New exhibit celebrates Prince Edward Island's Mi'kmaq, Acadian history

A new exhibit at the Acadian Museum in Miscouche, P.E.I., provides a look back into the province's Mi'kmaq and Acadian history.

The "Unearthing the Past: Archaeological Discoveries on Prince Edward Island" exhibit displays artifacts that were unearthed at four sites across the island, which include in Pointe-Aux-Vieux, Havre Saint-Pierre, Nikani-ika'taqank, and Pituamkek.

The museum’s exhibit was developed collaboratively between P.E.I.’s government and the Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation.

Chief Darlene Bernard of Lennox Island First Nation was on-hand Friday for the exhibit's official launch.

“We need to be able to share our history with all Islanders and all people who come here and want to know about the first peoples of Epekwitk, and they are the Mi’kmaq,” said Bernard.

Archaeologists worked closely with the island’s Mi’kmaq while excavating the sites, keeping the team small and including members of the community.

“When they unearth an artifact that hasn’t been touched in 1,000, 2,000 years, they’re the first person to touch it since their ancestor did, and it’s a very profound experience,” said Helen Kristmanson, an archaeologist and exhibit curator.

Kristmanson says the items dug up for this exhibit show the close social and economic ties between Mi’kmaq and Acadians.

They will also be used to teach island students about the province’s history.

“It just helps them create deeper meaning,” Jason MacNeil, the education officer for the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation. “And make other connections to their own lives, and to their communities, and what they’re doing in the classroom at the same time.”

As part of the collaboration, the Mi’kmaq artifacts in the exhibit are displayed with permission.

“We want our story to never be hidden in a cupboard,” said Bernard. “We want our history to be out there for all the world to see, and we want our children to learn their true history so that they can be proud of who they are as the first people.”

Bernard says, while she’s happy to see the artifacts displayed at the Acadian Museum, she’s hopeful they’ll be able to create a permanent home for Mi’kmaq artifacts administered by the First Nation.