The Sipekne'katik First Nation is composed of four Mi'kmaq First Nation reserves located in central Nova Scotia. As of 2012, the Mi'kmaq population is 1,195 on-Reserve, and approximately 1,190 off-Reserve.Registered population The First Nation includes Indian Brook 14, Nova Scotia, near Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. The band was known as the Shubenacadie First Nation until 2014 when the traditional spelling and pronunciation of its name was officially adopted.
Name The Mi'kmaq term Sipekne’katik translates as "where the wild potatoes grow".sipeknekatik.ca
History
Father Louis-Pierre Thury sought to gather the Mi'kmaq of the Nova Scotia peninsula into a single settlement around Shubenacadie as early as 1699. Not until Dummer's War, however, did Antoine Gaulin, a Quebec-born missionary, erect a permanent mission at Shubenacadie (adjacent to Snides Lake and close to the former Residential school). He also made seasonal trips to Cape Sable, LaHave, and Mirlegueche.
The Shubenacadie mission's dedication to Saint Anne speaks to a spirit of accommodation on the part of both the French and the Mi'kmaq. Anne, traditionally identified as the mother of Mary, was the grandmother of Jesus himself. The esteemed position of grandmothers in Mi'kmaq society was a point of agreement between Roman Catholicism and the Mi'kmaq worldview, and highlights the complexity and contingency of the 'conversion' process.
In 1738, Father Jean-Louis Le Loutre arrived in October of that year at Mission Sainte-Anne, having spent the previous winter in Cape Breton learning the Mi'kmaq language with Abbé Pierre Maillard. During Father Rale's War and King George's War, Mission Sainte-Anne was a sort of military base along with being a place of worship. Coulon de Villiers' hardy troop passed this way on their brutal mid-winter march toward the Battle of Grand Pré in 1747, and Mi'kmaq warriors used the site as a staging point for their attacks on Halifax and Dartmouth during Father Le Loutre's War. During Father Le Loutre's War, Captain Matthew Floyer arrived at the Mission on August 18, 1754 and recorded:
Half after Twelve we came to the Masshouse, which I think is the neatest in the Country, 'tis Adorned with a Fine lofty Steeple and a Weather Cock. The Parsonage House is the only Habitation here, the land is good & seems to be more so on the opposite side.
Floyer's map, which accompanied his written report, suggests the presence of three structures at the mission site.
Twelve months later, the Expulsion of the Acadians began during the French and Indian War and by October 1755, Mission Sainte-Anne appears to have been destroyed. Oral tradition says the Mi'kmaq destroyed the mission to prevent it from falling into the New Englanders possession and dumped it into Snides Lake, which was adjacent to the mission.Historically minded individuals like Henry Youle Hind and Elizabeth Frame in the late 19th century, and Douglas Ormond, F. H. Patterson, and others in the early 20th, rendered enough of this folklore into ink to save it from oblivion.
The reserve was established by Governor Michael Francklin in 1779.
Members of the community are involved in an ongoing dispute over a self-regulated indigenous fishery.
Notable residents and members Daniel N. Paul — Mi'kmaq elder, author, activist Jean-Baptiste Cope — leader of Mi'kmaq militia Jean-Louis Le Loutre — Catholic priest, missionary, and military leader Cathy Elliott — actor, writer, and teacher Lilly & Jack Sullivan – siblings who disappeared mysteriously in 2025
Composition Sipekne'katik is composed of five parts as shown:
Community Area Location Population Date established Indian Brook 14 28.8 km (18 miles) southwest of Truro 1,084 July 8, 1820 New Ross 20 64 km (39¾ miles) northwest of Halifax 0 March 3, 1820 Pennal 19 67.2 km (41¾ miles) northwest of Halifax 22 March 3, 1754 Shubenacadie 13 32 km (20 miles) north of Halifax 0 March 3, 1999 Wallace Hills 14A 19 km (11¾ miles) northwest of Halifax 10 March 10, 2011
See also List of Indian Reserves in Nova Scotia List of Indian Reserves in Canada
References
External links Sipekne’katik First Nation (Indian Brook) website