Recently there has been renewed interest in the language, and it is being introduced into the reservation schools as part of the curriculum. In addition to the language, Micmacs have also focused on waltes, a traditional Micmac game. Waltes was believed by Euro-Americans to be a heathen gambling game that promoted infidelity, promiscuity, and gambling. Indian agents and the clergy tried to stop it for decades, but it has survived as an important element in traditional tribal life. In addition, modern Micmac society has retained some of its skills in crafts such as basket making, working with hides, and using beads or quills on birch bark and hides.
Unemployment is the major problem on the modern reservations.
More and more Micmacs are educationg themselves, with the schools incorporating the language and culture into their curricula. There is also a concentrated effort to incorporate Micmac history into the general history of the region as taught in the Nova Scotia schools. The Nova Scotia government has designated the month of October as Micmac History Month. Unfortunately, such gains are often undermined by the lack of adequate employment for young, educated tribal members. Nevertheless, Micmac elders are adamant in their belief that the key to tribal survival is the maintenance of the group's language, culture, and traditions.