ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes a postcolonial ecofeminist reading of Mi’kmaq stories as a basis for a veganism rooted in Mi’kmaw culture. This analysis, conducted by a Mi’kmaw scholar, draws upon textual sources such as the collections by Silas Rand, originally published in 1893 as Legends of The Micmacs, Volume I and II, and more recent online sources such as those compiled on the website First People: The Legends. While textual versions of oral tradition are frozen in time, rather than flexible and contextual as live storytelling is, the analysis shows that these specific stories portray animals as siblings to humanity. This analysis is supported by broader manifestations of Mi’kmaw cultural values related to the relationship between humans and other animals. Such stories offer an alternative to the colonial stewardship-and-domination model of human-animal relations. The development of an Indigenous veganism is complicated by the gendered nature of food production and consumption in Mi’kmaw culture. Ecofeminist exegeses of Mi’kmaq stories provide us with a cultural grounding for vegan practice and offer a critical standpoint on contemporary environmental issues.
