Nova Scotia Archives

Mi'kmaq Holdings Resource Guide

From Abraham Gesner, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, to Rupert George regarding his report on the Mi'kmaq Nation including population figures for Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Nre Brunswifck, Prince Edward Island, Gaspe' St. Pierre and Miquelon. Contains description of deprivation of Mi'kmaq of the lands of their forefathers.
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May this be said! Certainly [MC] [written on left side of the following paragraph]

Means for their relief. No charge has
been made by me for my own services,
and I have ordered £15 to be advanced
on my own account to aid in building
a barn at Bear River. This sum I
should be glad to receive whenever there
are funds at the disposal of the Government.

I have taken an account of
the aged and infirm for whom
clothing may be required and by
judicious management I am of the
opinion a saving may be made in
the distribution of such bounties, to
dispose of which my correspondants have
kindly promised their aid in different quarters.

A serious obstacle to the settlement
of the Indians arises from the
fact that they have been deprived of lands
which the tribe had occupied during
past centuries, and the places where their
fathers are buried; and tracts which
had been reserved for them have since
been alienated. The fear of being again
driven away checks their desire to
establish themselves as farmers. Several
families have promised to settle themselves
upon the Reserves on the Shenemicash
River and in the rear of Horton, and it
is very desirable that those tracts should
be surveyed: but I forbear to make
such surveys until I am directed by the Government.

In conclusion I beg to add
that my general report will give
a full account of the Indian statistics
_ their condition and wants, with
a plan for their improvement.
In

[Qu]? expense of survey [written on left side bottom edge]


Date: 1847

Retrieval no.: Commissioner of Public Records — Mi'kmaq and Government Relations series Nova Scotia Archives RG 1 volume 431 number 45

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