Mi'kmaq Hope To Protect Part Of Prince Edward Island

By Jennifer Bain - February 1st, 2022

Hog Island is off the coast of Prince Edward Island/Epekwitk Assembly of Councils

The proposed Pituamkek National Park Reserve in Prince Edward Island is one step closer to reality.

On Jan. 19, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to formally work towards establishing the park reserve was signed by Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada Steven Guilbeault and Epekwitk Assembly of Councils co-chairs Chief Darlene Bernard and Chief Junior Gould.

The signing comes after a public engagement process found “strong public support” for the proposal. Negotiations will now begin for an establishment agreement.

The sand dunes of Pituamkek form one of Eastern Canada's most ecologically significant coastal dune ecosystems.

“Our people have always been stewards of the land, so to protect and preserve an important part of our environment and a vital part of our Mi'kmaq cultural heritage is something that we must do — in honor of past and future generations to come,” said Abegweit First Nation’s Gould. “We are eager to work collaboratively with Parks Canada to make this dream become reality."

The area being studied for a possible national park reserve/Parks Canada

Located in the northwestern part of PEI (Epekwitk), near the Lennox Island First Nation reserve, is a chain of islands known in the Mi’kmaq language as Pituamkek (pronounced Bee-doo-um-gek) or “At the Long Sand Dune,” and in English as Hog Island and the Sandhills.

In 2006, representatives from the Mi’kmaq communities of PEI, Parks Canada and the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now the Museum of History) conducted a foot survey on Hog Island and discovered two confirmed archaeological sites. The cultural and ecological importance of the area, already known to the local Mi’kmaq community, was relayed to government officials.

The Lennox Island and Abegweit First Nations, together known as the Epekwitk Mi’kmaq, submitted a proposal to the federal government to create a cooperatively managed national park reserve or other type of protected area.

In 2009, a tripartite group of representatives from the federal, provincial and the Epekwitk Mi’kmaq governments began a dialogue to find ways to protect the Pituamkek region. Dialogue involving the First Nations, the province of PEI and Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC) identified shared conservation goals for the area. Around this time, the NCC began acquiring parcels of land in the area for conservation.

Since then, multiple organizations have worked together to acquire lands for conservation and to build relationships and additional support for the project.

The Memorandum of Understanding signing was done virtually/Parks Canada

In August 2019, a historic tripartite announcement from the Province of PEI, Epekwitk Mi’kmaq and Parks Canada formally launched the undertaking of a feasibility assessment for the proposed national park reserve.

A public consultation process, slated to begin in early 2020, was delayed by the pandemic until June and July 2021, but eventually found “almost unanimous support” for the proposed park reserve.

“This agreement is one more step on the road to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and toward protecting lands and waters of great cultural importance in Prince Edward Island,” said Guilbeault at the MOU signing.

The creation of the Pituamkek will be the first national park reserve to contribute to Justin Trudea’s Liberal government's commitment to create 10 new national parks by 2025.

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