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Acadian Root Baskets of
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada has a rich heritage of basket making. Mi'kmaq and Maliseet First Nations people have woven baskets here for centuries, as have French, Scottish, English, Irish, German, and Black settlers. Acadian Root Baskets of Atlantic Canada explores the art of traditional Acadian basket making. Historically, the baskets were woven for every purpose imaginable-gathering vegetables in the field, collecting clams on the beach, hauling firewood, and carrying eggs. But today, Acadian basketry is far removed from everyday life. The beautiful containers have become a vanishing art form. Seeking to recapture this stunning tradition, author Joleen Gordon profiles three of the last master basket makers in the Atlantic Provinces. Their practises and techniques are carefully explored and incorporated into step-by-step instructions, and are complemented with plentiful and excellent visual guidance. Gordon also examines the history of the craft, describing how Acadian, black, and Mi'kmaw styles overlapped and influenced each other, and how important these baskets have been to the Acadians who have created them over the centuries. Acadian Root Baskets of Atlantic Canada is an invaluable resource for readers and historians interested in Acadian culture, as well as anyone interested in the basket arts.
A NSM/Nimbus co-publication, part of the Peeper Series.
92 pp, illustrated
ISBN 1-55109-524-6
$14.95
Tracking Doctor Lonecloud
Meet Germain Bartlett Laksi, advocate for his people, hunter and guide,
healer and showman, son of Mi’kmaw parents, Abram and Mary Ann.
Abram fought in the American Civil War, helping to capture Abraham Lincoln’s
assassin, John Wilkes Booth, and was murdered for his share of the reward
money. When Mary Ann died shortly after, Jerry, aged fourteen, took his
two younger brothers and a sister to Nova Scotia. Later, Jerry performed
in various medicine shows, including Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show,
under the name of Chief Lonecloud. His knowledge of herbal plants and
the creation of medicinal remedies had begun when he was a child. During
the years 1923 to 1929, he told his own story and a wealth of Mi’kmaw
tales, oral histories, jokes, and social customs to Nova Scotian writer
Clara Dennis. In the 1990s, these interviews, recorded in Dennis’s
notebooks, came to the attention of Ruth Holmes Whitehead.
Tracking Doctor Lonecloud includes Lonecloud's life story in
his own words — the earliest known Mi'kmaw autobiography. This memoir,
painstakingly transcribed by Whitehead and augmented by her research,
reveals both the showman and the carrier of Mi'kmaw legends.
183 pp, b&w photographs
ISBN 0-86492-356-2
$19.95
Discover Nova Scotia,
The Ultimate Nature Guide
SOLD OUT!
If you love Nova Scotia's outdoors, even if you prefer driving to hiking
or kayaking, you'll love this book. If you've wondered about our landscapes
- how they came to be, what plants and wildlife live there, how humans
fit into them - this book will become your bible.
Saunder's opus promises to do for nature lovers what restaurant guides
do for connoisseurs of fine cuisine. It is the first comprehensive, non-technical
ecotour guide to Nova Scotia's roadnet - your ticket to eco-adventure.
Part One and Two offer an eagle's eye view of the province, a primer in basic ecology and tips on safe ecotouring. In Part Three the author gives interpretive tours of each route. We learn how the Bay of Fundy came to be floored in black lava, and why Mahone Bay has so many whaleback islands. We look in on beaver dams and sugar woods, watch the Southern Margaree gaspereau run, visit provincial and national parks, beachcomb and whale watch. There are historical flashbacks, useful facts, quotable quotes, weather lore and tons of things to do.
A NSM/Nimbus co-publication.
440 pp, colour maps & photographs
ISBN 1-55109-242-5
$29.95
Titles can be ordered by contacting the Nova Scotia Museum, toll-free, by fax, email or mail.
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