Skip to content.

The Goose Boat of Merigomish

Katherine Knight
Writer, Director, Video Editor, Producer
Nicholas Rocha
3D Visualization
Helios Design Labs
Interactive Design
Dian Day
Story Editor

Supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

This project and its authors are grateful to do our work on the traditional, ancestral territories of Indigenous Peoples who are stewards of these lands since time immemorial. The Goose Boat comes from Maliko’mijk, known colonially as Merigomish, located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Mi’kma’ki, Mi’kmaq First Nation.

With thanks to

Don Francis and Pictou Landing First Nation, John Ashton, Manfred Becker, Kristina Boerder, David Craig, Jean Dalton, Tony deCoste, Eamonn Doorly, Mike Fanning, Billie-Joe Fowler, Gerry Farrell, Weldon Harding, JJ Jamieson, William Knight, Maxine Krawczyk, Melanie Leblanc, Heike Lotze, Roger Marsters, New Brooklyn Media, Colin MacKinnon, Curtis Micheal, Matthew Misewicz, Marcel Morin, Katy Morley, Chris Nicolai, Jenn Norton, NOVACAD, Kathy Ogden, Sandra Phinney, Gregory Rand, Donnie Rodson, Aleen Stanton, Roland Sawatzky, Taylor Seed, Sebastian Family, Sam Shalabi, Maureen Shaw, Merv Shaw, Sharon Shaw, Anthony Von Seck, Ella Tetrault, Dante Torio, Sean Tudor, Isaac Vallentin, Ben Verburgh, Daniel Walker, Dirk Werle, Chris Williams, Rita Wilson, Tim Wilson, Nicolas Winkler Photography

The Canadian Nature Museum Community Eelgrass Restoration Initiative Future Of Marine Ecosystems Lab, Dalhousie University Nova Scotia Museum Pictou-Antigomish Regional Library York University

The Goose Boat of Merigomish, Nova Scotia Museum, Marine History Collection, M85.63.1. 3D Goose Boat Model CC BY-NC 4.0 - for non-commercial and attribution. (c) Katherine Knight 3D Brant Goose Model CC BY-NC 4.0 - for non-commercial and attribution. (c) Canadian Museum of Nature

Chapter 1: Boat

Voices
Eamonn Doorly, Weldon Harding, Anthony Von Seck, Roland Sawatzky
Stills
Two men preparing to go duck hunting, Armstrong Johnson, 1923
Films
Brant Geese Flying, Daniel O’Brien

Chapter 2: Goose

Voices
Melanie Le Blanc, Chris Nicolai
Stills
Spectators watching the autumnal flush of birds, Chris Lund, 1954, Library and Archives Canada/National Film Board fonds
William Finley Taking Notes, The Oregon Historical Society
Bohlman and Finley Photographing Ducklings, The Oregon Historical Society
Irene Finley photographing pelicans and cormorants, The Oregon Historical Society
Bird Watcher, Grand Manan Museum
Films
Brant Geese, Karl-Heinz Müller
Brant Geese Flying, Daniel O’Brien
Arctic Brant Research Movie, Christopher Williams, University of Delaware

Chapter 3: Hunt

Voices
Chris Nicolai, Weldon Harding
Stills
End View of Punt, Sydney Harold Smith, 1910-12, York Museums Trust
Firing a Shot, Sydney Harold Smith, 1910-12, York Museums Trust
Snowden Slights with Big Gun, Sydney Harold Smith, 1910-12, York Museums Trust
The lady and her 20-gauge, 1927. Field & Stream Archives
S. Smith with a Duck, Sydney Harold Smith, 1910-12, York Museums Trust
Sydney Harold Smith, 1910-12, York Museums Trust
Young Woman modeling, Fitz W. Guerin, Library of Congress
Child in a Boat, Ronny Jaques, Library and Archives Canada
Films
The 1933 Hunting Season Opens at Tule Lake
A Nymph of the Waves, American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, 1903, Library of Congress
Men Prepare Blind

