Mi'kma'ki
Mi'kma'ki | |
|---|---|
| Pre-contact; ca. 4,000 y.b.p.?–1867 (as a sovereign state) | |
Flag | |
Location of Mi'kma'ki (dark green) – in Northern America (light green & dark grey) | |
| Status | Confederated districts of Wabanaki (Unrecognized/former country) |
| Capital | Mniku, Unama'kik 45°42′N 60°46′W / 45.700°N 60.767°W |
| Common languages | Mi'kmawi'simk |
| Demonym | Mi'kmaq |
| Government | Sante' Mawio'mi / Mi'kmawey Mawio'mi |
| Kji Sagamaw | |
• 1550–1611 | Henri Membertou |
• 1792–1818 | Francis Peck |
• 1818–1842 | Michael Tooma |
• 1842–1869 | Frank Tooma Jr. |
• 1869–1887 | John Denny |
• 1918–1964 | Gabriel Sylliboy |
• 1964–1991 | Donald Marshall Sr. |
• 1991–2017 | Benjamin Sylliboy |
• 2019–present | Norman Sylliboy |
| Sagamaq | |
| Putu's | |
| History | |
• Established | Pre-contact; ca. 4,000 y.b.p.? |
• Contact with John Cabot | 1497 |
• Exclusion from the Treaty of Utrecht | 1713 |
• First treaty with Great Britain after the Anglo–Wabanaki War | 1725 |
• Indian Act, 1876 | 1867 (as a sovereign state) |
| Population | |
• pre-1500 | 35,000–75,000 |
• 1620 | 4,000 |
• 1750 | 2,500 |
• 1901 | >3,308 |
• 2021 | 70,640 |
| Currency | Wabanaki wampum (historically); Canadian dollar and U.S. dollar also used in contemporary era |
| Today part of | Canada |
| ni'kmaq / l'nuk "my friends" / "people" | |
|---|---|
| Person | Mi'kmaw (L'nu) |
| People | Mi'kmaq (Lnu'k) |
| Language | Mi'kmawi'simk |
| Country | Mi'kma'ki Wapna'ki |
Mi'kma'ki, also spelled Mi'gma'gi, is composed of the traditional and current territories, or country, of the Mi'kmaq people, located in Wabanakia, or the Dawnland region, along the north east coast of North America (or Turtle Island). Portions within Canada are protected under the Peace and Friendship Treaties signed with the British Crown in the 1700’s and the territories of Mi'kma'ki overlap with the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and eastern Quebec, as well as parts of the U.S. state of Maine.
The Mi'kmaw homeland is sub-divided into seven geographical and traditional districts with Newfoundland island designated Taqamkukand being separately represented as an eighth district, formerly joined with Cape Breton Island designated Unama'ki. As of 2025, governance over the Mi'kmaw nation is delegated to a number of First Nations, such as the Eskasoni and Potlotek First Nations, the latter of which is home to Mniku, the traditional capital—or fire—of Mi'kmaw Country. Historically and in the 21st century, the various Mi'kmaw communities are governed by a centralized council, the Sante' (or Mi'kmawey) Mawio'mi, composed of district chiefs (Saqamaq), a women's council (Saqama'sgw), wampum keepers (Putu's), and headed by a Grand Chief, or Kji Sagamaw, who as of 2025 is Norman Sylliboy.