Mi’kmaq Welcome

A speech by Daniel N. Paul to the Nova Scotia Tourist Association, November 16, 2003

Welcome my friends, I hope you have a pleasant visit!

I’ll start my discourse about Mi’kmaq welcome by relating how it came to be that my people always welcomed visitors to the land of the Mi’kmaq with open arms - a practice dating back into infinity. In fact, in pre-Columbian days, they often entertained visitors and traders arriving from other First Nations located across Turtle Island - our name for North America.

Such hospitality resulted from the early indoctrination of children with the worthy social values of a people friendly civilization, which our ancestors had developed with great wisdom over the ages.

One of the most important of these values, taught to the young by the Elders, was that the Great Spirit created all people equal - which prevented the development in their minds of biases against people who were different. Thus, intolerance was not a vice harboured in the hearts of the Mi’kmaq.

In view of this, it should come as no surprise to anyone that during 1604 my ancestors welcomed strange looking visitors to their land. When Champlain and ship’s company landed on our shores, in spite of their white skins, bearded faces, strange clothing and behaviour, they were warmly welcomed by the Mi’kmaq as brothers and sisters. The most important among the Mi’kmaq Peoples values, which made hospitality to strangers a must, was personal honour. It was an individuals most valued personal asset. To fail to keep one’s word, or to be disrespectful of others, was punishable by being ostracized by peers. A fate considered worst than death.

Therefore, children were taught to be generous and non - confrontational with each another, or with strangers. This is how Bernard Gilbert Hoffman, a history researcher, described it:

“The behaviour pattern required of any Micmac was such as too virtually eliminate any overt and direct forms of aggression. The ideal man was one who was restrained and dignified in all his actions, who maintained a stolid exterior under all circumstances, who deprived himself of his possessions to take care of the poor, aged, or sick, or the less fortunate, who was generous and hospitable to strangers . . .”

Historian, Cornelius J. Jaenen, provides an excellent example of how Europeans were flustered by such civil behaviour. He, when discussing First Nations Peoples attitudes toward religious conversion, relates that Calvin Martin found it was sometimes difficult to distinguish between genuine conversion and a tolerant assent to strange views. Martin’s description:

“Such generosity even extended to the abstract realm of ideas, theories, stories, news and teachings. The Native host prided himself on his ability to entertain and give assent to a variety of views, even if they were contrary to his better judgement. In this institutionalized hospitality, lies the key to understanding the frustration of the Priest, whose sweet converts one day were the relapsed heathens of the next. Conversion was often more a superficial courtesy, rather than an eternal commitment, something the Jesuits could not fathom”

Now for something that may seem incredible to you, especially when compared with modern society’s values, our ancestors had no notion of greed. All shared alike. It was what can be described as a “you” society, performing at it’s best, no personal enrichment. Thus, greed, an insidious evil that is still bedeviling modern society, was not a problem for them. The absence of it made it easy for the Mi’kmaq to give gifts of precious possessions to visiting friends and strangers. Such was a fundamental part of Mi’kmaq life. Jaenen explains:

“The French often commented on the absence of a sense of exclusive ownership of goods and lands among both nomadic and non-nomadic tribes. The observation of an officer at Louisbourg is typical of such comments: "They are very uncaring about paying the debt they contract, not from natural dishonesty, but from their having no notion of property, or of owing a debt. They will sooner part with all they have, in the shape of a gift, than with anything in that of payment. Honours and goods being all in common amongst them, all the numerous vices, which are founded upon those two motives, are not to be found in them.”

This is the type of welcome that Nova Scotians must endeavor to bring to the fore again. Visitors must be treated with consideration and respect. They must never be viewed as passers through, who will never return, and whose money can be taken without giving them excellent value in exchange.

When they come, treat them like beloved visiting members of the family circle, give them quality value for their money. This will cause them to return and cause them to encourage others to come visit. Warm feelings of satisfaction instilled in visitors by caring hosts is what a healthy tourist industry is built from.

Such a universal new approach is a must. I say this because I’ve often seen in recent years, like most of you probably have, the quality of the offerings of the province’s hospitality industry to guests diminished in favour of a better profit line. In fact, many have been so successful at this endeavour, that they have, in pursuit of the paper profits offered by penny-pinching efficiency experts, put themselves out of business.

