N.S. government unveils Mi’kmaq licence plate in Truro

By Staff The Canadian Press

Nova Scotia is set to unveil a new Mi'kmaq licence plate today. Deputy premier Karen Casey and Chief Wilbert Marshall of Potlotek First Nation in Cape Breton will officially release the new plate, seen here in an undated handout image, during a ceremony in Truro.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Government of Nova Scotia

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The Nova Scotia government has unveiled a new Mi’kmaq licence plate, the latest cultural group in the province to receive its own plate.

The licence plate, unveiled Friday in Truro, N.S., features a Mi’kmaq petroglyph and bears the phrase “Mi’kma’ki Land of the Mi’kmaq.”

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The province said many Mi’kmaq connect the petroglyph with the eight-point star, which has political and historical significance, while some connect the image to the traditional districts of Mi’kma’ki – traditional Mi’kmaq territory.

Premier Stephen McNeil, who is also Aboriginal Affairs minister, said the plate enhances the visibility and appreciation of Mi’kmaq culture in Nova Scotia.

“I am pleased that our ongoing work with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs has resulted in a wonderful plate available to anyone registering a vehicle in Nova Scotia,” McNeil said in a news release.

A $24 donation fee for the plate will go towards Mi’kmaq youth sports and recreation.

“It is great to see this project become a reality,” Chief Wilbert Marshall of the assembly of chiefs said in the release. “This truly is a project that involved our community members and something that we all can be very proud of.”

The establishment of the plate was listed in the government’s cultural action plan to help increase the visibility and appreciation of Mi’kmaq culture.

Nova Scotia also recently unveiled licence plates celebrating the Gaelic and Acadian cultures.

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Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs