Mi’kmaq leaders want money for Membertou baptism commemoration
Mi'kmaq Grand Keptin Andrew Denny address audience during Treaty Day celebrations in Halifax on Thursday. Photo by RadioGoogoo.ca
Mi’kmaq leaders urged the federal and provincial governments to help pay for commemoration ceremonies to mark the 400th anniversary of the baptism of Grand Chief Membertou in Annapolis Royal, N.S. next year during Treaty Day celebrations in Halifax on Thursday.
“I call upon the premier and Canada to help the Mi’kmaq Association of Cultural Studies … to plan and set aside money for these celebrations,” Grand Keptin Denny said during his address at the World Trade and Convention Centre.
Grand Chief Membertou was believed to be over 100 years old when he and several other family members were baptized into the Roman Catholic religion on June 24, 1610. The result of Membertou’s baptism, which took place at Port Royal, N.S., was that all Mi’kmaq people converted to Catholicism.
“We may never know exactly why he chose this path for many,” Denny said in his speech. “He did leave us with a legacy and a tradition in the profession of thinking ahead,” he said.
Membertou Band Chief Terrance Paul said the historic event is a shared history for both Mi’kmaq and Nova Scotians.
“The importance of this event cannot be overstated,” Paul said during his speech. “It provides an important milestone in the relationship between the Mi’kmaq and Europeans,” he said.
Grand Chief Membertou’s conversion to Christianity laid the foundation for peaceful relations with the French and played an important role in the evolution of the Confederation of Canada,” Paul said.
Plans are underway to commemorate Membertou’s baptism at Port-Royal National Historic Site in Annapolis Royal, N.S on June 24, 2010. Denny said he would like the both levels of government to also assist organizers by helping them in efforts to have Pope Benedict XVI to attend the commemoration events next summer.
“We have not yet received word whether he will come or not,” Denny said during his address. “One of the things we have to settle is the fact that in order to host his holiness is that we have to sit down and plan,” he said.
