E56 - Visiting Mi'kma'ki

UNESCO RIELA: The sounds of integration

In this episode, as part of the Sites Unseen project, Sadie Ryan and Brittnee Leysen from the UNESCO RILA team travelled to Mi’kma’ki, the homeland of the indigenous Mi'kmaw people. Mi'kma'ki spans a big geographical area in Eastern Canada, including the area that's also known as Nova Scotia, meaning 'new Scotland'. The Mi'kmaw have been living in the area for at least 11,000 years, and possibly much longer. Most of the Scottish settlers started to arrive about 250 years ago. But it's the name Nova Scotia, not Mi’kma’ki, that you'll usually see on maps. This Sites Unseen project explores relationships between Scotland’s UNESCO sites and other UNESCO sites elsewhere in the world. This episode explores the relationship between the North West Highlands Global Geopark in Scotland and the Cliffs of Fundy Global Geopark in Canada. We have created a learning pack which uses this episode, alongside a short film, to help learners think more deeply about colonialism, kinship, migration, culture, place-making, language, and identity. It will be launched in the coming months, and will be available for free to all teachers and educators worldwide. To find out more, and to be notified of the launch date, please email [email protected]. The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq are currently fundraising to build a cultural centre. You can find out more about the project and donate at bit.ly/thesoundsofintegration. We’re massively grateful to everyone in Mi'kma'ki who welcomed us and shared their stories with us, and especially to Julie Pellisier-Lush, Iseabail Munro and her daughter Tausha, and Cathy Martin, whose voices you heard in this episode. Sites Unseen is a project from the team of the UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts, led by Professor Alison Phipps. For the transcript of this episode, please visit bit.ly/thesoundsofintegration.