- October 2026
- Nova Scotia and Mi’kma’ki
Mi’kmaw History Month 2026 takes place throughout October, inviting people to learn, share, and celebrate Mi’kmaw history, culture, language, heritage, and contemporary life. This year’s theme, “Nepisulti’k — We Are Healing,” asks people to look at healing not as something that is eventually completed, but as a lifelong journey shaped by understanding, relationships, community, history, and connection.
The 2026 theme draws on teachings shared by the late Elder Murdena Marshall, whose understanding of healing and wellness continues to guide cultural learning. The idea is simple but profound: people are always becoming, learning, remembering, and healing. Understanding where we come from can help us better understand where we are today and how we move forward.
The information for this article is based primarily on the official Mi’kmaw History Month website and its 2026 programming.
What to Expect
A Month Built Around Learning, Sharing & Connection
Mi’kmaw History Month is more than a single celebration held on one day.
Throughout October, communities across Nova Scotia come together for cultural activities, educational programs, gatherings, exhibitions, storytelling, and opportunities to learn about Mi’kmaw history and culture.
Since its creation in 1993, when Premier John Savage and Mi’kmaw Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy declared October as the official month to recognize and celebrate Mi’kmaw culture and heritage, the month has grown into an annual opportunity for communities to share knowledge and invite others to learn.
At its heart, the month asks people to slow down and listen.
Listen to stories.
Listen to Elders.
Listen to the land.
Listen to history.
And, perhaps most importantly, listen to the experiences of the people whose ancestors have called this land home for thousands of years.
That makes Mi’kmaw History Month something different from simply looking back at history. It is an opportunity to understand that history is still alive in the language people speak, the places they live, the stories they tell, the relationships they maintain, and the knowledge passed from one generation to the next.
Nepisulti’k — We Are Healing
The 2026 theme brings all of these ideas together.
Nepisulti’k — We Are Healing recognizes that healing is not a destination where someone eventually arrives. It is something that happens throughout life.
Elder Murdena Marshall’s teachings describe healing and health as an ongoing journey—one that requires courage and looks different for every person.
That understanding also changes the way we think about history.
The past is not simply a collection of events that happened long ago. It can help explain the present. It can help families understand where they came from. It can help communities recognize what has been carried forward, what has been lost, and what continues to grow.
And it can help people understand one another.
The 2026 theme therefore connects personal healing with something larger: the healing of families, communities, relationships, and the world around us.
Location & Community
Mi’kma’ki: A Homeland With Thousands of Years of History
To understand Mi’kmaw History Month, it helps to understand the land at the centre of the story.
Mi’kma’ki, the traditional homeland of the Mi’kmaw people, stretches across what is now Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as well as large areas of New Brunswick, the Gaspé Peninsula, and Newfoundland.
Mi’kmaw history in this homeland reaches back more than 11,000 years.
That enormous span of time is important because it changes the way we understand the word “history.”
For many people, history begins with written documents. But Mi’kmaw history contains knowledge that existed long before European arrival and that was passed through generations in stories, teachings, observations, relationships with the land, and the knowledge of Elders.
The land itself is part of the record.
A river can carry the memory of an old encampment. A place name can preserve a Mi’kmaw connection to a particular landscape. A hill, island, shoreline, or source of stone can hold meaning that may not be immediately visible to someone passing through.
Mi’kmaw history can be understood as a kind of puzzle, with pieces coming from oral histories, stories and legends, archaeology, geology, historical documents, and the knowledge of Elders.
A History That Is Still Being Lived
This is one of the most important ideas behind Mi’kmaw History Month.
Mi’kmaw history is not only something that belongs in a museum or a textbook.
It can be found in language.
It can be found in family stories.
It can be found in traditional knowledge.
It can be found in the names of places.
It can be found in the relationship between people and the land.
And it can be found in the generations that continue to carry this knowledge forward.
That is why October is about both history and living culture.
The past provides context, but the people living today are continuing the story.
Why It Matters
History Can Be Part of Healing
The 2026 theme gives Mi’kmaw History Month a particularly meaningful direction.
If healing is a lifelong journey, then understanding history can be part of that journey.
Knowing what happened before us can help explain the world we inherit. It can help us understand the experiences of our families and communities. It can also help us recognize the responsibilities we have to those who came before us and those who will come after us.
This is especially meaningful when considering the history of relationships between the Mi’kmaw Nation and the Crown.
Those relationships were shaped in part through treaties of peace and friendship, including the Treaty of 1752.
The treaty is not simply a historical document. Its continuing significance is part of the reason Treaty Day has become such an important part of October.
Treaty Day & October 1
October 1 is Treaty Day, marking the beginning of Mi’kmaw History Month.
In 1986, Mi’kmaw Grand Chief Donald Marshall Sr. proclaimed October 1 as Treaty Day. The day recognizes the important role treaties have played in the relationship between the Mi’kmaw Nation and the Crown.
The significance of the day was strengthened the year before, when the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that the Treaty of 1752 remained in force.
Treaty Day is therefore both historical and contemporary.
It creates a space to remember the agreements made between nations, acknowledge the continuing relationship they represent, and gather as communities.
For many people, it is also an opportunity to learn about a part of Nova Scotia’s history that reaches back thousands of years.
2026 Mi’kmaw History Month Theme
Nepisulti’k — We Are Healing
The words “We Are Healing” carry a message that reaches well beyond October.
Healing can mean different things to different people.
For one person, it may involve understanding family history. For another, it may mean reconnecting with language or culture. It may involve community, relationships, land, spirituality, memory, or simply finding a way to move forward after difficult experiences.
