Nova Scotia Museum
Mi'kmaq Portraits Collection

IMAGE CITATION


Date: 1841

Subject:

Orignal Work:

Publish/Print:

Place: Miramichi, N.B.

Ownership/Collection: The Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa

Source: Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax

Reference Number: III-F-310


Image Use: Free for personal research and non-commercial educational use.

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The Nova Scotia Museum reserves the right to refuse requests.

IMAGE INFORMATION


This image is on parchment. Henry O'Halloran was an officer in the 69th Regiment of Foot, stationed in Halifax between 1839 and 1842. He was apparently working with Moses Perley, the New Brunswick Indian Agent, to aid in preparing a census of the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet populations in the province. Both O'Halloran and Perley were formally adopted as chiefs of the Miramichi and Restigouche bands of Mi'kmaq in November of 1841; a man's costume presented to O'Halloran at his adoption is now also in the Nova Scotia Museum. To commemorate this honour, O'Halloran created a parchment scroll, with text in English, Mi'kmaq and Mi'kmaq hieroglyphs, decorated with his own portraits of individuals, their names still faintly visible in pencil above their heads: "Toma Selman, Sosep Mali Itkobej, Restigouche, and children." [Thomas Germain and Joseph Marie Tqope'j, now written Copage.] These are some of the earliest identified portraits of individual Mi'kmaq people.

KEYWORDS


men; children; wampum belts; medals; chiefs; Selman, Toma, Miramichi Grand Chief; Germaine, Thomas; Itkobej, Sosep Mali, Restigouche Chief; Tqope'j, Joseph-Marie; Copage, Joseph Mary; chiefs, Restigouche; chiefs, Miramichi; Miramichi; New Brunswick; Restigouche; Quebec


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