Gathering “Place of Spirits”

Guess what I just found out? Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Canada, isn’t just any old park. It’s got a name that really means something – Amntu’kati, which in Mi’kmaq translates to “place for spirits.” When I stumbled upon this nugget of info, it hit me right in the feels, and I started feeling even more connected to the land where I live, work, and play.

Before the British and French settlers came along, the Indigenous folks of Kjipuktuk/Halifax used to gather at Point Pleasant Park for a whole week after the first full moon in Spring. That’s right, a week-long retreat, and this park was their sacred hangout spot. No wonder they fiercely protected it when settlers tried to take it over.

Connecting with Nature: The Transformative Power of the Park Today

Fast forward to today, and Point Pleasant Park is a bustling city park, but it’s also where I conduct my Nature-Informed Therapy sessions and just enjoy the space. There are certain elements of nature-based therapy – like cultivating a sacred relationship with the land & water that is innate to many earth-based cultures and ancestral histories. I do not intend to re-appropriate any practices or claim them as my own but knowing this history adds a deeper layer to my work, making me appreciate the land even more, especially the gathering “place of spirits”.

REFERENCE: MikMaw Spirit (2016, April 1). TALKING STICK – HISTORY OF HALIFAX – A MI’KMAW PERSPECTIVE. Muiniskw.org. Retrieved September 6, 2023, from https://www.muiniskw.org/pgIssues19_HalifaxMikmawPerspective.htm