Demarcation: Counter Mapping as a Means of Redefining Colonial Boundaries
Counter mapping is used as a means to speak back to dominant powers and colonial ideas of property ownership and incorporates visual truth of unceded ancestral Mi'kmaq territory in Nova Scotia.
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La contre-cartographie est utilisée pour parler des pouvoirs dominants et des idées coloniales de propriété et permet intégrer une vérité visuelle du territoire ancestral Mi'kmaq non cédé en Nouvelle-Écosse.
For centuries, colonizers have attempted to control territory of interest in an effort to dominate the other. The notion of place directly correlates and is integral to culture and identity. Violation of treaty rights to lands and hunting and fishing grounds are a continuing barrier to reconciliation. Counter mapping is used as a means to speak back to dominant powers and colonial ideas of property ownership and incorporates visual truth of unceded ancestral Mi'kmaq territory in Nova Scotia.
Layered over contemporary satellite imagery are Nova Scotia crown land boundaries and Mi'kmaq districts in translucent yellow, denoting property listings and land ownership. The projection displays each layer beginning with the satellite image of Nova Scotia, followed by crown land boundaries and then each of the Mi’kmaq districts beginning with Kespukwitk, Sipekne’katik, Eskikewa’kik, Siknikt, Agg Piktuk and ending with Unama’kik. Although the focus is on Nova Scotia, traditional Mi’kmaq territory extends to Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and parts of Quebec. The scrolling text relates to Nova Scotia Peace and Friendship Treaties
