Mi'Kmaq

The first inhabitants of Minudie were the Mi’kmaq, who called themselves L’nu’k, meaning “the people”. The term Mi’kmaq comes from the word “nikmak” which translated means “my kin-friends”. The Mi’kmaq were hunters of the sea and the land.

Travel - the Canoe

The Mi’kmaq created a wide-bottom birch bark canoe that was used to travel in the sea as well as shallow streams and through rapids. Being three meters to eight meters long, a small canoe was able to carry several hundred pounds in weight, and still light enough for one person to carry.

Pastimes

Women did most things within the homes such as preparing meals and looking after the children. They also built the homes called “wikuoms” commonly known as “wigwams.” These wikuoms are made from spruce and moosewood shrubs and birch bark. The spruce trees are made into poles to hold the structure and the moosewood was bent into hoops to hold the layered birch bark in place. Inside, the floor was spread with fir twigs, animal furs, and woven mats. A large hide provided cover for the doorway.

The men spent most of their time hunting, fishing, and gathering, to bring food and usable materials back to their communities.

Story-telling was a favourite pastime of the Mi’kmaq and often lasted several days. Stories included singing, dancing and feasting. The Mi’kmaq enjoyed contests of running, wrestling and shooting, as well as various ball games; however, their favourite game was a dice game called Waltes and is still played today.