Mi’kmaq Culture: Basket Weaving

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Introduction

Traditional knowledge can be comparable to the inherited traditions and long standing practices inherent within a particular culture, society, or community.

Another way of looking at traditional knowledge is from the concept of “adaptively acquired knowledge” wherein the various processes and techniques inherent to a particular indigenous community were developed as a response to the unique environmental and topographical situation they found themselves in (Chute, 481).

This can be seen in the different weaves and means of producing traditional clothing that is unique to particular regions such as the “sarong” in the Philippines, the Kimono of Japan and the thickset clothing developed by the indigenous people of Tibet and various traditions and practices of the Mi’kmaq.

Such a case manifests itself in the case of the Mi’kmaq culture within Nova Scotia in the form of traditional baskets that have been created by hand by local artisans. The sale of local handicrafts is a prominent feature in most countries that have a growing tourism industry which helps to support local artists as well as small to medium scale enterprises that specialize in the sale and distribution of such items.

In the case of the Mi’kmaq culture, this comes in the form of its basket making culture which has become not only a means of promoting the indigenous native population of Canada but as a means of infusing much needed outside currency into local communities.

It is interesting to note that for the Mi’kmaq culture, basket weaving is considered a method of “cultural revitalization” wherein practices from height of Mi’kmaq culture are passed down and preserved from one generation to the next.

This is particularly important given the current state of affairs within Nova Scotia where there has been a noted decline in cultural participation among members of the native population in favor of the modernity seen in present day Canadian culture.

Understanding the Survival of Traditional Basket Weaving

Researchers such as Cook (2005) have shown that oral tradition plays an important role in helping various societies sustain their cultural practices despite the cultural domination instituted by European traders and colonizers (Cook, 95-99).

Cook (2005) explains this by indicating that while various types of cultural texts and religious iconography can be burned or destroyed, oral traditions can easily be passed from one generation to the next resulting in the survival of various types of cultural practices (Cook, 95-99).

This was seen in the case of the Philippines wherein various aspects of its ancient cultural traditions involving elemental and idol worship were subtlety incorporated into social convention despite the best efforts of the Catholic priests at the time to stamp out all previous forms of “alternative” cultural or religious practices. In the case of the Mi’kmaq culture, much of its current cultural practices have been passed down through oral tradition.

While there have been considerable efforts on the part of the Canadian government to create a standard written form of culture, historical accounts and various types of traditions of the Mi’kmaq culture, oral tradition still continues to remain a predominant aspect of communicating age old practices to the present day generation.

Such a practice also happens to encompass traditional basket making practices wherein most practitioners learn the art through both visual and oral means from a Mi’kmaq artisan in order to how to utilize the traditional weaving patterns and symbolism in the creation of present day baskets that can be bought in several souvenir shops within Nova Scotia. Do note though that different Mi’kmaq artisans produce their own versions of basket weaving.

This comes in the form of incorporating different variations of symbolism, weaving techniques and individual preferences to the overall design.

This means that within the past few hundred years or so, as a direct result of different artisans teaching their own individual styles via oral tradition to their learners, this has casted a significant degree of doubt as to whether or not the baskets seen at the present can still be considered “traditional” since the design elements are subtly changed per generation.

There is little in the form of a “basket weaving handbook” that present day student artisans of basket weavers can refer to when it comes to creating baskets which has resulted in what Lannom (1999) describes as a “gradual deterioration” of classic design in favor of artistic vision and preference when it comes to present day basket weaving styles and techniques (Lannom, 14).

Understanding the Concept of Cultural Change and How Material Culture in the form of Basket Weaving is a Part of it

From the study of Leclerq (2009), it was noted that societies tends to change over time into something completely different than their initial incarnation. Despite this, the people, the society, and what can be defined as “cultural traditions” are still considered part of the original culture despite the drastic changes that occurred (Leclerq, 49).

For example when looking at England at the present the society that embodies it within the current era is drastically different from what it was during 1800s, the 1400s and even far before that.

The society that defined itself as “British” during the 10th to 17th century is no longer present what exists in its place is an entirely new culture, a far different society and a population that for all intents and purpose is far more diverse than it was in the past yet such a population still considers itself as “British” despite the fact that it is in no way similar to what was defined as “British” in the past (Davis, 1-74).

This is applicable to nearly all modern societies at the present wherein through hundreds of years of change what was used to define Germans, Americans, Italians and Japanese has gone through various iterations and changes.

Who they are at the present cannot even be considered a similar facsimile of the original culture within their country (Davis, 1-74). While it may be true that some vestiges of the original culture are left it can be stated that there are more differences than similarities wherein if you had brought someone from the 1600s to England, Japan, China or the U.S. they would be hard pressed to find what they could define as “familiar”.

Such is the case when examining the present day Mi’kmaq culture wherein many of its members no longer conform to traditional cultural activities such as hunting, the creation of handicrafts and other similar cultural traditions.

