![]() The Cobequid Bay provided fertile land and accessibility via the waterways. While not all Acadians and Mi’kmaq established friendship ties, they did have mutual interests, and benefited from one another, both relying on resources produced by the other. This, to the Mi’kmaq, was seen as a pledge of alliance and friendship. Likewise, the Mi’kmaq embraced Christian practices and incorporated elements of Christianity into their own customs. It may be more accurate to think of the men who remained at l’Acadie as assimilated to the customs of the Mi’kmaq.” Many intermarriages were carried out according to Mi’kmaw customs between Mi’kmaq and Acadians. ![]() Indeed, some historians, such as John Mack Faragner, have argued that “the history of colonization is usually written as the process of Native assimilation to European culture. The Mi’kmaq taught Acadians about native species of flora and fauna, fishing locations and seasons, and how to survive harsh winters in the region. Indeed, without the knowledge and generosity that the Mi’kmaw people shared with the Acadians, Settler life would have been far more difficult. By 1703, census records show that there were approximately 87 Acadians in the Cobequid region.ĭuring the 1700s, Cobequid was primarily populated by Mi’kmaq and Acadians, and many intercultural interactions occurred throughout the region. It was not until 1697, however, that the first Acadian families began to settle in the Cobequid region. Actively engaged in fur trade with Indigenous peoples throughout the region, French fur traders were present in the Truro area as early as 1675, followed by French Roman Catholic Missionaries approximately ten years later. The French Acadians were the first non-indigenous Settlers of Nova Scotia, which was known to the French as Acadie. The basis of early Mi’kmaw society was rooted in geographical features: the landscape influenced how they lived. In fact, it is important to note that Mi’kmaw people occupied every major waterway in the province. In fact, the name “Cobequid” is a derivative of Mi’kmaw name We’kopekitk meaning “the end of the flow.”Salmon River, known as Plamui-sipu or Punamu’kwatik to the Mi’kmaq, translates as “At the tomcod place” and, quite literally, “Salmon River.” Since the Mi’kmaq were traditionally a marine/riverine-based culture, many camped along the shores of the Salmon River. The Cobequid Bay and the Salmon River were instrumental for both transportation and subsistence in the Truro area. Traditionally, Mi’kmaw people travelled throughout the province via the waterways. One archaeological site, not far from Truro, dates the Indigenous peoples of this area to at least 11,000 years ago. The Mi’kmaq are the Indigenous people who have inhabited the Truro area, known as We’kwampekitk, since time immemorial. Its central location has earned Truro its nickname: “the Hub.” Truro, known as “the Hub” of Nova Scotia, is located along the Salmon River in Colchester County, to the east of the head of Cobequid Bay. ![]() Historical Background of the Origins of Truroīy Ashley Sutherland, Archivist, Colchester Historeum
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