Recognizing missing branches on the tree: a preliminary social analysis of historically-oppressed ethnic minorities in Nova Scotia through genealogy

This thesis provides a preliminary social analysis of three historically-oppressed ethnic minorities in Nova Scotia: Black, Acadian and Mi' kmaq, by researched genealogies documentation and oral history data. The central argument of this thesis is that settlement patterns and labour relations between oppressed minorities contributed to interethnic marriage among such minorities. Settlement patterns and labour streaming are argued to be the main historically structured source for these groups uniting. Genealogical data were gathered for six surnames in Nova Scotia that are common among the three historically oppressed ethnic groups. A series of twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals from each or all of the three groups discussed in this thesis: Acadians, Blacks and First Nations. Six themes are presented and discussed: religion, identity, work/settlement patterns, difficulty/value of genealogical research, silent racism, social constructs and Acadian/Métis relations. Portions of this information are kept out of traditional secondary school texts and Nova Scotia residents have the right to understand the multifaceted makeup of the province's cultures. This research is important because for decades various families have been, perhaps, ashamed or unaware that they are representative of interconnected historically-oppressed minority groups.