Dr Trudy Sable and Dr Bernie Francis welcomed our group to the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre, where they learned about this land's indigenous people through music, song, ceremonial dance, and storytelling.

Dr Francis, a noted author, linguist, and advocate for Mi'kmaw language and culture (who worked with Doug Smith develop an new orthography for the Mi’kmaw language) also gave students an introduction to the language spoken in this region for many thousands of years. After reflecting on how colonialism and the residential school system nearly destroyed the irreplaceable languages of Mi’kma’ki, Dr Francis explained that preserving indigenous languages is the foundation for ensuring future generations of Canada's First Nations people preserve and celebrate their cultures.