Sweat lodge ceremonies are a tradition for many First Nations throughout America. A sweat lodge is a place of refuge, for physical and psychological healing, a place of prayer and a place to get answers and guidance from the ancestors, spiritual guides an

For Aboriginal peoples the drum is the heartbeat of the Creator, the heartbeat of life and the heartbeat of their peoples. Drumming is a central element to all native ceremonies; the drum is believed to be a conduit, through which the Creator’s spirit m

When I came out of that first sweat lodge, I was looking to the heavens, there were stars everywhere, it was beautiful. That is when I knew : this is what I was missing.
- Mike Doucette

Our languages may be different, our skin color may be different, but we are all the same.
- Mike Doucette

Mike is like a brother, a cousin, a father, a mother... He's all of those things combined into one very special person.
- Mi'sel Joe

20 annual powwows held in Conne River.
Less than 11000 Mi'kmaq speakers in Canada and the United States.

Mike Doucette from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, is a Master of Ceremonies who has revived Mi’kmaq culture, not only in his hometown of Eskasoni, but right across the Maritimes. A child of Residential School survivors, Mike did not grow up with Mi’kmaq culture, his parents taught him English and Christian values, as they themselves were taught. Mike’s childhood was plagued with many of the common problems we see on reservations; alcoholism, drug-addiction, physical abuse, and domestic violence. ...

Nestled along the edge of the Bras d’Or Lake (a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve), in Cape Breton (NS), Eskasoni is home to approximately 4,000 and is one of the largest Mi’kmaq speaking communities in the world. The name Eskasoni comes from the Mi

Mi’kmaq, also known as Micmac, Mi’gmaq, and Miigmao is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by approximately 11,000 of the 20,000 Mi’kmaq in Canada and the United States.



The significant reduction in Mi’kmaq speakers witnessed over the last century is mainly due to the introduction of Residential Schools where Mi’kmaq children were forbidden from speaking in their own tongue. Thus, when these Residential School survivors became adults and had children of their own, their language was all ...