villages without much success. The Mi'kmaq
don't sign the Treaty of Portsmouth. The English see the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and the Treaty of Portsmouth as an opportunity to regain the settlements of Saco, Scarborough, and Falmouth, and a new chance to exploit the Wabanaki territories between the Kennebec and St. Croix rivers, in violation of the treaty.
|
| 1716 |
Antoine Gaulin, priest of the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères in
Quebec,
establishes a mission at Antigonish in order to induce the Mi'kmaq to settle and farm the land. |
| 1717 | A church
is approved for the Mi'kmaq of
Antigonish.
Settlement from New England begins to expand northward into Abenaki lands. The French
fight back with their Jesuit missionaries (most notably
Father Sebastian Rasles), who encourage the Abenaki and Mi'kmaq to resist the encroachment with violence if necessary. Conferences between New England and Abenaki representatives
fail to reach any agreement.
|
| 1719 | The English build Fort George, claiming that the land was deeded to them in 1963 by Penobscot leader
Madokawando. The Penobscot deny that the land was ever signed away.
The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet refuse to conduct any trade with the British at Annapolis Royal.
|
| 1720 | The British establish more settlements east of the Kennebec River. The Mi'kmaq respond by harassing settlers and traders all along the frontier, and pillage the
fishing settlement of Canso, as well as plundering a number of English trading vessels. The Kennebecs also kill farm animals in the new settlements. In November, the English demand 200 pelts as a payment for damages, as well as 4 Indigenous hostages as a guarantee for future good behaviour by the
Kennebecs. Against the advise of their allies, the Kennebecs send 4 hostages to the English, with the understanding that they would be released upon payment of
200 pounds of beaver pelts. When payment is made, the English
refuse to release their 4 prisoners because they feel the payment was not a sufficient show of good faith.
French settlers from Newfoundland build the massive fortress at Louisbourg, which dominated the entire area, and the Acadian French
refuse to sign an oath of loyalty to Great Britain.
|
| 1721 | Trying to keep the Mi'kmaq at peace,
Richard Phillips, the British governor of Nova Scotia,
calls a meeting with the Mi'kmaq at Annapolis Royal. Promises are made for increased trade and larger annual presents. The
Mi'kmaq, however, are not satisfied with promises and remain restless, keeping the British garrisons in Nova Scotia on constant alert. The
Mi'kmaq, Abenaki, Penobscot, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Innu, Algonquin, and Wendat (Huron) send a letter of ultimatum to the Governor-General of New England demanding the release of the 4 prisoners and a withdrawal of the English from their new settlements along the Kennebec River.
The English respond by kidnapping Father Rasles. |
| 1722 | The Wabanaki respond to
the kidnapping of Rasles by declaring war.
A Kennebec war-party captures 9 families at Merrymeeting Bay, but
release them all except for 5 men, who are retained as compensation for the 4 hostages held by the English. More than 18 trading vessels around the Bay of Fundy are captured, Brunswick settlement is destroyed,
and Georgetown is attacked.
Massachusetts declares war on the Wabanaki after several violent confrontations on the New England frontier. Dummer's War, also known as English-Indian War, Räle War or Father Rasles War. Bounties are offered for every Wabanaki scalp brought in, man, woman, or child.
22 Mi'kmaq, while visiting around Annapolis Royal, are taken hostage to the fort.
|
| 1723 | The Wabanaki surround Annapolis Royal and control most of Maine, and
Massachusetts itself is in danger of being taken. That same year, the English attack and destroy the Penobscot village of Old Town, Maine. The English lose a battle at
Pigwacket. |
| 1724 | A colonial army
attacks and burns Kennebec village of Norridgewock on Maine's upper Kennebec River.
The British kill and mutilate Father Rasles in this battle,
leading to open rebellion in Acadia despite threats of deportation. 50 Mi'kmaq warriors
retaliate by attacking the British garrison at Annapolis Royal. |
| 1725 | The Abenaki
suffer another defeat at the hands of New England during the spring, after which resistance
ends.
