Skmaqn-Port-la-Joye-Fort Amherst National Historic Site - Parks Canada (Episode 45)

Send us Fan MailIn Mi'kmaq, Skmaqn means "waiting place." The French arrived in 1720 and called it Port-la-Joye. The British took it by force in 1758, deported 3,000 Acadians, and renamed it Fort Amherst. In 2018, Parks Canada officially added Skmaqn to the name — acknowledging the Mi'kmaq people who were there long before anyone else.Ethain Arsenault, Visitor Experience Team Lead at the site (and descendant of one of the first Acadian settlers), joins The Parks Podcast to share the full story.In this episode: — Why the French came to PEI in the first place — farmland and a harbor worth controlling — The Mi'kmaq–French alliance — annual ceremonies, gift exchange, renewed annually on this very site — The Acadian deportation of 1758 — 3,000 people on ships, half didn't survive, and a monument on site commemorates it — The only battle ever fought on PEI — New England privateers briefly captured the fort — Michel Haché dit Gallant — the Acadian settler whose footprint is still on the land, and Ethain's ancestor — The trilingual signage — Mi'kmaq, French, and English throughout the park — "Woven Stories" — a 16-minute video in three languages at the visitor center — Co-management with Epekwitnewaq Mi'kmaq — what it looks like in practice — What visitors can see: earthworks, range lights, coastal views, bald eagles, osprey, trembling aspen — Acadian Remembrance Day — December 13th annual ceremony — How to plan a US visit: passport, pet requirements, border crossing, the 35-minute drive from CharlottetownLinks mentioned: — Plan your visit: pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/pe/fortamherst — PEI Tourism: tourismpei.comSupport the show