Written by Staff Blogger Vicky
If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.
You may have never heard this African proverb before, but chances are you have lived by it more than once. The it-takes-a-village attitude of working together to accomplish a goal is something that lives inside us all. And that's exactly what happened for the people behind the Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nations News (MMNN), a newspaper dedicated to informing, educating, and celebrating the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet people of Atlantic Canada.
A Nose for News
Pierre Joseph "Rick" Simon was born in Truro on February 11, 1956. After completing his high school education at Hants East Rural High School, Rick attended the University of Guelph and graduated with a degree in journalism. As early as July, 1979, Rick was hired as part of the Native Communications Society of Nova Scotia out of Sydney, Cape Breton. This society published the Micmac News, a paper that began publication in 1965. Rick was not only hired as a reporter/photographer the paper, but also a radio announcer for the society. (Micmac News, July 1979, pg. 32) Rick stayed on with the Micmac News for approximately 10 years reporting on all matters of Mi'kmaq life. Some highlights include an article on Lydia Bartlette, an Indigenous woman from Yarmouth who had been making crafts with traditional Mi'kmaq materials (basket wood, leather, sweetgrass) since she was a young girl (Micmac News, March 1983); the first GED graduation class out of the Micmac Native Friendship Centre (Micmac News, October 1985); the construction of the Millbrook Centre (Micmac News, January, 1988), and much more.
But by the summer of 1988, Rick was ready for a change.
Daniel Nicholas Paul was born on December 5, 1938 in Indian Brook Reserve, Nova Scotia. As a child, Daniel attended the Indian Day School on the reservation. While he enjoyed academics, he hated the way Mi'kmaq culture was silenced in the classroom. Children were not allowed to speak their own language, and they were taught that Indigenous people were a uncivilized. (Canadian Encyclopedia) At the age of 14, Daniel left school to work in a hat factory in Boston. He would return to Nova Scotia in 1960 and attend Success Business College in Truro, Nova Scotia to study bookkeeping. This degree would help him secure a job with the Federal Department of Indian Affairs. A job where he could not only have financial stability, but also conduct research into the relationship between First Nations people and Nova Scotia's European settlers.
In 1985, Daniel was approached by Chiefs John Knockwood and Lawrence Paul to establish a new tribal council: the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq (CMM). Across the province, many Indigenous communities worked on their own to try and run services and programs to support their community members. The CMM would help bring people together under one banner with a much larger voice and enable them to help achieve the goals of multiple Indigenous communities at once. Within a year, Daniel left his position with the government, and began his new job as the CMM's Executive Director. He wrote the CMM's by-laws and its constitution, and registered the CMM as an official non-profit organization. (MMNS, August 2023, pg. 14).
By the early 1990s the Micmac News had shut down. Dissatisfied with how Indigenous matters were handled in the mainstream press, the CMM and Daniel sought a new outlet to promote the news of the local Indigenous community. As fate would have it, Rick Simon was hired by the CMM as their Self-Governance Advisor in the late 1980s. Daniel and Rick joined forces, and the Micmac Nation News was born.
Hot Off the Presses
Under the banner of the CMM, Daniel and Rick worked together to develop a vehicle for community communication. A new local newspaper seemed like the logical solution, but the CMM did not have the resources to continually fund a newspaper. The Micmac Nation News would have to support itself. The paper offered a yearly subscription at a cost of $12.00 if you lived in Canada, $20.00 if you lived outside of Canada. They also sold ad space to help cover the costs of production.
At first, Daniel and Rick were the only two members of staff; Lana McLeod (later Lana Simon) would later join the team as the advertising representative. The inaugural issue was printed in November, 1990. A note from Daniel graced the front page: "Greetings! I wish to take this opportunity to welcome you as a read of what we sincerely hope will develop into a great native community newspaper. Our policy in regards to producing "The Micmac Nation News" is simply "honesty"" (Micmac Nation News, November, 1990, pg. 1). Rick expanded on the goals of the newspaper in his Editor's Note segment:
The Micmac Nation News rolls off the presses this month, largely due to the fact that the Confederacy of Mainland Micmacs recognized and acted upon the loss of communications within the Native community with the demise of the Micmac News... We are placing a strong emphasis on news in the communities that reflects the culture and lifestyle of the Micmacs, no matter how small and unimportant it may seem... The first issue will reflect as much as possible on the kind of product that we feel the Native communities are looking for. If we're on track, let us know. If we're off track, let us know as well.
Micmac Nation News, November 1990, pg. 2
What was covered in the first issue?
- "Pictou Landing affected by: Boat Harbour Blues" - a story detailing the affects the effluent flowing from the Boat Harbour Treatment Facility had on local wildlife and the environment.
- "Digging up Business: Carl Sack's Excavation" - an article about entrepreneur Carl Sack from Indian Brook First Nation.
- "1990 N.S. Senior Men's Indian Fastball: Season Recap" - a summary of the fastball season where the Eskasoni Mets finished in first place
- "Guides of the North Woods' preserves tradition of Guiding" - a story that promotes the book Guides of the North Woods by Mike Parker. Mi'kmaq guides taught colonial settlers their survival skills such as hunting, fishing, canoeing, etc. The book attempts to capture that knowledge and history.
