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The cultural economy of survival: the Mi'kmaq of Cape Breton in the mid-19th century.
- Article from:
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Labour/Le Travail
- Article date:
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March 22, 2008
- Author:
- Parnaby, Andrew
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2008 Canadian Committee on Labour History. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BY THE MID-19TH CENTURY, the Mi'kmaq of Cape Breton Island, much like the Mi'kmaq on the Nova Scotia mainland, were nearly destitute. The outcome of over two centuries of political, economic, and cultural interaction with Europeans, this condition was exacerbated by the massive influx of Scottish settlers to the island after the end of the Napoleonic Wars--nearly 30,000 between 1815 and 1838. With their lands occupied and access to customary hunting and fishing grounds severely limited, the island's Mi'kmaw population--estimated to be about 500 in 1847--adopted numerous economic initiatives to stay alive: they pursued agriculture and wage labour, mobilized older skills toward ...