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EPISODE EIGHT : ESKASONI
OUR STORYTELLERS
COOKING POT
Sasqa'gwit (Mi'kmawi'simk)
Across Turtle Island, Indigenous nations have developed and perpetuated sophisticated ceramics and pottery cultures for thousands of years. From the American Southwest to the Eastern Woodlands, unique pottery techniques have been developed, refined and passed down for generations.
While many such cultures have remained robust through time, it is only now that the Mi’kmaq are rediscovering a unique ceramics tradition that many believed had been lost to history. Sasqa’gwit means cooking pot in Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk, and for hundreds of years, these were made out of ceramic.
Before colonization, the Mi’kmaq people had developed a unique and technologically advanced ceramics culture, producing thin-walled, conically shaped cooking pots that were ornately decorated. These pots could be placed directly on coals to cook food and not shatter.
This was possible thanks to a unique mix of clay, sand and shell that would break up the pot’s rigid structure and allow for use on high heat. This highly advanced technological innovation was not again reproduced until the mid-20th century, when heat-resistant tiles were developed for space travel.
As European colonization began roughly 500 years ago, knowledge transmission was disrupted and the practice disappeared from the archeological record. Historians believe that many knowledge-keepers did not survive the waves of disease brought from Europe and the practice was lost.
Only now, through archeological study, are Mi’kmaq communities understanding the full scope of this cultural heritage, with a handful of artisans trying to bring the practice back. For example, Eskasoni-based potter Nancy E. Oakley has been experimenting with traditional techniques, attempting to revive this ancestral knowledge.
Oakley sources clay from around her home in Eskasoni First Nation and mixes it with mussel shells and sand from the nearby shoreline, before shaping it into her desired shape. She then heats the pots around an open fire before filling them with water and placing them in the flames to complete the firing process.
Although she hasn’t yet found the exact composition of how the ancestral pottery was made, her work is a testament to the devotion of many Indigenous groups to safeguard their traditional knowledge and ensure that future generations can also contribute to the perpetuation of this unique cultural heritage.
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