by Shannon Monk, KMKNO

I came across this speech given by our world renowned and respected Mi’kmaw Elder, Daniel N. Paul, to the Nova Scotia Tourist Association in 2003. News flash…he just happens to be the founder of this newspaper! His speech really resonated for me as he expressed the historic legacy of Mi’kmaw hospitality and welcome, and the importance of visitor satisfaction. This is at the core of the work we are doing to develop Authenticity Guidelines that will support this vision. I am excited to share the text of Elder Paul’s speech here, with his permission.

MI’KMAQ WELCOME

A speech by Daniel N. Paul to the Nova Scotia Tourist Association, November 16, 2003

Welcome my friends, I hope you have a pleasant visit!

I’ll start my discourse about Mi’kmaq welcome by relating how it came to be that my people always welcomed visitors to the land of the Mi’kmaq with open arms – a practice dating back into infinity. In fact, in pre-Columbian days, they often entertained visitors and traders arriving from other First Nations located across Turtle Island – our name for North America. Such hospitality resulted from the early indoctrination of children with the worthy social values of a people friendly civilization, which our ancestors had developed with great wisdom over the ages.

One of the most important of these values, taught to the young by the Elders, was that the Great Spirit created all people equal – which prevented the ...