It’s sunrise on Eel Ground First Nation, and Roger Augustine, retired Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, is walking along a path beside the Miramichi River. This river—this land—is home, not only to him but also to the collective spirit of more than 200 generations of his Mi'gmaq ancestors.
“I feel their presence,” Augustine says. “They balance me. Life has taught me to trust my warrior spirit—the spirit of peace and friendship I have inherited from them—and to let that spirit inspire my thoughts and guide each step I take.”