The Nature of Place Names

“The naming of places in Mi'kma'ki was always very logical and descriptive, so our people would know where they were at all times,” recounts the late Elder Gregory Johnson in the short film ‘The Nature of Place Names.’

In 2010, Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek Mi’kmaw Place Names Digital Atlas and Website Project was launched to document approximately 13,000 years of Mi’kmaw presence within Mi’kma’ki, the place of the Mi’kmaq, and to raise public awareness of this ancient history.

Here’s an example of the many videos created by the Project across Nova Scotia.

Go here to watch the video.

Since 2010 the Project has grown and evolved. The 2022 version incorporated updated and expanded information offers a new way to see and understand more about the landscape we share with a culture many thousands of years old.