Chief Reggie Maloney
Director of Education Doris Maloney
School Manager Jean Knockwood
Mi'kmaw Language teachers four

     Shubenacadie is the second largest First Nation community in Nova Scotia.  It is situated approximately thirty miles south of Truro.  It is one of the two native communities in this province which was selected by Indian Affairs in the early forties to centralize all the Mi'kmaw people onto two reserves.

     The main language used in the households is English.  There are two major reasons for this.  Just a few miles from this community was the Indian Residential School, where many of the residents attended.  Students who attended this school came back speaking English.

     Another cause for the loss of Mi'kmaw in this community is students attend school outside their community up to grade twelve.  It is only in the past two years that the children have been able to attend school at home.

     A kindergarten program has been in operation in Shubenacadie for the past twenty-five years.  Unfortunately, Mi'kmaw was not taught to the children attending this school nor is it taught today.

     For two years now, the students from grades primary to twelve have attended school in their community.  They don't have a proper educational facility and they are in dire need of a school.  The recreational centre has been transformed into a makeshift school where one hundred and ten students attend classes.  The support staff are crowded into a supply room where the director and three Mi'kmaw teachers share approximately 150 square feet of space.  Despite their surroundings, there is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm.

     There are some students who have gone back to the provincial school system in the nearby village of Shubenacadie.  In the elementary level there are one hundred students attending a public school.  Another sixty-three students are in grades nine to ten, forty-eight in grades six to eight and twenty-eight in pre-kindergarten.

     If there was a school in Shubenacadie, the total number of students including daycare would be three hundred and sixty-one.

     At the moment, Shubenacadie does not have an immersion program in their community.  They feel that it is necessary to train fluent teachers before they could implement immersion, if they did, they would start with Day Care, followed by Kindergarten, grade 2, 3, etc.

     Mi'kmaw language is taught as a second language in their school.  They would need at least forty-five minutes per day per class to teach the language.  Shubenacadie needs more fluent teachers.  At the present time, they have only one who is certified.

     Shubenacadie still has some fluent speakers in the community and the director feels that it is important to promote the language before it completely disappears.  A survey she recalled, conducted in the community some time ago, indicated that one hundred and eighty people were interested in learning Mi'kmaw.  The impediment to getting a course underway is the lack of fluent teachers.
 
 

How many and what ages in household?	Language spoken most often at home?	Why is Mi'kmaw not spoken in home?	How many speak Mi'kmaw in household?
How many understand but do not speak Mi'kmaw in household?	Can anyone at home read Mi'kmaw?	Can anyone in home write Mi'kmaw?	Has any member taken a Mi'kmaw course?
What type of course was taken?	How long was the course?	What course would you take if offered?	Have you attended a St. Ann's Mission?
Was the Mi'kmaw language used?	What percentage of Mi'kmaw was used?	What other cultural activities were you involved in?	Are you aware of books/materials in Mi'kmaw?