April: Massachusetts sends 3 peace emissaries to Montreal to
discuss land issues in return for Peace. The Indigenous people
demand that the English abandon the Country from the Saco River
to Annapolis Royal.
Lt. Governor William Dummer sends peace ambassadors to the Penobscot. The Penobscot Loron and Ahanquid are appointed as spokesmen for the Peace-Treaty by the Mi'kmaq and
Maliseet, and a cease-fire is established.
July: The Penobscot drop their insistence that the English abandon all settlements as far south as Boston, in return for a comprehensive proposal on Land-Rights for both English and Penobscot.
August: The Governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia agree to participate in the Boston Peace Conference.
November: Four Penobscot leaders, representing the Penobscot, Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Kennebec, come to Boston to negotiate a Peace settlement, while William Dummer
represents all the British interests.
In December, Major
Paul Mascarene of Annapolis Royal brings his articles of submission and agreement to the Penobscot delegates. The Penobscot refuse to
acknowledge King George's dominion over their territory, for they consider themselves a free people and not bound to any King.
Mascarene includes this article in the final agreement anyway. The English recognize Mi'kmaq and Maliseet rights to hunting, fishing, fowling, and planting crops.
On December 15, Dummer's Treaty is signed by Dummer and the 4 Penobscot delegates.
|
| 1726 | Several
groups of Mi'kmaq sign the Mascarene's Articles, as do the
Maliseet, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy leaders. The Penobscot ratify Dummer's Treaty at Falmouth, Casco Bay, Maine, and promise to bring delegates from other Indigenous Nations to sign. After returning home, the Penobscot dispute the article that implies the Penobscot would join the English to fight other Indigenous Nations if they broke the Peace. The Kennebec and Arresaguntacook sign the Dummer Treaty and agree to fight with the English to keep the Peace. |
| 1727 | Because of encroachment, the Mi'kmaq attack the English settlement of Placentia, Newfoundland, as well as
a number of ships. |
| 1728 | The Maliseet ratify Dummer's Treaty and other Mi'kmaq agree to Peace. |
| 1729 | The Government of England orders the rebuilding of the Fort at
Pemaquid, and the survey of the lands between the Penobscot and St. Croix rivers for future settlement, in direct violation of Dummer's Treaty. Nova Scotia also claims jurisdiction over lands as far west as the Kennebec River, Maine. |
| 1730 | Britain revokes its survey project in order to keep the Peace.
The Mi'kmaq prevent the English from building a supply house at Minas, Nova Scotia, saying that King George has no rights
there. The Mi'kmaq also burn down a coal-mining operation and settlement at Chignecto. |
| 1735 |
Abbé
Maillard arrives at Louisbourg and begins work on a Mi'kmaw
grammar book. Lt. Governor Armstrong of Nova Scotia writes a letter of conciliation to the Maliseet when violence erupts over the issue of land surveyors in the area. A British ship is ransacked by the Cape Sable Mi'kmaq for violations of the Treaty. |
| 1735 | The Arrasaguntacook complain to Belcher that the English were not limiting their settlements to the seacoasts as they had agreed in the
Peace Treaty. Belcher evades the issue by saying that he can't answer any general complaints, but
needs specific examples. |
| 1744 | Britain and France
go to war again (King George's War.) The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet
attack British outposts.
May: 300 French soldiers and 200 Wabanaki attack and capture the English fort at
Canso, Nova Scotia, capturing 80 English soldiers and burning the fort to the ground.
July - September: 300 Mi'kmaw and Maliseet warriors attack Fort Annapolis. The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet succeed in capturing some English soldiers and burning down part of the town of Annapolis, but can't capture the fort.
The Government of Massachusetts declares war against the Mi'kmaq and the
Maliseet, and offers a bounty for their scalps.
|
| 1745 | The Massachusetts scalp bounty is extended to include the Penobscot, Kennebec and
Passamaquoddy. A 4000 man combined British and colonial army
captures Louisbourg in June. |
| 1746 | The French Acadians
are officially neutral but so open in their sympathy for the Mi'kmaq that Governor Shirley of Massachusetts
demands their removal from Nova Scotia.