- "Arts and Crafts Around the Mainland" - A description of traditional Indigenous craft courses occurring at the Pictou Landing, Millbrook, and Horton Reserves.
Many of the articles in the paper were contributed by the community, and that's exactly what the team wanted. In his opening greeting, Daniel put out an invitation: "I wish to solicit your support in providing news for publication in the paper relating to events in your community, please forward either by phone or by mail any item you think might be newsworthy." (Micmac Nation News, November 1990, pg. 1) Rick's echoed this sentiment: "What do we consider news? Keeping good taste in mind, most everything is news, but more importantly the question arises - what do you, the Native community, consider as news?" (Micmac Nation News, November 1990, pg. 2). Without a doubt, Daniel and Rick were promoting a newspaper that was written by and for the Mi'kmaq of Atlantic Canada.
And the people embraced it with loving arms.
In the December 1990 issue, Rick wrote a letter of thanks:
The need for a Native communications outlet has become more apparent in to me in the last two months since the idea of the Micmac Nation News was conceived. To all the Native people in the Atlantic provinces that I have spoken to since our premiere issue rolled off the presses - I thank you - simply because your enthusiasm towards an Atlantic concept newspaper has been over-whelming... Subscriptions are coming in on a daily basis from people who realize that we need your financial support to make the Micmac Nation News a viable community newspaper.
Micmac Nation News, December 1990, pg. 1
The second edition of the paper was filled with messages of congratulations from business like Ross Wood & Scott of Halifax, the Best Western Glengarry of Truro, and Ulnoogweg Development Group of Millbrook, as well as First Nations Bands and community groups like the Chapel Island Band Council, The Micmac Native Friendship Centre of Halifax, the Tobique Indian Reserve in New Brunswick, and the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association in Millbrook.
This issue of the paper announced that the paper would undergo a slight name change to become the Micmac and Maliseet Nations News. In the September, 1998 issue the title would change again, this time adopting the more correct spelling of the people it served: The Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nation News.
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow - A selection of Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nations News reports:
March, 1991
August, 1992
July, 1995
November, 1996
December, 1998
September, 2001
June, 2005
June, 2006
March, 2010
December, 2014
February, 2019
July, 2023
February, 2025
July, 2026
The Finishing Lines
The MMNN is still going strong. In its 36 years of publication, the cost of a yearly subscription has only gone increased by $4.95. Today, the paper has approximately 3000 annual subscribers.
As for the original founders, Rick retired from his job as editor after four years with MMNN:
... under his leadership, he encouraged many communities to submit photographs and good news stories to be published under the newspapers banner. The paper grew from the inaugural first issues of 12 pages, under the title of the Micmac Nations News, to a 40 page tabloid... We're proud to say that the MMNN still operates with the same vision - community stories, written by community members and Native organizations that help to lift our communities.
MMNN, March, 2024, pg. 6
He got a job as a truck driver, and particularly enjoyed the times he was able to work as a log truck driver. He was also a man who knew the importance of play: "He had a love for cars, motorcycles, trucks, four-wheelers and anything with horsepower" (Rick Simon). His wife, Lana, also embraced these thrilling outdoor activities, and the two of them shared this love with their son.
On April 17, 2023, at 60 years of age, Lana passed away after a long battle with cancer. Rick passed away less than a year later on February 27, 2024 not long after his 68th birthday.
A few short years after the MMNN began publication, Daniel published his book We were not the Savages, opens a new window, a history of the Mi'kmaq that rewrites the colonial narrative, and brought into question the veneration of Halifax founder Edward Cornwallis. Daniel continued to advocate for Mi'kmaq rights and equity, a fight that would later award him the Nova Scotia Human Rights Award, the Order of Nova Scotia, and the Order of Canada. Daniel passed away June 27, 2023.
Over the years, the MMNN has had a number of devoted staff members and contributors. It continues to be published by the CMM and their board of directors.
From its very roots, the MMNN has been a publication designed to lift up Indigenous people in Atlantic Canada. From political issues to celebrations of life, this newspaper is a standout of what community newspapers can be and how they can make a difference.
If you are Mi'kmaq-Maliseet and are interested in contributing to the MMNN, contact information for Prepress Technician Nadia Martin can be found on their website, opens a new window.
Library Sources
Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nations News, opens a new window
Additional Sources
Daniel N. Paul, Alchetron, opens a new window
Daniel N. Paul, Canadian Encyclopedia, opens a new window
Daniel N. Paul, Tepi'ketuek, Mi'kmaw Archives, opens a new window
Lana Simon (McLeod), Tribute Archive, opens a new window
Mi'kmaq Confederacy of PEI, opens a new window
Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nations News: About MMNN, opens a new window
Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Nations News, The Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq, opens a new window
Micmac News, The Beaton Institute, opens a new window
- July, 1979, opens a new window
- March, 1983, opens a new window
- October, 1985, opens a new window
- January, 1988, opens a new window
Remembering Out Founding Editor, Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nations News, opens a new window
Rick Simon, Ettinger Funeral Home, opens a new window
We Were Not the Savages: An Interview with the late Danny Paul, Spring, opens a new window
~ Special thanks to the Nova Scotia Archives, the Cape Breton Regional Library, and The Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nations News ~
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