The 2026 theme recognizes that there is no single path.
Every person’s journey is different.
But different does not mean alone.
One of the central ideas behind this year’s theme is that individual healing is connected to the people and world around us. Human beings exist within families and communities, and those communities exist within a much larger natural world.
When one part of that relationship is strengthened, it can have an effect beyond the individual.
This understanding of healing also encourages people to think differently about what it means to “look into the past.”
History can be something we study.
But it can also be something we live with, learn from, and carry forward.
Events & Activities
Bringing History Into the Community
Throughout October, Mi’kmaw History Month is marked through events that bring people together in different ways.
Some activities focus on education. Others centre on art, storytelling, language, food, community gatherings, or cultural teachings.
The variety is important because culture cannot be reduced to one experience.
Someone might encounter Mi’kmaw history through a story shared by an Elder. Someone else might discover it through an exhibition or a language activity. A child might encounter a traditional story for the first time. Another visitor might simply begin by learning about a place name or the history of the community they live near.
Each of those experiences can become another piece of the larger picture.
In 2026, communities are hosting activities connected to the year’s focus on healing and wellness.
A Mi’kmaw Art Exhibition – Healing & Wellness is being held in Coldbrook, Nova Scotia, from October 1 through October 30, giving visitors an opportunity to encounter the theme through visual art and community programming. Its opening celebration includes a vendor market and children’s programming.
Other events throughout the month provide opportunities to encounter Mi’kmaw stories, teachings, books, art, and cultural knowledge.
Stories That Carry Knowledge
Storytelling has a particularly important place within Mi’kmaw culture.
Before written histories became the dominant way many people recorded the past, knowledge was carried through spoken stories and teachings.
Those stories could teach children how to understand the world, explain relationships between people and the natural world, preserve cultural knowledge, and provide lessons that could be remembered and passed along.
Some stories entertain.
Some make people laugh.
Some teach.
Some carry warnings.
And some help people understand who they are.
That is why storytelling is not simply entertainment. It can be a way of carrying knowledge between generations.
Mi’kmaw History Month’s educational resources continue to highlight stories and storytellers as an important part of understanding Mi’kmaw history and culture.
Planning Your Visit
Mi’kmaw History Month provides opportunities for visitors, students, families, educators, and community members to participate throughout October.
If you are attending an event for the first time, approach it as a guest and allow the organizers and community to guide the experience.
Listen to announcements.
Follow event instructions.
Respect photography and participation guidelines.
And give cultural teachings the attention they deserve.
Perhaps most importantly, come with a willingness to learn rather than an expectation to simply watch.
For people unfamiliar with Mi’kmaw culture, October can be a starting point rather than an endpoint.
A single event might lead to a book.
A story might lead to a conversation.
A conversation might lead to learning about the history of the land where you live.
And that learning might lead to another question.
That is part of what makes history meaningful.
Explore Mi’kmaw History & Culture
One of the most powerful aspects of Mi’kmaw History Month is that the journey does not have to end when October does.
The history of Mi’kma’ki reaches back thousands of years, and there are many different ways to continue learning.
You can begin with the land itself.
Learn the Mi’kmaw names of places around you.
Learn about the rivers and waterways that have connected communities for generations.
Explore the history of treaties.
Listen to stories.
Learn about the Mi’kmaw language.
Learn from Elders and knowledge holders.
And pay attention to the ways Mi’kmaw culture continues to shape the communities of today.
Mi’kmaw history can be understood as something assembled from many different pieces. Oral history, archaeology, geology, written records, stories, and the knowledge of Elders all contribute to understanding the larger picture.
That idea is especially appropriate for a month devoted to history.
Sometimes the most important lesson is realizing that there is always another piece to learn.
Get Involved With Mi’kmaw History Month
Everyone Has a Place in the Learning
Mi’kmaw History Month encourages people to participate rather than simply observe.
Communities, organizations, schools, and businesses can organize activities connected to Mi’kmaw history and culture. Community-led programming also provides opportunities for people to gather, learn, share knowledge, and strengthen connections.
For someone attending for the first time, involvement can be simple.
Attend an event.
Listen to a story.
Visit an exhibition.
Learn about Treaty Day.
Talk with someone who has knowledge to share.
Or spend time learning about the history of the place where you live.
There is no requirement to know everything before beginning.
In fact, the 2026 theme suggests almost the opposite.
Healing is a journey.
Understanding is a journey.
Learning history is a journey.
And every journey begins somewhere.
Final Thoughts
Mi’kmaw History Month 2026 is taking place throughout October, continuing a tradition that began in Nova Scotia in 1993.
But the story behind the month reaches much further back.
It reaches into the thousands of years of Mi’kmaw history in Mi’kma’ki. It reaches into the stories told by Elders, the languages spoken by generations, the treaties that continue to shape relationships, and the communities that continue to carry Mi’kmaw culture forward.
The 2026 theme, Nepisulti’k — We Are Healing, brings all of these ideas together.
It reminds us that healing is not something that happens once and then ends. It can happen through understanding. Through relationships. Through remembering. Through reconnecting. Through listening to the stories of those who came before us.
And perhaps that is one of the most meaningful reasons to spend time with history.
Not simply to know what happened.
But to understand how the past continues to shape the present—and how what we learn today can help shape what comes next.
For more upcoming pow wows, cultural celebrations, festivals, and community gatherings across Canada, explore our Indigenous Events section and discover more Indigenous events happening throughout the year.