Building Capacity A core component of this project has been to ensure that “capacity building” occurred for Mi’kmaw First Nations youth. Throughout the course of this project (2010-present), we have provided funding for over twenty First Nations research positions. The funding has allowed some of the researchers to spend extended time on the project, and to build their skills and become valuable team members. All the student researchers underwent training in the many aspects of the project, which included: Video Interviews with Elders: The interviews with Elders and other community members require the student researchers to be cognizant of a number of stages in the interview process. These include identifying knowledgeable Elders and community members willing to be interviewed and arranging for the interviews; knowledge of the ethics and protocol involved in approaching Elders and community members and learning appropriate methods for conducting the interviews; and experiencing the challenges of setting up equipment for recording and mapping place names within varying conditions. The process also requires the student researchers to be trained in the use of video cameras, microphones, and recorders, and to create a safe and respectful environment. Dr. Trudy Sable has worked closely with the researchers during this part of their training, along with valuable assistance from Kenny Prosper in conducting practice interview sessions, contacting community members and acting as a translator/interviewer for many of the interviews. Student researchers also have received guidance and feedback on their work from the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq, Elders Advisory Board. Tim Bernard, Project Director, has continually guided the process and given input since the inception of the project. Linguistics Training: Dr. Bernie Francis, Linguistic Consultant for the project, trained many of the student researchers on the basic nature of the Mi’kmaw language (2010-2016). Though the majority of the student researchers to date (2020) do not speak Mi’kmaw, Dr. Francis felt it was important that they gain a sense of the fundamental grammatical structure of the language for conducting the interviews and understanding the place names. Dr. Francis also worked closely with some of the student researchers on the transliteration and translation of place names taken from historical texts or interviews. Creating the Database, Geo-referencing and the Use of Maps: One of the fundamental and challenging aspects of the project has been to set up the database and enter each place name, its geo-reference, its newly transliterated and translated name, along with the source from which the place name was taken. The student researchers learned to set up a database, work with maps and georeferencing each place name using Google Earth, and enter the data into the database. William Jones, GIS consultant, along with Dr. Sable, worked with the students in the initial stages (2010-2014) of the project to introduce these skills. Connecting Place Names to the Landscape and Field Trips: Many of the Mi’kmaw place names do not have English equivalents and are descriptive of specific landscape features, resources, or historic or legendary events important to the Mi’kmaq. For instance, a name of a river might be translated as “rushing over rocks” but refers to only one area of the river where that feature is present. Or, a place name might describe “a place of tomcod” or other resources important to the Mi’kmaq and found only at specific locations. Since 2010, Roger Lewis, who has travelled throughout Nova Scotia conducting archaeological research, has provided valuable scholarly assistance identifying precise locations reflective of each place name. To provide the students with direct experience of the sites, Roger Lewis and Trudy Sable organized three canoe trips on the Sɨkɨpne’katik (Shubenacadie) River . On another field trip, Mr. Lewis guided the team around the Gaspereaux Lake, one of the most ancient sites in Nova Scotia, and the site of a hydroelectric dam. Justin Lewis also visited the Franklin Manor area (a former reserve) of Nova Scotia with Mr. Lewis. Our field trips became a fun and important way for our team and the student researchers to experience the ancient travel routes and visit specific sites, including Grandmother Rock sites. Historical and Archival Research: Historical and Archival Research was also an important part of the training. Mr. Lewis took some of the youth researchers to the Nova Scotia Archives to get them acquainted with the different collections that could be used in creating the information sheets for the different place names. Dr. Sable also worked closely with the researchers in the initial stages, working out a format for the information sheets. Video-Editing the Interviews: Approximately thirty-five Elders and community members had been interviewed as of June 2016, providing extensive information relating to both place names and historical use of the landscape. Student researchers were trained in video editing techniques to create short video clips from the interviews that relate to specific place names. These clips have been uploaded on to the Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek: Mi’kmaw Place Names Digital Atlas and linked to the place names. Peter Gravel, PRG Audio Visual, provided training to a number of the researchers on Final Cut ProX, a high-quality video editing program. From 2019-2020, student researchers, Sarah Brooks and Laura Dedam, underwent extensive training with Mr. Gravel, and have produced or revised over 40 short videos relating to specific place names for uploading to the Digital Atlas. We are anticipating another twenty to twenty-five interviews will be conducted in 2020-2021. An additional twenty to twenty-five interviews are planned for 2020-2021. Conferences and Presentations: Some of the student researchers have presented at and attended conferences. Kachina Sack was part of a panel at the Atlantic Aboriginal Economic Research Initiative Project (AAEDIRP) in February, 2013, as well as attended the 2013 annual Saint Mary’s University Research Fair to set up a display and represent the project with Mr. Lewis. Matt Meuse-Dallien, Raymond Sewell, and Kachina Sack all attended the Canadian 2011 Archaeological Association Conference in Halifax where they set up and hosted a poster presentation. The students also attended and updated the team at a number of project team meetings.