MI’KMAQ NATION OPENS ABORIGINAL HERITAGE PARK

05-30-2008

 

 

   New Brunswick’s Oldest Village Offers High-Tech Look at First Nation Heritage

 

 

RED BANK, New Brunswick, May 27, 2008 – New Brunswick's oldest village is now the province’s newest heritage park.  Commemorating more than 3,000 years of Mi’kmaq culture, the $7.5 million Metepenagiag Heritage Park opened on May 12.  Nestled on the banks of the Miramichi River, Metepenagiag, or Red Bank, is the oldest, continuously-occupied village in New Brunswick, one of the four provinces of Atlantic Canada.  From here, the Mi’kmaq established trading networks that stretched into the Great Lakes and as far as the Ohio Valley.

      Since 1975, over 100 archaeological sites have been discovered in the Red Bank area.  A ceremonial place and several ancient campsites have been excavated.  Two of Eastern Canada’s most impressive Aboriginal sites are here: the Augustine Mound (circa 400 B.C.) and the Oxbow National Historic Site (about 800 B.C.)

      Visitors can see Mi’kmaq artifacts and ceramic pottery as they stroll through themed, three-dimensional exhibits and interactive displays, watch the award-winning “Village of 30 Centuries,” and listen to oral histories. From the viewing deck the Oxbow site can be observed.  Numerous trails from the interpretive center lead through this picturesque land along the Miramichi River “where spirits live,” as the Mi’kmaq considered – and still do – Metepenagiag a mystical and spiritual place.

      Metepenagiag Heritage Park is open daily from May through October 31 from 9 AM to 6 PM. Admission is $8.  This is the first season, and officials eventually expect up to 25,000 visitors annually. 

      Thousands of years ago the Miramichi provided an abundance of fish for the Mi’kmaq.  Today, O’Donnell’s Cottages offers salmon fishing packages that range from a half-day package for about $131 per person to a full day package including professional fishing guide, instruction, equipment and license for $202 per person.  A cottage for two starts at about $56 per person, double occupancy and a two-bedroom cottage for a family of four is $161.   O’Donnell’s is offering a four-night “Experience Heritage and Culture the Miramichi Way” package that includes: accommodations in a riverside cottage with daily breakfast, visits to the Metepenagiag Heritage Park, the Doak Historic Site and the Salmon Museum, a full day of salmon fishing with guides, equipment and license plus a half-day canoe or kayak trip for about $1094 per couple and $1804 for a family of four. Taxes are additional. www.odonnellscottages.com

      New Brunswick is a member of the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership (ACTP), a nine member pan-Atlantic partnership comprised of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the four Atlantic Canada Tourism Industry Associations and the four Provincial Departments responsible for tourism (New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.) Travelers can find more information by going to www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca or to one of the other three provincial web sites: www.newfoundlandandlabrador.com, www.novascotia.com and www.gentleisland.com.

 

 

 

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