July: Boston sends a raiding party to
Prince Edward Island, but is ambushed near York River by 200
Mi'kmaq.
The Mi'kmaq suffer an epidemic, which kills 1/3 of their population. The French
accuse the British of deliberate infection.
|
| 1747 | 400 French and
Mi'kmaw troops attack the English at
Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. The English surrender and are permitted to retreat to Fort Annapolis.
France loses Fortress Louisburg to the English. |
| 1748 | The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle returns Cape Breton Island to France. The French
end their support for the Mi'kmaq on Cape Breton Island, which
ends most of the fighting in that vicinity. |
| 1749 |
Colonel Edward Cornwallis arrives as the new governor of Nova Scotia, and
establishes a strongly fortified settlement in Halifax. The English also occupy Minas with troops and a small fort. The Mi'kmaq retaliate by attacking
the fort, as well as ships at Canso and Chignecto. Cornwallis
offers £10 for every Mi'kmaw scalp or prisoner and dispatches an
expedition under
Silvanus Cobb to hunt down and kill
Mi'kmaq.
August: the Maliseet and the
Chignecto Mi'kmaq come to Halifax to renew the Dummer's Treaty and Mascarene's Articles.
September 29: Treaty of 1749 (Dummer's Treaty and Mascarene's Articles)
|
| 1750 | Governor Cornwallis
sends several hundred men to Chignecto to erect Fort Lawrence, in the middle of
Mi'kmaw country. The French allies of the Mi'kmaq
respond by building Fort Beausejour on higher ground north of the English fort. The Mi'kmaq also
raid Dartmouth.
The price of scalps is raised to £50. |
| 1751 | The fighting
continues across the Chigneto Isthmus, but by summer Cornwallis
orders ranger companies to disband, as too many questionable scalps
have been turned in for payment, including several which are
unmistakably European. |
| 1752 | Realizing that they cannot stop the Mi'kmaw raids against the settlements, the English propose a new Peace Treaty. |
| 1753 |
Thomas Wood and SPG Missionary
start work on a Mi'kmaw grammar dictionary and bible. |
| 1754 | Governor Cornwallis
is replaced by
Charles Lawrence.
Abbé Le Loutre, Vicar-General of Acadia, writes to Governor Lawrence
to inform him that the Mi'kmaq and Malecites had held a council at
Fort Beausejour and wished to submit a peace proposal. The
Governor's Council rejects it as 'insolent and absurd.' |
| 1754 | French and Indian
War begins, and will last nine years |
| 1755 |
Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, who had been agitating for a
campaign to drive the French from Nova Scotia, is given permission
to do so by the Secretary of State, Sir Thomas Robinson. The
Secretary also orders Shirley to collaborate on this effort with
Governor Lawrence, who had advocated the same policy. The two
governors correspond and jointly plan for an expedition to be sent
to Chignecto in the spring of 1755. The expedition, consisting of
2,000 New England militia and 250 British regulars from Fort
Lawrence, lays siege to Fort Beausejour on 12 June 1755. The French
capitulate four days later. This successful action by the British
effectively removes French influence from Nova Scotia. Mi'kmaq
raid isolated settlements in Nova Scotia, with British fishing boats as a main target.
The Penobscot raid frontier settlements in Maine.
Expulsion of Acadians begins. The Mi'kmaq hide many Acadians to save them from being deported. Many Acadians
flee into the forests and fight a guerilla war beside the
Mi'kmaq.
|
| 1756 |
British once again offer bounties for Mi'kmaw scalps.
