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Introduction |  History |  Daily Life |  Culture | References

Daily Life

Way of Life

	Source
	Micmac Indians, painting by an anonymous artist, circa 1820

The Mi'kmaq territory was vast and plentiful. Like other Algonquin peoples, the Mi'kmaq would live near the ocean and mouths of rivers in the summer and move to the interior in the winter. This was to protect them from the cold winds.

Food

Mi'kmaq were able to live off the many animals that lived in the forest. This included bear, moose, porcupine, hare, grouse and passenger pigeons. The passenger pigeon no longer exists. There were once so many in the air that the sky would turn black with them. They were killed off when French and English settlers arrived with guns.

The Mi'kmaq also gathered atocas (cranberries), blueberries, strawberries and raspberries to eat. They caught fish. Some fish, such as the sturgeon, weighed up to 800 pounds (400 kg). Along outlets of rivers by the ocean, the Mi'kmaq were able to catch shellfish, lobster, crabs, salmon and eels. There were also walrus, seals and whales.