THE BEGINNING

Kwe,,,

From top left :

 Melissa, my daughter ,  Coreen Muise, a cousin ,  Margie Muise ,sister  ,  Jenelle Duval Muise  .  and April O'Brien Sheppard , Chief Larry Jeddore ,  and my self,  VJM .

 This is the First Mi'kmaq Dance and singing Group in Bay St. George.

Pikto'l ,

Sa'ke'j Muise

THE UNKNOWN TRUTH

A Brief History of My Life (The Unknown Truth)

Mothers and (Maqmikawe'sku)  Mother Earth,  have raised me in  (Nujioqon )St. George's Nl., through the sacred seven stages of life.

When I was young the Elders (Nsukwis),  in and around our communities,  through assimilation into society and with  over 520 years or more of suppression,  did not know their Spiritual part of our culture.

Hunting and fishing and gathering berries , trapping in the fall still existed. 

My grandfather made a living of trading animals such as  foxes, mink, beaver etc… to sell or trade the pelts .

Only a few people know medicines,  such as knowledge of  hubush,  or bear root and  kinikwejitewaqsi, which is ground juniper,etc…

 Very few knew the Mi'kmaq language. 

I was taught English, Latin , and French in day school and I had a hard time trying to stay with the system .  I wanted to be in the bush , the country, walking Mother Earth and listening  to the creeks sing slow melodies to me . 

My thoughts were more clear in that environment  , and I always had this inner piece and spiritual sense when I was  with nature and it  became a huge part of my being.

Being from a poor family I still felt rich with love and respect  for  my parents , and I was always attached to my grand- mother and Elderly people in the community.

Only after 1980's  , when I went to a meeting with the Federation of Newfoundland Indians,  did  my awareness of my ancestor's  past come  to light.

Nevertheless,  my Aunt Josephine always told me I was Mi'kmaq.

 I started asking questions to the Elders and family members who were  Mi'kmaq Indians.

Very little was known,  but still yet today the spiritual strength,  in my inner soul,  stays with me.

I had passed almost a quarter  of my life standing strong with earthly objects, physical things,  that meant a whole lot to me and yet I didn't know the true meaning.

After years passed I became Chief of the Band Council in St.Georges and learned Mi'kmaq songs, chants from George Paul and got some teachings from Cathy Joe,  Mi'kmaq tribal teachers,  and many teachers from the Mi'kmaq Nation.

I went on and formed a Mi'kmaq warrior drum group and women's drum groups, and many groups after that , still learning and my interest grew   even stronger and gained more spiritual strength that stayed with me.

 I had to learn to be humble as I got older and this was a hard task .

I have accomplished many things in my life but my biggest reward was to finally find my true Identity and I lived the Mi'kmaq way of life .

I was now aware of many things . such as  truly staying on a path that the Creator intended for Indian people of the Mi'kmaq Nation that I'm so proud of ,  the  First Peoples of the Land   in North America .

Pikto'l Sa'ke'j Muise
Victor James Muise

LIFE'S JOURNEY

Important and Informative

I have sensed a deep connection to my SPIRITUALITY from a very early age.

 I hunted , fished , gathered berries and wild vegetables (living off and on the land).I was accustomed to Mother Earth and traveled with my uncle and cousins and spent most of my l spare  time walking the country of Western Newfoundland,sleeping in old log cabins. Side camps were home to me for many nights at a time.

My teachers from our Mi'kmaq traditions were SPIRITUAL,  Mi'kmaw  and traditional  L'NU; George Paul and Cathy Joe. Their teachings have sustained me throughout my life.

From a very early age I was taught to be respectful of my ELDERS. Respect and a helping them  were part of what was done for the ELDERS in our Community.

I joined the FNI in 1985 ( having only scratched the surface) of my SPIRITUAL understandings. At that time many people in Bay George did not know they had ties with the Mi'kmaq Nation. The L'nu of K'taqmkuk have since then taken a stand to revitalize their CULTURE which had been almost lost and forgotten.

When I helped kick start the St. George's Band and in 1989 was affiliated with FNL, I  became Chief of the St. George's Indian Band.  I acquired  a building for the Mi'kmaq of St. George to have their meetings.

  I set up a Mi'kmaq drum and singing group here in the Bay St. George area. I took direction from the ELDERS' who sat on our council. This is how Mi'kmaq people make decisions.

 I volunteered my time making presentations in the  school system here on the West Coast and also helped set up a group in Central Newfoundland and later set up a group at the Native Friendship Center in St. John's.

When my marriage broke up I turned to drinking. The emotional pain  was too much to bear and alcohol numbed this profound hurting. After a while with some help from my friends and family, I got the help I needed and stopped drinking.

During my working days as I was young, I sailed with the  Upper Lake Shipping Company from Toronto and sailed the whole Western Seaboard.

 I worked in the forests fields as a Forest Ranger 11 and was later fire Boss over the unit , here in the Bay St, George area, working throughout the Island and in Labrador.

 In later years I  worked as prospector on the Island and in Labrador.

 I spent time volunteering at Native Friendship Centers  with youth and I helped set up programs. I traveled in the many Provinces throughout Canada and in my spare time I stayed at my cabin up Flat Bay Brook in Helch Gulch in part , for 27 years .

Trying to stay on a spiritual path is very hard, although I have received much respect for my accomplishments over the past thirty years. In those years we had no pipe carries, sweat lodge keepers , spirit name givers, or  medicine people. 

People barely knew the Mi'kmaq language and as I was completely lost living in an European society.

In 2014 many of our Mikmaq people on K'taqmkuk gathered at our Mawiomi and every one was saying Pjila'si-welcome and there were over three thousand people present on Saturday.

 Many of our youth attended the gathering which made me so proud because twenty years ago there was very few of our youth dressed in full regalia and trying to learn more about our Mi'kmaq culture.

In concluding this writing I want to say we are fortunate to have some Mi'kmaq people that are Mi'kmaq Elders and teachers here in the Bay St. George area. However people are coming out of the woodwork from here and everywhere professing to be Mi'kmaq teachers, pipe carries, name givers and sweat lodge keepers.

I know to be a pipe carrier one must be recognized by the community and those people are hard to find to fill that role in Mi'kmaq society.

 The same goes for a Traditional Mi'kmaq Teacher of our culture. 

The honour of being a sweat lodge keeper is only given to a person when he has been a helper for many years. This person must be seen as be living by our 7 spiritual teachings , even  before they are considered to hold such a responsibility. Some people don't even make it and the name givers have to go through a sacred ceremony and then a name might be revealed.

Our youth are looking for direction from our ELDERS and TEACHERS about our way of life and how we live as Mi'kmaq. It is important that we have a discussion about who these people are and recognize these ELDERS and TEACHERS in a ceremony to present them to our COMMUNITY .

Pikto'l Sa'ke'j Muise..VJM

"Mandiewagque"
Up Flat Bay Brook