Kearns, Laura-Lee, and Nancy Peters. “(Re)Inscribing Mi’kmaq Presence Through Public Petition, Performance and Art.” In Diverse Spaces: Identity, Heritage and Community in Canadian Public Culture, edited by Susan Ashley, 75-99. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013.
Mi’kma’ki, or Eastern Canada, has been the home of the Mi’kmaq for thousands of years, yet their presence has been left unacknowledged. In this article Kearns and Peters recognize that lack of representation and inclusion in the public realm results in imbalance between the Aboriginal non-Aboriginal relationship. To begin to decolonize the public realm and redress this imbalance, so that there is more inclusion of Indigenous people, we need to critically engage with the legacy and absence of historical perspectives of Indigenous people and representations in public spaces. Public spaces have been defined as venues where groups can assemble freely, yet they tend to be invisibly racialized and far from neutral. An example analyzed in the text is the prominent placement of name and images of Sir Edward Cornwallis in public spaces; Cornwallis was the first governor of Nova Scotia, and a figure responsible for the mass murder of Mi’kmaq people. Artistic and creative efforts have been taken to unsettle the assumptions that the formation of Nova Scotia has had a harmonious past, dispelling the historical white-washing of settler-Mi’kmaq relationships. In order to embark on new Aboriginal non-Aboriginal relationships in Nova Scotia that push beyond the static and/or stereotypical images of Indigenous people, public spaces must consider (re)inscribing Aboriginal presence in public spaces. One significant new space, which highlights Mi’kmaq presence, is the People’s Place Library in Antigonish Nova Scotia where Mi’kmaq artist Alan Syliboy’s Dream Canoe mural is a permanent installation. Along with the mural Kearns and Peters exemplify petition and performance as a means to re-inscribe Mi’kmaq presence in public spaces in Nova Scotia.