In the 1950s, the government tried to force all the Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia to live on just two reserves. One reserve was at Eskasoni, on Cape Breton Island and the other was at Shubenacadie, near Truro. The government thought this would save money. But many Mi’kmaw families refused to leave their homes. Others went back home when they saw they were not going to get the new houses and jobs they were promised. The government had to give up the idea. Today there are 12 Mi’kmaw communities in Nova Scotia, five of them in Cape Breton Island.

The White Paper

The government last tried to do away with the Mi’kmaq in 1969 with what was called the “White Paper.” This paper said that all First Nations rights would be taken away. Suddenly, First Nations people across Canada realized the rights that were promised to them in the treaties could be taken away forever if they did not act. The Union of Nova Scotia Indians was formed in 1969 to respond to the White Paper. Other groups in other provinces formed too. They got money from the federal government to research their rights. They started to take control over their own lives again. In 1971, the Canadian Government gave up on the White Paper. The Union of Nova Scotia Indians continued its work and won an important Supreme Court decision in 1985. The decision said the treaty signed in 1752 to protect Mi’kmaq rights still holds today.

Today there are many Mi’kmaq organizations. They support Mi’kmaq culture, they work to bring jobs to Mi’kmaq communities, and they run schools in Mi’kmaq communities. There is new pride among Mi’kmaq people over their background. There are Mi’kmaq musicians, organizers, poets, teachers, artists and athletes. The White Paper of 1969 did not spell the end of the Mi’kmaq. It spelled a new beginning.