One or more of the following themes have been assigned to all items in the Mi'kmaq Resource Guide database, to describe items in similar terms as an aid to your research. Below is a glossary of related words, synonyms and 'see also' references, to clarify and expand upon the meanings of the assigned themes we have chosen.
Please note that we may include seemingly inappropriate words, such as 'teepees,' that have no real relation to Mi'kmaq history or culture. (The Mi'kmaq call their natural housing or lodging wikou'm, commonly anglicized as 'wigwam.') We have included such words in the glossary to aid the searches of people from other countries and those who are just beginning to learn about the Mi'kmaq people and culture.
Celebration and recreation (Group events; commemorations, festivities, anniversaries, observances, ceremonies, parties, sports, leisure activities, fun.)
Clothing and dress (Regalia, garments, apparel, outfits, finery, costumes, decorative wear, garb, clothes, habiliments; headgear, hats, bonnets, shoes, moccasins, dresses, jackets, suits, pants, etc.) See also: Material culture.
Conflict and resistance (Rivalry, strife, striving, warfare, arguments, controversies, disputes, land disputes; contention, dissension; fighting back, striking back, making a stand, thwarting, hindering, countering, protecting against invaders, insubordination; durability, invulnerability, immunity, endurance, immovability, permanence.) See also: Relations with government, Relations with non-native communities.
Cultural Assimilation (Loss of culture, loss of identity, loss of ethnic identity, loss of religion, 'civilization,' acculturation, assimilation, 'Europeanization,' colonialism, cultural genocide.)
Economic Conditions (Financial status, economic status, income, economic trends, economic overview, economic development; poverty, destitution, privation, need, distress, hardship; affluence, luxury, opulence, prosperity, wealth.) See also: Relief and assistance.
Education (Schools, religious schools; instruction, schooling, teaching, training, edification, learning, literacy.)
Encampments and built heritage (Wigwams, wikuo'm, tipis, teepees, camps, encampments, settlements, houses, buildings, churches, mass houses, places of worship, structures, cabins, cottages, lodges, shanties, shelters, edifices, abodes, domiciles, dwellings, habitations, housing; home.)
Folklore (Traditional customs, tales, sayings, dances, or art forms preserved among a people; legends, myths, mythologies, mythos; Glooscap, Kluskap, Kulpujot, Mikjikj, Caloo, star husbands, etc.; customs, folkways, sagas, superstitions, tales, teachings, lessons, traditional stories, traditional beliefs, traditional religious beliefs, traditional teachings; history, tradition.) See also: Spirituality, philosophy and religion; Petroglyphs and hieroglyphs; Narratives and literature.
Health (Well-being, healthiness, soundness, wholeness, stamina, vitality; diseases, epidemics, debility, feebleness, ill health, illness, sickliness; small pox, bilious remittent fever, whooping cough, etc.; health care, health-care practices, health-care policies, medical care, doctor's care, medical necessities, medicines.)
Land and natural resources (Homeland, territories, nature, forests, roads, environment; hunting, porpoise hunting, fishing, eeling, trapping, forestry, mining, etc.; surveys, geography, topography, mapping, maps, boundaries; land disputes, land claims, appropriations, squatting.) See also: Conflict and resistance; Trades, commerce and industry; Reservations.
Material culture (Artifacts, artefacts, crafts, handicrafts; art, artwork, designs, patterns, artistic expression; handmade objects, homemade objects, man-made objects, human workmanship; tools, weapons, ornaments, instruments, implements, beading; quillwork, woodwork, basketry, weaving, etc.; anthropological studies, cultural studies, archeological studies, design studies.) See also: Clothing and dress.
Mi'kmaq language (Works written in or about Mi'kmaq language; sound and video recordings in or about Mi'kmaq language; images of persons speaking in or about the Mi'kmaq language; dictionaries, orthographies, place names, word lists; studies, linguistics, language preservation, language loss; language policies, language promotion; etymology, philology, grammar.) See also: Petroglyphs and hieroglyphs.
Music, songs and calls (Instrumental music, celebratory music, ceremonial music, dance songs, improvisation; contemporary, traditional, chants, singing; instruments, drums, fiddles, etc.; hunting calls, moose calls, bear calls, etc.)
Narratives and literature (Literary productions, creative writing, written works, poetry, prose, essays, captivity narratives, fiction, published writings, unpublished writings; narration, accounts, recitals, descriptions of events, histories, statements, narrative descriptions, oral traditions, storytelling, stories.) See also: Folklore.
Petroglyphs and hieroglyphs (Rock carvings, rock drawings; ideograms, pictograms, ideographs, pictographs, hieroglyphics, petroglyphics; literacy, picture writing, symbolic language; language, art.) See also: Mi'kmaq language; Folklore.
Relations with government (Interaction with or reaction to government, governing bodies, politicians, agents of the government, governing royalty, royal representatives, etc.; government conduct, treatment and influence in relation to Mi'kmaq; opinions and ideology of governing officials; opinions and ideology of Mi'kmaq towards government; prejudice, racism, sympathy; relationships, conflicts, alliances, etc.) See also: Conflict and resistance; Relations with non-native communities; Relief and assistance.
Relations with non-native communities (Interaction with non-native communities and individuals; non-native communities' conduct, treatment and influence in relation to Mi'kmaq; opinions and ideology of non-native communities and individuals; opinions and ideology of Mi'kmaq towards non-native communities and individuals; racism, conflicts, reparations, amends, friendship, kinship, etc.) See also: Conflict and resistance; Relations with government; Relief and assistance.
Relief and assistance (Financial assistance, supplies, provisions, government relief, Indian aid, Indian grants, public assistance, charity; alleviation, intervention, protection, rescue; kindness, help, humanitarianism, humanity.) See also: Relations with government; Relations with non-native communities; Economic conditions.
Reservations (Reserved lands, reserves.) See also: Lands and natural resources, Treaties, Rights, laws, proscriptions, etc.
Rights, laws, proscriptions etc. (Constitutional rights, legal rights, inherent rights, aboriginal rights, human rights, treaty rights, legal status, aboriginal title; rules, principles, legislation, government policies, acts, amendments, judicial administration; prosecutions, court cases, legal battles, rights violations, law creation, law enforcement, litigation, justice.) See also: Reservations; Treaties.
Social conditions (State of society, broad overview of society, social status; social behaviors, social changes, social classes, social values, attitudes, institutions; larger place or role in society.) See also: Social life and customs.
Social life and customs (Common state of community living, social relationships, family life, lifestyles, ways of life; immemorial usage, familiar practices, observances, habits, habitudes, everyday occurrences, ordinary ways of doing everyday things.) See also: Social conditions.
Spirituality, philosophy and religion (Beliefs, assumptions, practices, customs, rites, ceremonies, teachings, studies, texts, symbols, objects; churches, mass houses, places of worship; leaders, guidance, movements, conversion, prayers; religions, Mi'kmaq religion, Christianity; Kisu'kwl, Niskam, Kluskap, Creator, etc; wisdom, the pursuit of wisdom; a system of values.)
Trades, commerce and industry (Jobs, work, occupations, professions, livelihoods; commercial enterprises, businesses, business activities, employment, employment programs; buying, selling, bartering, trading, etc.; industriousness, success in business.) See also: Lands and natural resources.
Treaties (Treaties of peace and friendship, peace treaties, terms of peace, terms of trade, compacts, concordats, contracts, pacts, bonds, covenants; ratifications; Treaty of 1725 for Ratification at Annapolis Royal, Mi'kmaw Compact, etc.) See also: Reservations; Rights, laws, proscriptions, etc.
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