Wagmatcook welcomes piece of history back home

By Adam McNamara, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter – The Victoria Reporter Wagmatcook – According to an online statement posted by Wagmatcook First Nation, Oct.15 was a deeply meaningful day for Wagmatcook First Nation, as the community welcomed back a piece of cultural history. In partnership with Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU), Wagmatcook celebrated the rematriation of the Mi’kmaw Prayer Book, a sacred manuscript containing handwritten Mi’kmaw petroglyphs and hieroglyphs. The historic document dates back to the 1800s, and contains the handwritten 1901 inscription of community member Pierro Googoo. Since the 1670s, these symbols were used to remember catholic prayers and hymns taught by French missionaries. Hieroglyphic texts were written in blank ledgers or on paper-thin sheets of birch bark, being passed down for generations through family lines. “After being held…

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