A shared history was acknowledged on Friday, June 10 with the permanent installation of the Mi鈥檏maq Grand Council Flag on the 国民彩票 Agricultural Campus 鈥� a first for a Nova Scotia university.
The flag was raised in recognition that the 国民彩票 Agricultural Campus sits on traditional territory of the indigenous Mi鈥檏maq people and was marked with a special ceremony in the Faculty鈥檚 Centennial Amphitheatre. Elder Jane Abraham, of Millbrook First Nation and 国民彩票鈥檚 Elders-in Residence program, performed a Four Directions blessing of the flag while Mi鈥檏maq drumming group Samqwan Boyz and traditional and Fancy Shawl dancers welcomed guests to this historic event. 聽
The Indigenous Mi鈥檏maq people have inhabited the region surrounding Dal鈥檚 Agricultural Campus for thousands of years. During the late 1700s and the early 1800s, the Mi鈥檏maq lived along the banks of the Salmon River, which runs between the Town of Truro and the Village of Bible Hill.
The land on which Dal鈥檚 Agricultural Campus sits was acquired and sold in 1885 to establish a School of Agriculture for the province (which would later become the former Nova Scotia Agricultural College and, today, the Faculty of Agriculture). When the school started expanding, the Mi鈥檏maq peoples were moved to property on King Street.
鈥淏ecause of this history there is a special relationship that needs to be acknowledged between 国民彩票, the Faculty of Agriculture and the Millbrook First Nation community,鈥� said Faculty of Agriculture Dean David Gray. "With the raising of the Mi鈥檏maq Grand Council Flag, we welcome the First Nations community to our campus and campus community and acknowledge their history as part of our history.鈥�
The permanent installation of the Mi鈥檏maq Grand Council Flag on the Agricul