You, my friends, Nova Scotia’s hosts, must be cautious not to be lured by such corporate short term thinking –– the investments each of you input into the hospitality and welcome industry will return a hundred fold if visitor satisfaction is high.

It’s wise to remember: The best way to make and keep a new friend, is to lavish on him or her the very best you can offer!

In closing, I strongly urge you to try the Mi’kmaq way. It’s tried, tested and proven. If you need proof of the veracity of this declaration about the effectiveness of Mi’kmaq hospitality look around you - we have close to a million visitors abiding in this part of Mi’kmaq land, who show no sign of preparing to leave!

All the best!

Daniel N. Paul

Wiklatmu'j - Stone People

By George Paul - Eskasoni, March 27, 2004

Edited by Daniel N. Paul

Most cultures have tales about their own little people. For example, the Irish have Leprechauns and we, the Mi'kmaq, have the Wiklatmu'j. In our folklore our little people, because they live in mountain caves, are known as the Stone People. In most cases, fictitious tales told by parents about the deeds they do, whether bad or good, are told to help children take the right path, or protect them from misadventure.

However, folklore or not, many Mi'kmaq people do believe that the Wiklatmu'j exist. And, they have a good idea about how they look, and how they act.

This is how historical writers describe them: They are small, but do big work. They live and dress like the old-time Mi'kmaqs and they speak Mi'kmaq. They live on Quebec's Gaspe' Peninsula, on Tracadegash Mountain, and on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. They have small arms and legs and big bodies like bullfrogs. Like other supernatural beings, they can help, for instances, by giving a man furs, or warning him of coming evil, or harm, by performing bad tricks around the house and barn.

The Wiklatmu'j are only as tall as a three-year-old child, but are as swift as lightening. They are strong and sound like birds when talking to each other. They dress light, go barefoot, and smoke a pipe. The only apparent difference between the male and female, except, of course, biological difference, is their hair. They live in the woods, write on stone, eat meat, berries and fish, and like to dance, sing and play.

One thing you don't do is disrespect the Wiklatmu'j. They are strong and they can take you down no matter how big you are.

The legend of the Wiklatmu'j still remains strong in Mi'kmaq communities, especially in Eskasoni. Thus, not surprising, Eskasoni's Mi'kmaq Center of Excellence has, for our enjoyment and preservation of our birthright, collected many stories of the people's encounters with the Wiklatmu'j. Some are modern, while others are more than 100 years old.

One old story is about a Mi'kmaq man who went hunting. He was travelling deep in the forest when he came upon two little people who asked, "What are you looking for, and where are you going?" The hunter said, "I'm looking for fur, and not going anywhere in particular."

As it was getting late, the Wiklatmu'j, showing a fine sense of hospitality, invited the hunter to stay overnight with them. To make up for taking him away from his work they promised that they would give him fur when he left. Accepting the invitation, he followed them through a door into a cliff.

Entering their village, the hunter was given a joyous welcome. He enjoyed their hospitality so much, especially the variety of fascinating games he played with them, that he stayed for two of their days. When the visit was over, as promised, the Wiklatmu'j gave him two bundles of fur to take home. When he arrived home, because he had been gone for two years, the family was shocked to see him, they had sadly come to believe that he had died in the forest.

A more recent story is about a girl name Mary Ann from Eskasoni. She lived near the beach and had learned about the Wiklatmu'j from her father. One day, near noon, in spite of the fact that her mother had warned her many times not to go there, she was playing at the top of a cliff overlooking the lake. She looked down and saw someone moving around near the shore.

Curious, she began to climb down to see who it was when, about half way down, she met a little man, a Wiklatmu'j. It gave her such a fright she fainted.

When she awoke, she was back on top of the cliff. Frightened, she started running for home and didn't look back to see if the Wiklatmu'j was following. Upon arrival she was out of breath and had a sore side from running so fast. When her mother saw her, she noticed that her hair was all messed up and asked, "Where have you been, your hair is in such a mess?"

Mary Ann told her mom what had happened. Her mother responded: "That's what happens to little girls when they disobey their mothers, you're lucky the Wiklatmu'j didn't take you with him." Mary Ann never again disobeyed her mother, or went back to the cliff alone.

The before mentioned are just a few of the scores of fascinating stories about individual Mi'kmaq encounters with the Wiklatmu'j, I hope you enjoyed them!