News Release Archive
NS MUSEUM/EDUCATION&CULTURE--NEW MI'KMAQ KIT AVAILABLE
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Education and Culture Minister, John MacEachern today
released a new version of the Nova Scotia Museum's First
Peoples kit, which he called "a wonderful classroom
resource."
He said the kit explains the important role the Mi'kmaq
people have played in shaping Nova Scotia's cultural
heritage.
The revised kit was also presented to Grand Chief Ben
Sylliboy and the 13 band chiefs at a board meeting of the
Mi'kmaq Association of Cultural Studies today in Dartmouth.
Available to teachers and groups since the 1970s, the kit is
the most popular of the museum's hands-on teaching
resources. Thirty kits are distributed for two-week periods
during the school year throughout Nova Scotia, reaching
approximately 9,600 students. The kits are also used by
youth groups when taking their Native Lore badges. Over the
years changes have been made to contents, as new research
and resources became available.
This newest version was updated after consulting teachers
and the Mi'kmaq community, including Mi'kmaq educators at
the University College of Cape Breton and the Department of
Education and Culture in Halifax.
The kit is filled with hands-on material to help students
understand Mi'kmaq culture over the years. Students can
handle reproduction stone tools, some of which date to more
than 10,000 years ago. They can also learn how the Mi'kmaq
were skilled at using natural materials in their daily
lives. The kit now includes an audio tape of Six Micmac
Stories read by Mi'kmaq author Katherine Sorbey. The popular
video Mi'kmaq: The people and Their Culture is included in
two formats, video and filmstrips.
A computer database, particularly valuable for older
students, includes excerpts from Mi'kmaq history mentioning
individuals by name from 1534 AD to 1950.
A unit on petroglyphs has also been added so that students
can examine and talk about this important cultural record.
Sister Dorothy Moore, Mi'kmaq education consultant for the
Department of Education and Culture said "the kit helps
students learn about Mi'kmaq life in the past. Teachers must
bring the students beyond the past to the present in Mi'kmaq
history, culture and language".
The Nova Scotia Museum is part of the Department of
Education and Culture.
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Contact: Joan Waldron 902-424-7398
trp Jan. 25, 1996 - 4:45 p.m.