Indigenous Road Trip
Indigenous Road Trip
Pjila'si (welcome). For ten thousand years they have called this beautiful land home. The Mi’kmaq and First Nations people of Nova Scotia enrich this province with their legends, art, music, spirituality, history, and language. Explore a proud history that began long before the first road ever existed.
Membertou Heritage Park
The Membertou Heritage Park celebrates the life, culture, and history of the Mi’kmaq people who continue to live and thrive in the Membertou area. The five acre Heritage Park features a large indoor exhibit and program area that provides a truly immersive journey into the ancient culture. Outdoors the experience continues with traditional medicine gardens, demonstration areas, storytelling, and performances in the amphitheatre.
Glooscap Heritage Centre and Mi'kmaw Museum
The Glooscap Heritage Centre and Mi’kmaw Museum in Millbrook offer window into the culture and history of the area’s Mi’kmaq people and their Glooscap legends. Through guided tours and multi-media presentations you’ll learn about the legendary Glooscap, as well as the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of the Mi’kmaw people.
Kejimkujik Petroglyph Tour
Kejimkujik Petroglyph Tour: Discover the culture of Nova Scotia’s First Peoples with a guided tour that includes part of North America’s largest collection of aboriginal rock art.
Bear River Heritage Museum
The Bear River Heritage Museum is housed in an historic riverside building in Bear River - a village that was home to the Mi’kmaq people thousands of years before the Europeans settled the area. The picturesque village features steep riverside hills, earning it the nickname “The Switzerland of Nova Scotia.” The museum showcases Mi’kmaq history and culture through artefacts and displays. You’ll also discover photo archives of the area’s historical shipbuilding, military, and lumberjack life.
Open Monday to Friday 10am–4:30pm; weekends by appointment.
Museum of Natural History
A permanent exhibit at the Museum of Natural History highlights the origins of the Mi’kmaq, their artistry, and their way of life. Many stunning artifacts are on display, including samples of woven baskets, quillwork and beadwork, as well as materials that were used, such as birch bark, wood, and stone.
Alan Syliboy (artisan)
Truro
Drawing from Mi’kmaq petroglyph art traditions, artist Allan Syliboy produces unique serigraph prints and memory portraits of family inspired by the traditional Mi’kmaq style. Alan Syliboy, Family, 1995 © CARCC, 2013.
Journey into the Night Sky
Experience the night skies the same way the Mi’kmaq experienced them thousands of years ago, in spectacular, natural darkness at the UNESCO Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve. Discover the Dark Sky Preserve in the heart of Kejimkujik National Park’s protected forest - a rare place that is unaffected by light pollution. You’ll learn about astronomical science and the Mi’kmaq cultural perspectives of the star-filled night sky. Parks Canada Interpreters and Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Astronomers lead the programs.
Eskasoni Cultural Journeys
Eskasoni First Nation in Cape Breton offers a unique multi-cultural tour of Mi’kmaq and Gaelic cultures in collaboration with the Nova Scotia Highland Village. Experience two different and distinct cultures reflecting the parallels and common threads linking the cultures in history and present day.
Pow Wow
Get caught up in the infective rhythm of the drumming and dancing at an authentic Mi’kmaq pow wow, performed in traditional dress. You can experience a pow wow in Gold River or Millbrook in the Fundy Shore region.
