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P.E.I. First Nations, Ottawa establish national park reserve on sacred Mi’kmaq land
LENNOX ISLAND, P.E.I. — The government of Canada and Prince Edward Island’s Mi’kmaq First Nations announced an agreement on Thursday to turn a pristine chain of islands with sacred cultural significance into a national park reserve.
Lennox Island First Nation Chief Darlene Bernard said she’s thrilled about the agreement, which will ensure the protection of the 50-kilometre strip of islands off P.E.I.’s northwest coast called Pituamkek, which means, “at the long sand dune.”
“We have a strong cultural, traditional connection to that land. And the land is going to be protected and allow for our people to always have that land there for future generations to come,” Bernard said of the islands, where Mi’kmaq have hunted, fished and harvested for at least 4,000 years.
The land is also home to a historic Mi’kmaq burial ground.