Burnt Church Band or Burnt Church First Nation (Míkmaq: Eskɨnuopitijk or Esgenoôpetitj) is a Mi'kmaq First Nation in New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, centred south of the community of Lagacéville (approximately 4.5 km) and southwest of the village of Neguac

Neguac, New Brunswick

Neguac is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.Situated on the north shore of Miramichi Bay at the southern end of the Acadian Peninsula, the village is located 44 kilometres northeast of Miramichi...

 (approximately 7 km) on Miramichi Bay

Miramichi Bay

Miramichi Bay is an estuary located on the west coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick, at the mouth of the Miramichi River. Miramichi Bay is separated into the "inner bay" and the "outer bay", with the division being a line of uninhabited barrier islands which are continually reshaped...

. It comprises about 1500 members, with two Indian reserve

Indian reserve

In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...

s in Northumberland County

Northumberland County, New Brunswick

Northumberland County , having the largest area of any county in the province, is located in northeastern New Brunswick, Canada.-Geography:Northumberland County is covered by thick forests, whose products stimulate the economy...

 (Burnt Church 14, and Tabusintac 9) and two reserves in Gloucester County

Gloucester County, New Brunswick

Gloucester County is located in the northeastern corner of New Brunswick, Canada. Fishing, mining and forestry are the major industries in the county...

 (Pokemouche 13) (Pabineau).

History

The lands at Burnt Church have long been occupied by First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 peoples, likely long before European adventurers first explored the Atlantic Coast of Canada. As William Francis Ganong

William Francis Ganong

William Francis Ganong, M.A., Ph.D., LL.D., F.R.S.C., was a Canadian botanist, historian and cartographer. His botany career was spent mainly as a professor at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts...

 notes, "a map by Sieur I'Hermitte, ... shows there was a village here in 1727."

Ganong also comments on the origin of the name, noting that in 1758, during the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)

Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)

The Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when British forces raided villages along present-day New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Sir Charles Hardy and Brigadier-General James Wolfe were in command of the naval and...

, British General James Wolfe

James Wolfe

Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...

 directed Colonel James Murray to destroy the French settlements at Miramichi

Miramichi, New Brunswick

Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...

. Thus, Murray destroyed an Acadian

Acadian

The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...

 community which had been established at Burnt Church, including burning the first stone church built in New Brunswick (hence the name).

Burnt Church was a favorite resort of the Mi'kmaq and was, therefore, included in one of the very earliest Indian reserves set aside by New Brunswick. The reserve was officially established March 5, 1805, with 2058 acres (8.3 km²). At the time of Ganong's writing it was "still a favorite Micmac settlement, and much the largest in all New Brunswick".

Following the Seven Years War, several Acadian families returned to lands adjoining the reserve. They were followed by a wave of new Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 settlers. Thus, the Burnt Church name is now used in reference to both the local First Nation, and to the adjoining non-native community.

In recent years, Burnt Church First Nation members have militated strenuously for their traditional lobster

Lobster

Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...

 fishing rights, culminating in the Burnt Church Crisis

Burnt Church Crisis

The Burnt Church Crisis was a conflict in Canada between the Mi'kmaq people of the Burnt Church First Nation and non-Aboriginal New Brunswick fisheries, from 1999 to 2001. Natives and non-Natives of the area prior to this crisis had a long history of living peacefully together and helping each other...

with the provincial and federal governments as well as local non-native fishermen.