Matnm tel-Mi'kmawi: I'm Fighting for My Mi'kmaw Identity

I am a Mi'kmaw woman who was born into a large Mi'kmaw family. We have always lived on the traditional territory of the Mi'kmaw Nation even if not always in our home community of Ogpi'kanjik (Eel River Bar First Nation). My family instilled in me a strong sense of Mi'kmaw identity, yet I have been engaged in a legal and political battle, waged by Canada, to not only protect my identity as a Mi'kmaw woman, but also the Mi'kmaw identity of my children and their children seven generations into the future. This article is my personal account of this battle, how it started, the casualties of war, and how our nation-building efforts depend on standing our ground for present and future generations.