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Mi’kmaq Facts & Worksheets

The Mi'kmaq are the largest First Nations or Native American people indigenous to Canada's Maritime Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec.

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The Mi’kmaq are the largest First Nations or Native American people indigenous to Canada’s Maritime Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. The name of their national territory Mi’kma’ki (or Mi’gma’gi). Today, some Mi’kmaq live in Newfoundland and the northeastern region of Maine.

See the fact file below for more information on the Mi’kmaq or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Mi’kmaq worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ETYMOLOGY

  • Mi’kmaq is pronounced MICK-mack in English, but the Mi’kmaq people pronounce it MEE-gmakh, with a raspy final consonant.
  • Most Mi’kmaq First Nations use either one of these three spellings: Mi’kmaq, Micmac, or Míkmaq. However, any of these spellings is acceptable.
  • Sometimes, you will see the word spelled in a different way, particularly in history books, such as Mi’gmaq, Mikmaq, Miikmaq, Mikmak, or Mick Mack. Each spelling refers to the same tribe.
  • The Mi’kmaw Resource Guide says that the word “Mi’kmaq” means “the family”.
  • The word Mi’kmaq is the plural form, while Mi’kmaw is the singular form. The letter “Q” is a plural ending in the Mi’kmaq language, just as the letter “S” makes words plural in English.
  • Several bilingual Mi’kmaq Indians prefer to always say “Mi’kmaq people” rather than “Mi’kmaqs” because the double plural sounds so strange to them.

PRE-CONTACT CULTURE

  • Mi’kmaq people do not have documented evidence of their origins due to the lack of archaeological information about the late pre-contact period in the Maritimes.
  • Historically, they lived a traditional lifestyle based on hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants.
  • The arrival of the European people brought them manufactured trade goods and Christianity.
  • By the time the missionaries and other Europeans wrote about the Mi’kmaq after 1600, they were actually describing Mi’kmaq people who had started to acquire European goods and whose way of life may have been significantly different from that of their ancestors.

MI’KMAQ LANGUAGE

  • Most Mi’kmaq speak English, but many of them speak a language that was a member of the Algonkian family.
  • The Mi’kmaq language did not have an alphabet like English. Rather, they used pictures to represent words or ideas, which is sometimes called hieroglyphs though they are not similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics.

COMMUNITY

  • Every Mi’kmaq community lives on its own reserve or reservation (land that belongs to the tribe and is authorized under their control).
  • The Mi’kmaq people in the United States call their community a tribe. In Canada, they call themselves bands, or First Nations, that are led by a chief (saqamaw or sakmaw in the Mi’kmaq language).
  • Traditionally, Mi’kmaq chiefs were chosen by tribal council members but now, they are elected in most Micmac nations, same with governors or mayors.
  • There are 160,000 Mi’kmaq tribal members but the exact number of Mi’kmaq people is higher than that as some Mi’kmaq people are unenrolled.
  • Mi’kmaq men were hunters and fishermen, and they occasionally went to war to protect their families.
  • Mi’kmaq women took care of the children and gathered plants to eat and herbs to be used for medicine.
  • Both genders took part in storytelling (a means of entertaining people and sharing information), artwork, music, and religious festivals.
  • Traditionally, the chief was always a man, but now a Mi’kmaq woman can be chief, as well.

HOUSING

  • Mi’kmaq people lived in a house called a wigwam or lodge.
  • A Mi’kmaq wigwam was made of wood and birch bark. It is only around the size of a modern camp tent, and people spent most of their time outside.
  • Today, most Mi’kmaq live in modern houses and apartment buildings. They just build wigwams for heritage.

CLOTHING

  • Traditionally, the Mi’kmaq women often wore a distinctive peaked (pointed) hat, tunics made of animal hide, and long skirts. Mi’kmaq men wore breechcloths with leggings.
  • Both men and women wore beaded headbands with feathers sticking up from the top.
  • Similar to most Native Americans, the Mi’kmaq wore moccasins on their feet.
  • Over time, the Mi’kmaq adapted European costumes, like blouses and jackets, and decorated them with fancy beadwork.
  • Today, there still some people who wear traditional Mi’kmaq clothing, but they wear modern clothes like jeans instead of breechcloths and wear feathers in their hair only during special occasions, such as a dance.

CULTURE

  • The Mi’kmaq tribe was famous for their birch bark canoes, which were light, seaworthy, and easily repaired.
  • The Mi’kmaq created a number of various types of canoes, some for interior travel on rivers and lakes, as well as other, larger, sea-going canoes that were able to make the 100 km trip from Cape Breton to the Magdalen Islands or possibly even to Newfoundland.
  • However, the Mi’kmaq later learned to use small European sailing vessels like the shallop, which would have made long-distance trips much easier and safer.
  • The Mi’kmaq people were good at fishing and hunting large game, such as caribou and moose. Men usually went to sea to harpoon seals, walrus, and even whales. Other food included in the Mi’kmaq diet were berries, squash, maple syrup made from tree sap, crops, corn, and beans.
  • Mi’kmaq hunters used bows, arrows, and bone spears. Fishermen used nets and pronged spears to grab sturgeon and salmon from their canoes. Mi’kmaq warriors also used their bows or fought with heavy clubs carved from tree roots or stone.
  • The religion of the Mi’kmaq people remains firmly based on Catholicism, but traditional Mi’kmaq spirituality is still practiced today with a concerted effort on the part of Mi’kmaq people to preserve and promote their religious beliefs and customs.

Mi’kmaq Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Mi’kmaq across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Mi’kmaq worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Mi’kmaq who are the largest First Nations or Native American people indigenous to Canada’s Maritime Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. The name of their national territory Mi’kma’ki (or Mi’gma’gi). Today, some Mi’kmaq live in Newfoundland and the northeastern region of Maine.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Mi’kmaq Facts
  • Basic Facts
  • First Nations
  • Mi’kmaq Residence
  • Mi’kmaq Brief History
  • Homes
  • Mi’kmaq Fashion
  • Then and Now
  • Hunting and Fishing
  • Mi’kmaq Culture
  • Birch Bark Canoe

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Link will appear as Mi’kmaq Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 4, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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