Netukulimk: The Mi’kmaq Way of Life
By: Killa Atencio
Tags: Nature, Environment, Indigenous, Opinion, Canada

When I was a child, my father would tell me awe-inspiring stories about Chief Raoni, the head of the Kayapo people who has led the struggle against the exploitation of their land in Brazil. I was fortunate to meet Chief Raoni when my father and the Innu nation of Québec invited him to speak about Indigenous rights and protecting the boreal forest. One of my fondest memories is of touring Montreal’s Biodôme with him. In the lush and warm tropical rainforest exhibit, he walked right off the path marked for visitors. I assume he felt at home, connected to the forest, even inside a concrete building in the middle of the city.

This moment was one of my earliest teachings. Remembering Chief Raoni’s connection to the land reminds me that we are in an interdependent relationship with Mother Earth, responsible for protecting the gifts we receive from her, and using them in a sustainable way.

Killa Atencio (Photo courtesy the author)

This perspective is not unique to a single Indigenous nation, tribe, or even continent. My father is Quechua from Peru. The Quechua philosophy of sumak kawsay — which loosely translates to “good living” — is based on ancestral knowledge and practices. Through sumak kawsay, we, as a community, coexist with the land, preserve our culture and identity, and care for an environment that will provide for us for generations. An example of sumak kawsay is haywarisqa, an offering of natural objects made by farmers before they harvest potatoes, symbolising giving back what they have taken from the Earth. The offering is a gift, charged with intention, love, reciprocity, and reverence, and is usually burned, buried, or released into a river.

My mother is Mi’kmaq from Listuguj, Québec, and in our culture there is a parallel value at the centre of everything we do: netukulimk (pronounced neh-DU-guh-limk). Its teachings — that the human and natural worlds are not separate from each other — are sewn into the fabric of Mi’kmaq identity and celebrated. Netukulimk means to have enough, but not more than enough. It teaches us to use natural bounty for ourselves and community sustenance, without wasting and jeopardizing it for the future.

When we would go sweetgrass picking in summer, I was taught to respect the plant and give thanks by offering tobacco to the Earth. We would do our best to not step on many plants as we walked, pick in different areas to not deplete the population, not pull out the root, and only pick what we needed to ensure there would be sweetgrass left for the next season.

Netukulimk means to have enough, but not more than enough.

Prior to European contact, nature and its waterways provided all the necessities of life for the Mi’kmaq. Since contact, we have endured colonization’s attempts to sever our relations to the land and the offerings it provides. The Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1752 — signed by the Mi’kmaq and the British crown — asserts that the Mi’kmaq “shall not be hindered from, but have free liberty of Hunting & Fishing as usual.” But this clause has not been honoured and has often been impeded by bureaucracy. With the creation of reserves in the late 1800s, Mi’kmaq were often relocated far from their traditional hunting and harvesting territories, or without access to waterways. Mi’kmaq people hunting or fishing would sometimes be accused of “poaching” and have their catch seized by the Canadian government’s Indian Agents.

These colonial tactics took a toll on transferring the teachings of netukulimk between generations. But we haven’t let them be forgotten. Reclaiming Our Roots is a Mi’kmaq-led project in Nova Scotia that connects Indigenous youth with meaningful land-based learning and community stewardship, rooted in the principle of netukulimk. One of the group’s activities is trapping beaver for population management. In keeping with netukulimk, they identify how many can be harvested each year, rotate trapping spots, and use every part of their catch by eating and gifting the meat, and using hides, skulls, teeth, and claws for crafts or ceremony.