New outdoor exhibit panels installed have been produced in English, French and Mi’kmaw for Skmaqn—Port-la-Joye—Fort Amherst National Historic Site/Parks Canada
New interpretive media has been unveiled for Skmaqn—Port-la-Joye—Fort Amherst National Historic Site in Prince Edward Island.
Outdoor exhibit panels installed near the visitor center have been produced in English, French and Mi’kmaw, while new trilingual panels have been installed at the earthworks of Fort Amherst and site of the Haché-Gallant homestead. Through rich historical descriptions and artistic as well as photographic imagery, the panels showcase the complex human history of the site.
A 16-minute video has been produced in Mi’kmaw, French, and English version. It tells the story of this important site where three cultures — each with their own beliefs and aspirations — experienced hardships, struggles and successes. The video can be viewed online and at the visitor center during the July-August operational season.
The Mi’kmaq have inhabited Epekwitk (PEI) for millennia and the area of Skmaqn — traditional Mi’kmaw for “waiting place” — on the present-day shores of Rocky Point, has long been an important site.
In 2018, in the spirit of reconciliation and on recommendation of the Mi’kmaw leadership of PEI, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada added “Skmaqn” to the name of the national historic site. The three-part name “Skmaqn—Port-la-Joye—Fort Amherst” has been in use since that time, and the new plaque commemorating the significance of the site has now been officially unveiled.
The name “Skmaqn” is thought to have its origins in the years 1725-1758 when Mi’kmaw and French leaders met annually at the site to renew their relationship and military alliance, during a time when the French and British empires were fighting for supremacy in North America. One of the first permanent French settlements on the island, Port-la-Joye was the seat of that colonial government and a port of entry. From this site, surrendered to Great Britain in 1758 and renamed Fort Amherst, the British organized and carried out the deportation of more than 3,000 Island Acadians to France.
