We Are All Treaty People

New Dawn Enterprises, the Cape Breton Island Centre for Immigration, and The Convent stand with the Sipekne’katik First Nation and the Mi’kmaq asserting their Treaty Rights in Nova Scotia (unceded Mi’kma’ki) to pursue a moderate livelihood through a self-regulated fishery.

That right was established in the 1760 Treaty between the Mi’kmaq Nation and the British Crown and upheld in 1999 by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Donald Marshall Jr. case — guaranteeing First Nations people the right to earn a commercial livelihood from fishing and hunting.

Here are just a few of the many resources available to educate ourselves about colonization, the treaties, and the Marshall decision, to ensure we come to this conversation with some understanding of the history behind what is happening in Saulnierville:

• Treaty Education Nova Scotia: “We Are All Treaty People”: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2317846505114696&amp%3Bextid=8FJwyLtT54gg0xyY
• Pam Palmater: “Mi’kmaw State of Emergency”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Y8P9MZWds&t=23s
• Warrior Life Podcast: Cheryl Maloney on Mi’kmaw Right to Govern Fishery: https://soundcloud.com/pampalmater/cheryl-maloney-on-mikmaw-right-to-govern-fishery
• Amber Bernard: “Moderate Livelihood is Not an Illegal Fishery”: https://nsadvocate.org/2020/09/22/moderate-livelihood-is-not-an-illegal-fishery-mikmaq-fishermen-question-if-reconciliation-is-real/
• Peace & Friendship Treaties: https://mikmaqrights.com/negotiations/treaties/?fbclid=IwAR06KwQTzM7MItg8WZ6tdwEQaYu6e2Zuu1Ia6XLQnZoXVOHA2qWMA4pNsR0
• The Marshall Case: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/marshall-case

Donate

We can also direct financial resources to support Sipekne’katik First Nation:

• Send donations via e-transfer to [email protected] (Monica Beckett (Henneberry), CMA-CPA, Director of Finance, Sipekne’katik First Nation)

Several more resources, and other ways to show your support, can be found here (thanks to Charlotte Connolly (@charlierosecon) for compiling):

• https://bit.ly/3mJooWc