Mi'kmaw History Month Spotlight: Every One Every Day Kjipuktuk/Halifax

Ask the team at Every One Every Day Kjipuktuk/Halifax what their work is truly about, and the answer isn’t just programs or projects. It’s relationships.

Those relationships are built through shared experiences, neighbour-to-neighbour conversations and opportunities for people to learn from one another. It sounds simple. But as co-directors Tammy Mudge (Glooscap First Nation) and Killa Atencio (Listuguj First Nation) have seen firsthand, meaningful change often starts with the simple act of bringing people together.

Located in the North End of Halifax, Every One Every Day creates opportunities for residents to share skills, knowledge and ideas through community-led sessions and projects. People arrive with a talent, a passion, a story or even just a curiosity to learn. What happens next is where the magic lies. As Tammy explains, the organization’s long-term vision is “to build more resilient and connected communities.” Along the way, they’ve watched neighbours who lived side-by-side for years strike up meaningful conversations for the very first time while working on a shared project.

For Mi’kmaw History Month, that focus on connection feels especially important.

During a recent session called Acknowledgement in Relation, Tammy encouraged participants to see acknowledgement as more than words spoken at the beginning of an event. “In order to have a relationship and reciprocity, you need to understand that there’s a relationship to start,” she said. She challenged participants to move from acknowledgement to relationship, and from relationship to action.

That philosophy shapes Every One Every Day’s approach to Reconciliation.

“A lot of folks think Truth and Reconciliation happens in institutions or through big policies,” says Killa. “They don’t realize that there are everyday actions they can do towards Reconciliation.” At Every One Every Day, those actions might look like attending a Mi’kmaw language session, learning about powwow etiquette, sharing a meal, or simply meeting someone whose life experiences differ from your own.

Tammy believes that neighbour-to-neighbour relationships are a vital part of the Reconciliation journey. “It all starts with building relationship,” she says. Through shared projects and conversations, people gain understanding, empathy and a deeper appreciation for one another’s experiences. “That daily piece is missing,” she notes when discussing how Reconciliation is often framed. Every One Every Day is helping fill that gap, one connection at a time.

The impact can be powerful. Tammy recalls the story of a resident who attended a session on powwow etiquette because she wanted to learn more about Mi’kmaw culture but wasn’t sure where to begin. What started as curiosity became confidence and connection. By creating welcoming spaces for questions and learning, Every One Every Day helps break down barriers and open new pathways for understanding.

Mi'kmaw leadership is woven throughout the organization. The initiative is led by Mi’kmaw women and guided by approaches that centres community, reciprocity and shared responsibility. As Tammy explains, many of the organization’s values reflect ways of working that have long existed within Indigenous communities: sharing resources, supporting one another and building collective strength.

For Tammy, Mi’kmaw History Month is also an opportunity to celebrate the present.

Too often, Indigenous stories are framed only through the lens of history. But Mi’kmaw communities continue to shape, lead and contribute to life across Mi’kma’ki every day. As Tammy puts it, “We’re living and breathing and funky and cool.”

At Every One Every Day Kjipuktuk/Halifax, that spirit is visible in every session, every conversation and every relationship that takes root. Through small acts of connection, they are showing that Reconciliation isn’t something that happens somewhere else. It happens right here, in our neighbourhoods, with all of us. With every one, every day.