Mi'kma'ki in the context of "Mi'kmaw hieroglyphs"

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⭐ Core Definition: Mi'kma'ki

Mi'kma'ki, also spelled Mi'gma'gi, is composed of the traditional and current territories, or country, of the Mi'kmaq people, located in Wabanakia, or the Dawnland region, along the east coast of Turtle Island (North America). Protected by the Peace and Friendship Treaties signed with the British Crown, the territories of Mi'kma'ki overlap with the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and eastern Quebec, as well as parts of the U.S. state of Maine.

The Mi'kmaw homeland is sub-divided into seven geographical and traditional districts with Taqamkuk being separately represented as an eighth district, formerly joined with Unama'ki. As of 2025, governance over the Mi'kmaw nation is delegated to a number of First Nations, such as the Eskasoni and Potlotek First Nations, the latter of which is home to Mniku, the traditional capital—or fire—of Mi'kmaw Country. Historically and in the 21st century, the various Mi'kmaw communities are governed by a centralized council, the Sante' (or Mi'kmawey) Mawio'mi, composed of district chiefs (Saqamaq), a women's council (Saqama'sgw), wampum keepers (Putu's), and headed by a Grand Chief, or Kji Sagamaw, who is Norman Sylliboy as of 2025.

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👉 Mi'kma'ki in the context of Mi'kmaw hieroglyphs

Mi'kmaw hieroglyphic writing or Suckerfish script (Mi'kmawi'simk: Gomgwejui'gasit) was a writing system for the Mi'kmaw language, later superseded by various Latin scripts which are currently in use. Mi'kmaw are a Canadian First Nation whose homeland, called Mi'kma'ki, overlaps much of the Atlantic provinces, specifically all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and parts of New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

These glyphs, or gomgwejui'gaqan, although unrelated, followed a prior pictograph and petroglyph tradition, and are logograms, with phonetic elements used alongside, including logographic, alphabetic, and ideographic information. As petroglyphs and pictographs were the writing system of Hand Talk, a sign language that was the historically most spoken language on the continent, it is unknown to academia what, if any, connection there is between sign language and Suckerfish script. The gomgwejui'gasultijig take their name from the gomgwej (plural: gomgwejg) or sucker fish whose tracks are visibly left on the muddy river bottom. Mi'kmawi'sit uses several spelling systems, and the script is consequently sometimes called komqwejwi'kasikl or gomgwejui'gas'gl.

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Mi'kma'ki in the context of Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is an island province of Canada. It is the smallest province by both land area and population, and has the highest population density in Canada. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", "Birthplace of Confederation" and "Cradle of Confederation". Its capital and largest city is Charlottetown. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces.

Historically, the island has formed an integral part of the Mi'kmaw homeland, Mi'kma'ki, comprising one part of the district Epekwitk aq Piktuk (also spelled Epegwitg aq Pigtug, lit. 'PEI and Pictou'). Come 1604, Epekwitk would be colonized by the French as part of the colony of Acadia, where it became known as Isle St-Jean (St. John's Island). It was later ceded to the British at the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763 and became part of the colony of Nova Scotia. In 1769, St. John's Island became its own British colony and its name was changed to Prince Edward Island (PEI) in 1798. PEI hosted the Charlottetown Conference in 1864 to discuss a union of the Maritime provinces; however, the conference became the first in a series of meetings which led to Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867. Prince Edward Island initially balked at Confederation but, facing bankruptcy from the Land Question and construction of a railroad, joined as Canada's seventh province on July 1, 1873.

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Mi'kma'ki in the context of Mi'kmaq

The Mi'kmaq (English: /ˈmɪɡmɑː/ MIG-mah, Mi'kmaq: [miːɡmaɣ]; singular: Mi'kmaw, also L'nuk and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as Native Americans in the northeastern region of Maine. The traditional national territory of the Mi'kmaq is named Mi'kma'ki (or Mi'gma'gi); it is one of the five confederated Wabanaki (or Dawnland) countries.

As of 2023, there are 66,748 Mi'kmaq people in the region; this includes 25,182 members in the more recently formed Qalipu First Nation in Newfoundland. According to the Canadian 2021 census, 9,245 people claim to speak Mi'kmawi'simk, an Eastern Algonquian language. Once written in Mi'kmaw hieroglyphic writing, it is now written using most letters of the Latin alphabet.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Prince Edward Island ← Mi'kmaq ← Mi'kmaw hieroglyphs
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Country → Mi'kmaq → Wabanaki Confederacy → Turtle Island → North America → Peace and Friendship Treaties → British Crown → Canadian provinces → Nova Scotia → New Brunswick → Prince Edward Island → Quebec → U.S. state → Maine → District → Newfoundland (island) → Unama'ki → First Nations in Canada → Eskasoni First Nation → Potlotek First Nation → Chapel Island (Canada) → Grand Council (Mi'kmaq) → Sachem → Wampum → List of grand chiefs (Mi'kmaq) → Norman Sylliboy →