Father-daughter duo Todd and Melissa Labrador are passionate about preserving their Mi'kmaw traditions
The father-daughter duo of Todd and Melissa Labrador is passionate about preserving their Mi'kmaw traditions.
"I always think, you know, education is the key to breaking down so many barriers," says Melissa Labrador. "So the more we do this in public, the more the public is able to come in and be a part of this."
These days, you'll find the pair of Mi'kmaw artisans at the Lunenburg School of the Arts. They're building a birch bark canoe, while welcoming curious visitors who wander into the workshop.
"Sometimes we don't get a lot of work done because we just talk all day," chuckles Todd. "I enjoy the chats with people, they'll give me experiences that they've had on their journey."
The pair has had a busy summer.
In August, Todd and Melissa took one of their birch bark canoes in Lunenburg harbor and sailed with Bluenose II.
It was an emotional moment for the father, daughter and their entire family.
"My great grandfather Joe Jermey actually made hoops for the mast, for the sails – the mast hoops for the Bluenose."
They're also in the process of building a traditional wigwam at Ross Farm – a museum that highlights Nova Scotia's rural heritage.
"This just adds to that whole story of Ross Farm," adds Melissa. "The history there, so by creating this project and bringing a wigwam to the farm, then you can build on all that history and that story that needs to be told of that relationship."
With the first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation happening on Sept. 30, Todd offers some words for everyone to reflect on:
"If you look at some of the canoes I make, we have a canoe with birch bark, but every piece of bark that we put in has a different shade, a different colour," he explains. "Every person has a different shade of skin. The different colours of skin, but in the canoe, we put all those different colours together and we sew them together and they all work together, and it creates something beautiful. And I'm thinking we can do that in the future, if we come together and work together and help each other, we can create a beautiful future and that's what I hope."
You can catch Todd and Melissa Labrador working on their current birch bark canoe at the Lunenburg School of the Arts for the majority of the fall season.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.