Governor Duquesne of Canada
sends secret instructions to
Abbé Le Loutre, urging him to keep the Mi'kmaq at war with the British. |
| 1757 | Second
Battle
of Bloody Creek near Annapolis Royal. |
| 1758 | British Army sweeps through remaining Acadian settlements, and also takes Louisburg. An amphibious English attack destroys the Mi'kmaw village of Eskinuopitijk and burns the local church, which is how the village became known as Burnt Church. |
| 1760 | An attempt by the French fleet to reinforce Québec
ends in defeat at a naval battle fought near
Listuguj, which involved Mi'kmaq and Acadians. Several groups of
Mi'kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet sign treaties with the British during this year. |
| 1761 | The majority of the Mi'kmaq
follow the previous groups in signing peace treaties with the British. The "Burying of the Hatchet Ceremony"
celebrates the successful conclusion of the treaties. |
| 1762 | Despite the peace treaties, when the British first
try to settle at the lower St. John, the Maliseet warn survey crews to remain well down the river.
Lieutenant-Governor Belcher of Nova Scotia issues a proclamation
forbidding the settlement or trespass of certain lands claimed by
natives. |
| 1763 | End
of French and Indian War - Treaty of Paris gives Canada (New France and Acadia) to England. |
| 1764 | A plan for future management of
Indian affairs is created. |
| 1769 | Prince Edward Island becomes a separate colony |
| 1770 | The Maliseet
sign peace treaties with the British. |
| 1776 | Treaty
is signed between the Americans and delegates of the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet,
stating that the Mi'kmaw Nation and America would help one another against any enemy. Most of the
Mi'kmaw people
do not agree with this arrangement, therefore this treaty does not last. |
| 1779 | The final treaty between the Mi'kmaq and the British
is signed. The Mi'kmaq cease to be a military threat. |
| 1782 | Loyalist refugees from New York
flee to Maritimes. The Mi'kmaw population is now outnumbered and no longer considered to be a threat to the British. They
are placed on reservations. |
| 1783 | The Colonial Government of Nova Scotia
grant licenses of occupation to several Mi'kmaq Bands, which are merely confirmation of the
existence of settlements already established. |
| 1786 |
Charles Morris
is commissioned to carry out an extensive survey of lands assigned to the
Mi'kmaq. |
| 1789 | Schools for
Mi'kmaw children
are established. |
| 1794 | The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great
Britain allows the Mi'kmaq to cross the international border without hindrance. |
| 1800 | The
Joint Committee for Indians is struck to study the plight of the
Mi'kmaq. |
| 1801 | The Nova Scotia government
creates ten Mi'kmaq Reserves. |
| 1804 |
Jean-Mandé
Sigogne
compiles a book of Mi'kmaq translations. |
| 1807 | Lieutenant-Governor
Sir John Wentworth
orders a census be taken of the Mi'kmaq population. |
| 1812 | War
of 1812 - Mi'kmaq remain neutral at their own request. |
| 1820 | Charles Morris
is ordered to submit a plan for tracts of land, which were to be returned to the
Mi'kmaq. |
| 1822 | The Mi'kmaq of St. George's Bay, Newfoundland
build their own schooner. |
| 1829 | The last known
Beothuk,
Nancy Shanawdithit, dies of tuberculosis. |
| 1840 |
Silas T. Rand, a Baptist Minister,
compiles a Mi'kmaq Dictionary. |
| 1841 | John Denny Jr. was born. Denny
is to become the last Mi'kmaq Kjisaqmaw to acquire his title by succeeding his father. |
| 1848 |
Abraham
Gesner, the Indian Commissioner, settles 14 Mi'kmaq families at
Shubenacadie. |
| 1850 | An Act for Lower Canada
defines the term "Indian" and establishes the criteria for eligibility for Indian Status. |
| 1851 | The criteria for Indian Status in 1850
is revised to state that Indian ancestry was through the male line. If a Native woman married a Non-Native man, her child could not claim Indian Status. |
| 1855 | The Nova Scotia government
enacts legislation for the purpose of taking title to all lands reserved for the exclusive use of the Mi'kmaq and to hold it in trust for them. |
| 1857 | An Act for the enfranchisement of Indian tribes
is introduced, offering 20 hectares of land as an incentive. Natives
reject the Act. |
| 1859 | An Act
is passed which allows squatters to buy the land on which they are
