A Mi’kmaw recipe book to honor and preserve history

Two authors from the L’nui Menuikuk First Nation (Indian Island) have just launched Mitji — Let’s Eat! Mi’kmaq Recipes from Sikniktuka book that brings together 30 recipes from Mi’kmaw culture as well as historical information and traditional knowledge.

“ Mitji » is a Mi’kmaw word used to mark meal time, explain Margaret Augustine and Lauren Beck in the preface to their recipe book which was launched last Tuesday.

Margaret Augustine says the idea for this project came to her during a community tea party at the Elsipogtog school where elders shared their culinary knowledge with the children.

When the elders began to pass away, I realized that there was an urgency to preserve the recipes and the stories surrounding themshe says. We did interviews with a large number of people. So these are not just stories of food, they are also stories of resilience. Family stories about their land.

Community cuisine has changed a lot in L’nui Menuikuk since the arrival of the first settlers. Margaret Augustine explains that colonial policies in the past restricted access to certain foods and transformed cuisine into what it is today.

Traditionally, what we ate came directly from the land and sea, such as berries, nuts, moose, deer.

By focusing on the most popular recipes and dishes of the moment in Sikniktuk, a territory that roughly corresponds to southeastern New Brunswick, the authors ultimately created something they had not anticipated .

At first we were convinced that we were collecting recipes to write them down, make them and share them.says Lauren Beck. But, quickly, it became more than obvious that we also had a broader collection of knowledge that took its place in the project.

The subtlety of bread

On the surface, some recipes — like bread — are simple, but Margaret Augustine sees them as subtle clues to the resilience of her community.

When an Indian agent came to give rations and we had to survive on them, while being discouraged from leaving the reservation, all that was left was bread. You shared bread with your family and your community, and it allowed your family to continue moving forward.she says.

These are stories of determination and resilience against these genocidal colonial policies and what was done against First Nations across North Americasays Margaret Augustine.

On Tuesday, Margaret Augustine and Lauren Beck hosted a launch at the boutique’s premises Red Teepee Creations in the L’nui Menuikuk First Nation, located approximately 65 kilometers north of Moncton.

In a potluck meal format, participants were treated to — among other things — traditional bread, a rice and sausage casserole, seafood chowder and desserts.

Furthermore, all profits from book sales Mitji — Let’s Eat! will be donated to the Elsipogtog Senior Center to help fund its community program.

It is a process of lovesummarizes Margaret Augustine. It is a gift to our communities and to the allies of the Mi’kmaw nation.

According to the report of Savannah Awde, CBC