The Micmacs studied all animals very carefully. From a young age they learned to make bird and animal calls. They had to practice hunting with their bows and arrows. If they did not do this, it could mean the whole band would die from not having enough food. When there was lots of food they ate too much. They did this because they would remember the hungry times. But the Micmacs killed animals only when food was needed.

Most travel in those days was done by canoe. The canoes were made of wood frames covered with birchbark. Travel by canoe was full of danger. The rivers often had dangerous waters. Sometimes the canoe and all it held had to be carried through the woods until safer waters could be found. The men would carry the canoe. The women and children carried everything from the boat. It would seem the Micmacs travelled overland often from the Miramichi to the Saint John River. There were five or six trails through the woods between the two rivers. Today these trails are used mainly by hunters.

Every summer the small bands of Micmacs would meet at a Grand Council of Micmacs. At these meetings, the hunting grounds for each band were decided for the next year. Great speeches were made. There was much eating, pipe-smoking, games, and story telling. Bands would travel a long way to be together. It was a special time of the year.

Story telling was a well-liked pastime of the Micmacs. Their best known stories were about Glooscap. He was a kind of God. He looked like an Indian, but was much bigger and stronger. Glooscap could move hills and rivers. He could change people into animals. He could travel across the skies and seas. If the Micmacs were good, Glooscap would help them. Indian history has it that one day Glooscap left his people, never to return. Before he left he warned his people that strange white men would come to their land. This was the way the Micmacs lived before the first white men arrived here about 1650.