trespassing, allowing settlers to obtain land set aside for the
Mi'kmaq. |
| 1866 |
Samuel P. Fairbanks, Commissioner of Crown Lands and Indian Affairs,
prepares a schedule of lands to be set apart for the
Mi'kmaq. Kauders' religious books in Mi'kmaw ideograms are published in Vienna. |
| 1867 | The Dominion of Canada
is established. At confederation the control of Native issues is given to the Federal Government. |
| 1868 | The
Indian Act
is created. |
| 1869 | The
Gradual Enfranchisement Act is passed to lure Indigenous citizens into giving up their special status and to give them Canadian-style property rights, thereby encouraging their assimilation into the new Canada. |
| 1876 | The Indian Act establishes the Department of Indian Affairs. In order to become a Canadian, Mi'kmaq
must relinquish their Indian Status. |
| 1888 |
George
Creed, a postmaster in Hants County, traces some 350 Mi'kmaw
petroglyphs at Kejimkujik. |
| 1894 |
Father Pacifique
translates prayers into
Mi'kmaq. |
| 1900 | The Mi'kmaw flag
is first raised in Listuguj on October 4 and in Halifax in 1901. |
| 1914 | Over 150
Mi'kmaw men
sign up during World War I. |
| 1918 | Gabriel J. Sylliboy
becomes the first elected Kjisaqmaw at a ceremony in Potlotek (Chapel Island). |
| 1925 | Sydney Band of Mi'kmaq is relocated from its traditional meeting location along the waterfront of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Reasons given by both the judiciary and politicians are that the presence of the Indians
is affecting the property values of their
neighbours. |
| 1929 |
Rex. v. Sylliboy
becomes an important precedent-setting case in which the Treaty of 1752
is held not to give the Mi'kmaq of Cape Breton Island immunity from the Lands and Forests Act. This was over-ruled in 1985 by
R. v. Simon
case. |
| 1930 | The Indian Residential School in Shubenacadie
opens. |
| 1939 | World War
II begins - over 250 Mi'kmaq volunteer. |
| 1942 | The Indian Affairs Branch
introduces centralization programs in Nova Scotia, to relocate the Mi'kmaq to reserves located at Eskasoni and
Shubenacadie. |
| 1945 | The Veterans Land Act grant
is used to buy houses for veterans returning from World War II. |
| 1949 | The government
loses interest in Centralization and, because of resistance, only half of the Nova Scotian Mi'kmaw population was relocated. |
| 1950 | Korean
War - over 60 Mi'kmaq enlist. |
| 1951 | Revisions
are made to the Indian Act, removing the ban against performing traditional ceremonies as well as
a clause forbidding aboriginals from entering public bars. |
| 1956 | The Canadian Government
grants citizenship to aboriginals. |
| 1958 | 8 of 11
Mi'kmaw bands in Nova Scotia
take over control of their own affairs, including the management of band funds. |
| 1960 | The Canadian Government
permits aboriginals to vote in federal and provincial elections without any loss of their Status under the Indian Act. |
| 1967 | Residential
school at Shubenacadie closes |
| 1969 | Pierre
Trudeau
introduces the White Paper Policy entitled "Statement
of the Government of Canada on Indian policy" in an attempt to make aboriginal people adopt the values and culture of Canadians of European
descent. It would eliminate special status for aboriginal people and repeal the Indian Act. |
| 1970 | The federal government
begins funding native groups and associations to conduct research into treaties and aboriginal rights. |
| 1971 | Trudeau's
White Paper Policy
is withdrawn. Donald Marshall Junior is wrongly imprisoned for
murder. |
| 1973 | The Acadia Band
becomes the twelfth band in Nova Scotia. |
| 1976 |
Anna
Mae Pictou Aquash, activist and American Indian Movement member,
is killed in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota. |
| 1977 | The Mi'kmaq
Sante' Mawio'mi and UNSI
present their Aboriginal Rights position paper to the Minister of Indian Affairs. |
| 1980 | Mi'kmaq
adopt the Francis-Smith writing system. |
| 1981 | The Constitution Act recognizes existing aboriginal and treaty rights.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee finds that Canada’s Indian act is in violation of international law based on its discriminatory provisions towards
women, based on the case of
Sandra Lovelace and her loss of Indian status when she married a
non-aboriginal man.