Instead, what is seen at the present is a distinct modernization of the culture wherein education of the young is conducted within schools instead of through parents and village elders, hunters are all but absent in the form of tour guides, factory workers and other similar mundane jobs that are found in many of today’s modern rural cultures.

These changes are actually considered “worrisome” by the current department of cultural preservation within Canada since it implies that the original Mi’kmaq culture has declined to such an extent that it is barely a shadow of what it was in the past.

However, what must be understood is that based on what was mentioned by Williamson (2011), this cultural shift is a normal part of cultural development and it should be understood as such (Williamson, 84-91).

For example, when examining the present day basket weaving techniques employed by local artisans, many of them utilize techniques that incorporate modern day tools and machinery in order to produce the designs and weaving patterns seen in many of the souvenir shops in Nova Scotia.

Items such as glue, dyes and wax are used in present day basket weaving methods as opposed to the more traditional resin and natural colors of the fibers utilized (Senier, 15-34).

Despite this, the baskets created by local artisans at the present can still be considered a reflection of the Mi’kmaq culture, however, instead of being a reflection of the Mi’kmaq culture that existed hundreds of years ago it is more of a reflection of the Mi’kmaq culture as it is at the present which is an amalgam of modern and traditional aspects (Senier, 15-34).

This change does not detract from the culture as a whole, rather, it shows how cultures tend to reflect different aspects along distinct points in their individual life cycles.

Dynamic Development of Culture

It is based on this that I developed the notion that to consider culture as a static event that is isolated to particular periods of time is actually fallacious. Rather, what is known as culture to most people is actually a dynamic process that constantly changes over the years into different iterations. To a certain extent it can be stated that the different cultural periods throughout history are nothing more than stages in a development cycle that never truly ends.

It is based on this perspective that the cultural distinctions that we have at the present will very likely undergo even more changes in the coming years into something completely different to our present day experience of culture yet the society of this future iteration will still define themselves as Americans, Italians, British, and Germans.

Basket Making and the Concept of Identification

This enduring method of “identification” is for me not necessarily a result of culture but rather a manifestation of the sense of community that is inherent in us all (Parnaby, 69-98). The preservation of the art of basket weaving can be considered a method of valuing one’s own community since there are thousands of other possible jobs that a person could hold that pay more than what a basket weaver attains per annum (Parnaby, 69-98).

Various studies have shown that man (i.e. humanity) is a social creature and actually craves societal contact and desires to be identified with a particular type of group.

It is based on this that I came up with the conclusion that the concept of identification is a way in which man has created a means by which he is able to identify himself with a particular social group and once this particular sense of identification is set that is when distinct aspects related to culture begin to manifest itself.

From this perspective, it can be stated that basket weaving within the present day Mi’kmaq culture is a means of identifying one’s self with the traditional Mi’kmaq civilization and as a means of identifying one’s self with the greater Mi’kmaq culture as a whole.

Present Day Threats to the Material Culture of Basket Weaving

The inherent problem with Nova Scotia’s local economy is that much of it is centered around agricultural and industrial development with little attention being paid to the development of small to medium scale enterprises that focus on the production and sale of local handicrafts.

In fact, an examination of the local handicraft industry reveals that most of the sales of authentic native handicrafts are done through local handicraft centers or markets with little in the way of export depots existing which would help to sell such items in overseas markets.

Despite the fact that SMEs constitute 92 percent of local businesses within the region, they are still overshadowed by large agricultural and industrial companies that hire most of the local workforce.

The inherent problem with this particular situation is that the lack of support for the local handicraft industry in Nova Scotia combined with the method utilized to produce handicrafts, which is a normally long and tedious process, leaves this particular industry vulnerable to differences in labor economics.

In a way, traditional knowledge can be defined as a form of claimed ancestral heritage wherein cultural traditions, societal norms and customs, methods of preparing food and clothing as well as aspects related to medicine, agriculture and fishing are all a result of hundreds if not thousands of years of shared oral and written traditions which are inextricably bound to the people that inherited them and can be considered their “property” so to speak since for them it is a form of cultural inheritance.

Yet over the years the process of globalization and cultural assimilation has increasingly placed a strain on the concept of “ownership” of traditional knowledge.

Aspects related to traditional symbols, designs, distinctive cultural crafts, artwork, songs, stories and even knowledge related to traditional medicine have been misappropriated by corporations, schools and opportunitistic individuals in order to market an aspect related to another society’s traditional knowledge with no regard to the concept of “intellectual ownership” of the “product” that they are distributing.

Such a case can be seen in the case of Nova Scotia at the present wherein the demand for local handicrafts by visiting tourists has resulted in the establishment of a new source for such products that are far from what one can consider “traditional”.

