Constructing a Sacred Chronology: How the Nova Scotian Institute of Science Made the Mi’kmaq a People without Prehistory
Abstract In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Mi’kmaq were the focus of two moments in the development of the public sphere in the British settler colony of Nova Scotia. One moment saw concern for the Mi’kmaq’s welfare increase and the focus of that concern become fixed on “civilizing”...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00141801-3870636 https://read.dukeupress.edu/ethnohistory/article-pdf/64/3/401/499533/401Lelievre.pdf |
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crdukeunivpr:10.1215/00141801-3870636 2024-06-02T08:10:27+00:00 Constructing a Sacred Chronology: How the Nova Scotian Institute of Science Made the Mi’kmaq a People without Prehistory Lelièvre, Michelle A. 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00141801-3870636 https://read.dukeupress.edu/ethnohistory/article-pdf/64/3/401/499533/401Lelievre.pdf en eng Duke University Press Ethnohistory volume 64, issue 3, page 401-426 ISSN 0014-1801 1527-5477 journal-article 2017 crdukeunivpr https://doi.org/10.1215/00141801-3870636 2024-05-07T13:16:30Z Abstract In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Mi’kmaq were the focus of two moments in the development of the public sphere in the British settler colony of Nova Scotia. One moment saw concern for the Mi’kmaq’s welfare increase and the focus of that concern become fixed on “civilizing” through assimilation. Another was a growing scientific curiosity expressed through the founding of intellectual organizations such the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, and often at odds with prevailing religious beliefs, which adhered to the “sacred chronology” of the Bible. These moments converged in the addresses on cultural history made by members of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science between 1864 and 1912. The interpretations offered by the institute’s members demonstrate an increasing separation of the contemporary Mi’kmaq from the precontact past of the province, thus constructing a chronology that—if not biblically sacred—was sacrosanct to the narrative of progress that underlay the settler project in Nova Scotia. Article in Journal/Newspaper Mi’kmaq Duke University Press Ethnohistory 64 3 401 426 |
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Abstract In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Mi’kmaq were the focus of two moments in the development of the public sphere in the British settler colony of Nova Scotia. One moment saw concern for the Mi’kmaq’s welfare increase and the focus of that concern become fixed on “civilizing” through assimilation. Another was a growing scientific curiosity expressed through the founding of intellectual organizations such the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, and often at odds with prevailing religious beliefs, which adhered to the “sacred chronology” of the Bible. These moments converged in the addresses on cultural history made by members of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science between 1864 and 1912. The interpretations offered by the institute’s members demonstrate an increasing separation of the contemporary Mi’kmaq from the precontact past of the province, thus constructing a chronology that—if not biblically sacred—was sacrosanct to the narrative of progress that underlay the settler project in Nova Scotia. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lelièvre, Michelle A. |
spellingShingle |
Lelièvre, Michelle A. Constructing a Sacred Chronology: How the Nova Scotian Institute of Science Made the Mi’kmaq a People without Prehistory |
author_facet |
Lelièvre, Michelle A. |
author_sort |
Lelièvre, Michelle A. |
title |
Constructing a Sacred Chronology: How the Nova Scotian Institute of Science Made the Mi’kmaq a People without Prehistory |
title_short |
Constructing a Sacred Chronology: How the Nova Scotian Institute of Science Made the Mi’kmaq a People without Prehistory |
title_full |
Constructing a Sacred Chronology: How the Nova Scotian Institute of Science Made the Mi’kmaq a People without Prehistory |
title_fullStr |
Constructing a Sacred Chronology: How the Nova Scotian Institute of Science Made the Mi’kmaq a People without Prehistory |
title_full_unstemmed |
Constructing a Sacred Chronology: How the Nova Scotian Institute of Science Made the Mi’kmaq a People without Prehistory |
title_sort |
constructing a sacred chronology: how the nova scotian institute of science made the mi’kmaq a people without prehistory |
publisher |
Duke University Press |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00141801-3870636 https://read.dukeupress.edu/ethnohistory/article-pdf/64/3/401/499533/401Lelievre.pdf |
genre |
Mi’kmaq |
genre_facet |
Mi’kmaq |
op_source |
Ethnohistory volume 64, issue 3, page 401-426 ISSN 0014-1801 1527-5477 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1215/00141801-3870636 |
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Ethnohistory |
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64 |
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3 |
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401 |
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426 |
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1800756324311498752 |