|
| 1982 | Treaty and Aboriginal Rights
are recognized under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Donald Marshal Junior cleared of murder charge and freed. |
| 1983 | Mi'kmaw
petroglyphs
are found in Bedford, Nova Scotia. |
| 1984 | Conne River Indian Reserve
(now Miawpukek) is recognized as a status First Nations Community as defined by the Indian Act of Canada. |
| 1985 | Supreme Court ruling
"James Matthew Simon vs. The Queen" holds that the 1752 Treaty was still valid and enforceable.
Bill C-31 goes into effect permitting the re-instatement of 8,000 individuals to Indian Status. |
| 1986 | The
Sante' Mawio'mi
announces that October 1st would be known as "Treaty Day" to commemorate the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and Her Majesty.
The Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. Prosecution is established by the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. |
| 1990 | Donald
Marshall Junior receives apology from province and $270,000
compensation. The Marshall Inquiry Report highlights the inadequacies of the Nova Scotia justice system in regards to the Mi'kmaq people.
The Supreme Court of Canada "R. vs. Sparrow" decision holds that the Crown must honour its obligations and respect existing treaty and Aboriginal
rights.
|
| 1991 | The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is established to examine Aboriginal issues in detail and to come up with recommendations for solutions to creating improved relations with the government and Indigenous Peoples in Canada. |
| 1993 | A Policing Agreement
is signed by the Nova Scotia and federal government with the Union of Nova Scotia Indians. |
| 1994 | The Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia and
the Minister of Indian Affairs sign an accord which would allow
Mi'kmaw jurisdiction over education. |
| 1995 | The Canadian Government launches plans for negotiating Aboriginal self-government.
The Minister of Indian Affairs issues department policy, which recognized an inherent right to self-government. |
| 1996 | On April 23, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples' 5-volume
report is released
following a 5 year study. June 21 is designated
National Aboriginal Day. |
| 1997 | December 11, the Supreme Court of Canada rules that the concept of Aboriginal title is affirmed and also recognized in law.
Delgamuukw
decision states
inter alia that Indian title cannot be sold, surrendered or extinguished without the consent of First Nations and can only be alienated to the Federal Crown.
Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia, the Province of Nova Scotia, and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Tripartite Forum.
Bill C-30 "Mi'kmaq Education Act" becomes the first agreement in Canada to transfer jurisdiction for education from the Canadian federal government to Indigenous communities.
|
| 1998 | Federal Court of Appeal upholds the Mitchell case. It affirms the 1794
Jay Treaty, Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between Great Britain and the United States, which allows the Mohawks to freely cross the Canada/US border unmolested. |
| 1999 | The Supreme Court of Canada rules that the Treaty of 1760-61 between the Mi'kmaq Nation and the Crown is valid.
In the
Marshall Decision, it re-affirms the Nation-to-Nation relationship existing between the Mi'kmaq and Canada by striking down those provisions of the Federal Fisheries Act that
limit the Mi'kmaq ability to fish for commercial purposes.
Chief Mise'l Joe and crew from Miawpukek cross the straight from
Newfoundland to Cape Breton Island in Spirit Wind, a Mi'kmaw-pattern
birchbark canoe.
|
| 2000 | Violence
at Burnt Church as DFO confronts Mi'kmaw fisherman who are trying
to exercise their rights under the Marshall Decision. |
| 2001 | Mi'kmaw
traditional marriages recognized under N.S. Solemnization of
Marriages Act. |
| 2002 | Kejimkujik
National Park officially designated National Historic Site in
recognition of millenia of Mi'kmaw history and citing 'cultural
landscape' |
| 2003 | Suspect
arrested in the murder of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash.
Unveiling of
commemorative monument (designed by Mi'kmaq artist Jean Augustine-McIsaac)
at Kejimkujik NP/NHS.
|