Chapter 4: Rules

Voices
Chris Nicolai, Curtis Michael
Stills
Two hunters, Library of Congress
The Snipe, Gaston Fay, 1880
Crualies Practised on Fish and Fowl, Gaston Fay, 1880
Brant Goose, John James Audubon, 1840
Mi’kmaq Petroglyph Tracings, #74, # 78, George Creed Collection, Nova Scotia Museum, 1887-1888
Films
Seagrass, Lewis M Jefferies
Eelgrass, Community Eelgrass Restoration Initiative
Sand Eels, Niels Vestergaard
Brant Geese Flying, Chris Nicolai

Chapter 5: Eelgrass

Voices
Chris Nicolai, Melanie Le Blanc, Curtis Michael
Stills
Scientist and Eelgrass, Nicolas Winkler Photography
Zostera marina, Carl Axel Magnus Lindman
Eelgrass Sample, Dante Torio
Films
Eelgrass, Community Eelgrass Restoration Initiative
Seagrass, Lewis M Jefferies
Eelgrass Life, Nicolas Winkler Photography

Chapter 6: Now

Voices
Roland Sawatzky, Curtis Michael
Map
Marcel Morin
Drone Footage
Kip Spidell, 2024

Sources

Artifact M85.63.1, Accession File. Nova Scotia Museum.
“The Strange Sighting on Big Island.” The Bee. May 16, 1838.
Hebda, A.J. The Mi’kmaw Bestiary, A Compendium of documented Mi’kmaw terms and phrases relating to animals. Nova Scotia Curatorial Report 103. 2014.
Le Blanc, Melanie. “The Miraculous Journey of the Little Brant Goose.” CBC News, February 27, 2023.
Patillo, T.R., Moose- Hunting Salmon Fishing and Other Sketches of Sport. William Briggs Ltd, 1903.
Phinney, Sandra. “An Eastern Legacy.” Eastern Wood and Waters. Vol 1, no.5 (2002).
Shaw, Maureen. Accession Letter to Marvin Moore. Nova Scotia Museum. 1988.
Stanton, A. L. and D. F. Duke. “The Invisible Island: Immigration, Environment, and a New Europe on Big Island, Nova Scotia.” Acadiensis. 48, no. 1 (2019).
Ta’n Weji-sqalia’kiek, Mi’kmaw Place Names

Goose Boat Project Interviews by Katherine Knight

“Eamonn Doorly, Shipwright/ Assistant Curator of Small Craft, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.” September 12, 2024. 32 min.
“Weldon Harding and Billie Joe Fowler, Tabusintac Watershed Association.” May 21, 2024. 30 min.
“Dr. Heike Lotze, Ph.D., Department of Biology, Dalhousie University.” August 14, 2023. 48 min.
“Melanie Le Blanc, Ph.D., Wildlife Biologist, Niskamoon Corporation.” May 15, 2024. 48 min.
“Chris Nicolai, Ph.D., Waterfowl Scientist, Delta Waterfowl, Bismarck, ND, US.” July 18, 2023. 51 min.
“Curtis Michael, Mii’kmaw Language Teacher, Sipekne'katik First Nation, Mi'kma'ki.” July 22, 2024. 30 min.
“Aleen Stanton, Research Associate, Nova Scotia Museum.” January 26, 2024. 31min.
“Dr. Roland Sawatzky, Curator of History, Manitoba Museum.” September 8, 2024. 30 min.
“Ben Verburgh, Model Maker.” September 14, 2023. 30 min.
“Dr. Daniel Walker, Department of Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering, Memorial University.” August 26, 2023. 68 min.
“Dirk Werle, Ærde Environmental Research.” September 12, 2024. 33 min.
“Nicolas Winkler, Nicolas Winkler Photography.” June 26, 2024. 50 min.