This refers to various handicrafts such as pottery, metalwork, woodwork, fabric and basket weaves that are not made by local craftsmen but are in fact mass produced in factories or even imported from locations as far as India or China with the mark of the Mi’kmaq culture but were not created with the assistance nor consent of local artists or craftsmen.

The fact remains that hiring a supplier from China or India to make the same type of handicraft based on the design alone accomplishes several factors:

It is cheaper since workers from India or China have a lower minimum wage
It solves the supply issue given that items can be produced in wholesale quantities utilizing industrial techniques
It enables the sellers to gain higher profit percentages given that such products are far cheaper than those made by local artisans

The end result satisfies the demand side of the market; however, this comes as a direct result of a distinctly negative impact for the supply side in the case of local artisans.

Labor Economics at Work

The various processes that have been mentioned within this paper are actually not a recent development but were actually established during the early to mid-1990s as Nova Scotia’s tourism industry continued to pick up. What you have to understand is that the local handicraft industry during the 1990s did not keep pace with the relative increase in the amount of tourists (Chute, 539-556).

The main reason behind this is the fact that in order for something to be considered “traditional and authentic” it would need to be made in a manner that is line with local methods of creation and not be subject to industrial processes (Chute, 539-556).

Given that becoming a local artisan for a craft is an exceedingly difficult endeavor kept to a few select groups and families, it is not surprising that it produces relatively few professional artisans per year (Chute, 539-556). Not only that, due to the increasing level of Nova Scotia’s economic sophistication more and more individuals are choosing to enter into jobs with industrial companies rather than continue on with their traditional roots.

As a result, the number of artisans has dwindled over the years with government programs even in place to ensure that the production processes that are unique to particular local handicrafts do not disappear.

It thus becomes rather strange that despite such difficulties many of the local markets and tourist shops in and around Nova Scotia continue to have vast stocks of “local” handicrafts despite the fact the dwindling nature of traditional artisans (Chute, 539-556).

The most obvious answer to such a mystery is the fact that most of what is present in such shops are in fact complete fakes that merely imitate the style established by artists but were in fact made in locations such as India or China (Mannette, 505).

The government is well aware of this; however, given the labor shortage of artists and the high demand for local artifacts the end result is that the government turns a blind eye in favor of satisfying local demand (Chute, 539-556). What the government does not understand in this particular case is that such practices actually further destabilize the local labor market for the creation of local artifacts.

With local markets flooded with handicrafts made in other countries this actually limits the ability of local artisans to sell what they make. As mentioned earlier, not only are locally made artifacts more expensive but they take far longer to make as compared to the ones that are imported which can be made in bulk lots (Mannette, 505).

Such a situation leads to various merchants actually refusing to sell handicrafts made by traditional artisans since tourists who buy artifacts from them do not know any better whether what they are buying is original or authentic, what they usually care about is the overall price in correlation to how the item looks.

Since merchants are able to sell fake handicrafts at a far lower cost and make larger profits from them, they would in turn start to prefer such items over the originals.

Conclusion

The end result of such actions is that authentic locally made cultural artifacts are increasingly becoming harder to come by within Nova Scotia given the proliferation of mass produced forgeries from international factories.

Works Cited

Chute, Janet E. “Frank G. Speck’s Contributions To The Understanding Of Mi’kmaq Land Use, Leadership, And Land…” Ethnohistory 46.3 (1999): 481. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013

Chute, Janet. “Sustainable Mi’kmaw Cultural Tourism Development In Nova Scotia, Canada: Examining Cultural Tourist And Mi’kmaw Perspectives.” Journal Of Sustainable Tourism 18.4 (2010): 539-556. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013

Cook, Sarah Jane. “Use Of Traditional Mi’kmaq Medicine Among Patients At A First Nations Community Health Centre.” Canadian Journal Of Rural Medicine 10.2 (2005): 95-99. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013

Davis, Stephen. Mi’kmaq: People of the Maritimes (Peoples of the Maritimes). Toronto: Down East Books, 1997. 1-74. Print.

Lannom, Gloria W. “The Mi’kmaq.” Faces (07491387) 16.3 (1999): 14. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013.

Leclerq, Chrestien. “A Micmac Responds To The French.” Micmac Responds To The French (2009): 49. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013

Mannette, Janice. “‘Not Being A Part Of The Way Things Work’: Tribal Culture And Systemic Exclusion In The Donald Marshall Inquiry.” Canadian Review Of Sociology & Anthropology 27.4 (1990): 505. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013.

Parnaby, Andrew. “The Cultural Economy Of Survival: The Mi’kmaq Of Cape Breton In The Mid-19Th Century.” Labour / Le Travail 61.(2008): 69-98. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013

Senier, Siobhan. “Rethinking Recognition: Mi’kmaq And Maliseet Poets Re-Write Land And Community.” Melus 37.1 (2012): 15-34. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013

Williamson, Karla Jessen. “Rethinking Resilience From Indigenous Perspectives.” Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry 56.2 (2011): 84-91. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013.

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