Elsipogtog offers tourists more than a glimpse of Mi'kmaq culture

Annie Clair, dressed in full regalia, lights the cedar, sage, tobacco and sweetgrass in an Abalone shell, as a group of 10 people watch and listen to her quietly explain how to perform the smudging, and what it means.

The participants in this tour are from Connecticut, France and Shediac, gathered inside a large white teepee in Elsipogtog First Nation. It's the third group to be taken on the Mi'kmaq Basket Making and Heritage Path Tour, offered for the first time this summer.

Joseph Gary Augustine is a senior basket-maker, a skill he shares with people during the tour.

"They're very interested in making it and at the end they're happy with what they created with their own hands."

Augustine also does a portion of the tour that brings guests into the forest to learn about the medicinal values of some plants and trees. He points out the black ash, whose wood is used to make a nest basket.

"I look forward to it every morning, coming in, because when I come in every morning I say it's a new day, and I can teach somebody else our culture, our way of life," Augustine said.

"It's interesting in both ways, I teach them how to make a basket and in turn they teach me a few things from their culture."

Augustine is one of three people at the Elsipogtog Mi'kmaq Cultural Centre working full time at the tour company. The business was created to bring jobs to the community and to boost the local economy, but Augustine said it's also about bringing understanding and putting an end to misconceptions about First Nations people.

"When guests come over here, the first thing we tell them is don't be afraid to ask questions, this is a safe place you can ask any question, doesn't matter what it is, and we'll try to answer it as best as we can."

The tour ends with people weaving their own baskets. By then, the visitors are often comfortable enough to start open conversations.

"It's just like breaking the ice type of thing, it's good … for younger kids especially," Augustine said.

Clair, a guide and the tour manager, said it's also a good way for people interested in Mi'kmaq practices such as smudging to learn how to participate.

"So now if they go to a ceremony they don't just show up, they know what to do."

Marianna Paolini, a teacher in Connecticut, brought her three teenage daughters to the Maritimes specifically to take part in the tour.

"I gave them a huge link with all these separate links to look at what they wanted to do in terms of activities, and they were very excited about this one."

Her 14-year-old daughter, Beth, took a moment away from putting together her own basket to add, "it was a lot more interactive than some of the other tours and we were kind of in there, we were going to do things instead of just standing there listening to people talk — so it  was a nice mix of the two."

Anna-Marie Weir, owner of Roads to Sea, a tour and training company, has worked in Elsipogtog for years, giving employment training. While giving tours at Hopewell Rocks, Weir gives a brief history of the region, starting with Mi'kmaq people.

"There's such a strong interest and demand in more information and more product and more experiences."

When the economic development office at Elsipogtog decided to branch out into tourism, Weir was hired as a consultant, a position she'll hold until he fall.

Clair, who acts as a guide and is also the tour manager, said the tours have gone well so far, and she's encouraged by the visitors' reactions.

"It's amazing, because when they leave from the tour they're really happy and they treat their basket like babies," said Clair.