Unama’ki
The 2024 Exchange gathering will be held in Unama’ki, colonially known as Cape Breton Island.
Exchange has been imagined and created with the guidance and assistance of Indigenous advisors within the community. We’re approaching all aspects of the design with a decolonized lens and working to focus on the fostering of connection – with each other, the land, and ourselves.
We recognize that we are visitors on this land and the privileges this holds. We work to uplift the work of those who steward this land and prioritize constant learning and growing our understanding.
Membertou
Membertou is an urban and progressive Mi’kmaq community located on Unama’ki – Cape Breton Island.
With a strong focus on community growth through economic development, the spirit of Membertou is driven by its close-knit and vibrant people.
Membertou, named after Grand Chief Membertou (1510-1611), is one of five Mi’kmaq communities in Cape Breton and one of thirteen Mi’kmaq communities within the province of Nova Scotia. Membertou is an ever-expanding community, and its current population is 1,695, which includes both on and off-reserve members.
Today, sitting atop a hill, just three kilometres from Sydney’s downtown core, Membertou wasn’t always in its current location. The community was moved from its original location, Kun’tewiktuk (also known as King’s Road Reserve) in 1926 by the Exchequer Court of Canada; the very first time in Canadian history that an Indigenous community was legally forced to relocate.
The Eltuek Arts Centre
The Eltuek Arts Centre is located in one of the seven traditional and unceded ancestral districts of the Mi’kma’ki people. This territory is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship of 1726.
Eltuek (el-du-eg) is a Mi’kmaw word that means “We are making (it) together.” The (it) refers to whatever it is (we) decide to make – art, ideas, music, community, social change. Eltuek Arts Centre is accessible, inclusive, and continuous.