Pictou Landing First Nation facts for kids

Location in Nova Scotia

Pictou Landing Health Centre (Fisher's Grant 24)

The Pictou Landing First Nation is a Mi'kmaq First Nation community located in Nova Scotia, Canada. A First Nation is a group of Indigenous people who have their own government and traditional lands. Their territory includes five special areas called reserves, which cover a total of about 527.6 hectares (that's like 1,300 acres!). As of 2017, about 485 Mi'kmaq people lived on their main reserve, with others living on different reserves or off-reserve.

Leading the Community: Chief and Council

The Pictou Landing First Nation started using an elected council system in 1951. This means the community votes for its leaders.

The current leader, Chief Andrea Paul, was re-elected for her third term in November 2015. She was chosen using the Indian Act election system. Six councillors were also elected at the same time. Three of these councillors had served before. A large number of people voted in that election, with 71% of eligible voters casting their ballots. Elections for the Chief and council are held every two years.

Exploring Pictou Landing's Reserves

The Pictou Landing First Nation has five different reserves. Only one of these, Fisher's Grant 24, has people living on it. This reserve is located near the mouth of Pictou Harbour. It's also close to Boat Harbour, which used to be a natural tidal lake.

On the Fisher's Grant 24 reserve, you'll find important community buildings. These include the band's main offices, a fire hall, a training center, and a school for younger students (grades P-6). The community's health center was built in 2007. Its design was inspired by traditional Mi'kmaq structures like longhouses and birch bark canoes. For example, its roof structure uses long, thin greenwood trees tied together with metal straps. The outside of the building is covered with large spruce shingles.

Here's a look at the different reserves that belong to the Pictou Landing First Nation:

The Story of Boat Harbour

Boat Harbour was once a natural body of water important to the Pictou Landing First Nation. However, in the 1960s, the Province of Nova Scotia took over Boat Harbour. They used it as a place to treat wastewater from a nearby pulp mill.

Sadly, Boat Harbour quickly became very polluted with harmful chemicals. This caused many disagreements between the First Nation and the government. In 2015, a law called the Boat Harbour Act was passed. This law set a deadline: the treatment facility had to close by January 31, 2020. After that, the site was to be cleaned up. This big cleanup project involves removing a lot of contaminated material and turning the area back into a natural tidal estuary (where a river meets the sea).

A judge in Nova Scotia, Honourable Judge Del W. Atwood, spoke about the history of injustice faced by the Pictou Landing First Nation. He said that the way the pulp mill and its treatment plant were built in Boat Harbour fifty years ago was an example of this injustice.

A study in 2013 found that the pollution from Boat Harbour and the mill's smokestacks made it hard for people to get traditional foods. Things like game, fish, and berries were affected, and residents were discouraged from growing their own gardens. This made it harder for the community to have enough healthy food.

In December 2019, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil refused the pulp mill's request to keep polluting the harbor longer. He said the company had enough time to fix the problem. Chief Andrea Paul of Pictou Landing First Nation expressed her gratitude, saying, "Cleaning up Boat Harbor is all my people have ever wanted."

Well-Known People from Pictou Landing

• Anna Mae Aquash, an important activist, spent some of her childhood here.