A new symbol will be appearing to help people find their way at libraries across Pictou County – the eight-pointed Mi’kmaq star. The symbol will designate books that refer to parts of Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaq heritage.
According to information released from the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library, the star design was inspired by the artwork of Gerald Gloade, an award-winning Mi’kmaq First Nations artist. The eight-pointed star design is one that is couched in several layers of symbolic meanings that relate back to the land.
“In our research for an identifying image, we discovered several commercially available book collection stickers, but unfortunately the images did not meet with our respectful intent in honouring our first peoples,” said Trecia Schell, community services librarian. “We wanted to find an emblem or symbol that was meaningful to our local Indigenous communities.”
In a press release from the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library, Gloade explains the colours in his design: “White represents the north, the land of ice and snow, where even the animals are white. Yellow represents the east, the land of the rising sun. Mi’kmaq are the ‘people of the dawn.’ Red represents the South, the further you travel in Turtle Island (North America) the warmer it becomes. Finally, black represent the west, which is where the sun must travel to give us night.”
Gloade said the four sacred colours represent the colours of man, and the four “stages of development” of human life: birth, youth, adulthood and old age.
The eight-pointed star builds on a previous design – a seven-pointed star – that represented the seven districts of the traditional Mi’kmaq nation, with an additional point added to represent relationships with the Crown, when the treaties with Britain were signed.
The eight-pointed star will feature as a symbol identifying special collections on topics culturally relevant to the area.
Greg Hayward, technical services librarian, said, “As part of our ongoing library collection development, PARL makes an effort to collect works by Indigenous authors and works with subject matter focusing on Indigenous topics. The library purchases material published in English as well as Indigenous languages.”
Hayward added that a special effort is made to collect works by or about First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people in Canada and North America.
Gloade, who made the recommendation and designed the star for collections stickers, is a well-known and respected researcher, artist, and keeper of traditional knowledge, according to information from PARL.