Qalipu First Nation is in Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland) and is part of the Mi’kmaq Nation whose territory extends from Maine to Quebec, through the Maritime Provinces and into Newfoundland. This territory is also known as Mi’kma’ki. Qalipu is one of the largest Indian Act Bands in Canada with a membership of more than twenty-five thousand people. This is in large part attributable to the fact that when
Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, the political leadership of the day falsely stated there were no Indigenous people in Newfoundland and left them out of any negotiations with Canada. As a result, there were no reserve lands established and our Mi’kmaq ancestors were not recognized under the Indian Act. By the time Government agreed to acknowledge our people, after decades of fighting by our Indigenous leaders, the Mi’kmaw population had roamed far and wide. Our ancestors had intermarried with other cultural populations on the island, they had big families and so on for several generations before the Qalipu First Nation was established as an Indian Act Band in 2011. Since many of those early ancestors had long since passed, they could not receive the recognition they deserved. Instead, their many descendants were granted status in their place. We are certainly unique in this regard but, we are proud to receive this recognition in their names and in their honour.
