Programs & Services – The Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq

Click on any of our programs to learn more, find resources and program staff.

Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management (AAROM)

Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative

The Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative (ADI) delivers a range of primary prevention, screening and treatment programs in partnerships with Tribal Councils, First Nations organizations, Inuit community groups, and Provincial and Territorial governments.

Adult Alternative Care

The CMM administers contracts with Special Care Facilities throughout Nova Scotia to support First Nation Clients formerly residents on reserve. This year The CMM continues to bring the AAC program into Compliance with AANDC Funding Authorities.

Agriculture and Climate

Coastal Projects

Commercial Fisheries

With the hiring of a CFLC Officer at the MCG (November 2012) the MCG is now able to have a representative for member Communities at a number of industry meetings.

Communications

The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq is pleased to offer internal and external communications to various parts of the organization, its board and its members.

Community Health Program

Community Infrastructure

The Community Infrastructure program works on asset management, maintenance management, asset condition reporting systems, Housing Condition Assessments, any engineering services or support, CMM transformation initiative and providing Nova Scotia Building Officials Association Training.

Community Planning and Development

The Community Planning and Development program supports member communities through community planning and renewable energy initiatives. Community planning work focuses on capacity building and the development of comprehensive community plans, implementation and strategic plans, land-use plans, and community engagement supports. Renewable energy work advances energy planning and clean energy capacity building through community engagement, training, and knowledge sharing.

Eastern Woodland Print Communications

We are a self-sufficient Native owned and operated print communications company with particular interest and expertise in serving the First Nation community and related government agencies.

Education

Electoral Office

Elections are fundamental to the democratic governance of our First Nation Communities. Elections enable voters to select leaders and to hold them accountable for their performance in office.

Emergency Management

The CMM's Emergency Management program works to protect and educate communities by preparing for, responding to and recovering from natural disasters that may occur in our province. Some things the Emergency Management program focuses on are: Emergency Prepardness Evacuation Plans General Response and Recovery Extreme Heat Power Outages Severe Weather Wildfire and Fire Safety

Environmental Services

The Environmental Services branch includes two major projects: Indigenous Protected Conserved Area (IPCA) and Cumulative Effects Management

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) refers to the physical and neurodevelopmental health problems that can occur in children from their biological mother drinking alcohol when pregnant.

Finance

Since its inception in 1986, The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq has maintained a strong fiscal accountability framework. With approximately twenty funding agencies and a variety of funding arrangements, The CMM is regarded as a leader among native organizations across the country.

Freshwater Ecosystems

The Freshwater Team focuses on four major topics, Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk (CNFASAR) or the Canada Nature Fund Project, Species at Risk Stewardship and Monitoring with Mi’kmaw Communities of Mainland Nova Scotia (AFSAR), Parasite-Host Interaction in the American Eel Parasite Anguillicoloides and the Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Fund (AERF) – Shaping the Future of Nova Scotia’s Aquatic Ecosystems Through Collaboration, Innovation and Impactful Restoration.

Geographic Information Systems

The GIS Technician is responsible for developing and maintaining a GIS database for use in mapping the geographic data in the Bay of Fundy Watershed.

Governance

Human Resources

At The CMM, our Human Resources team is dedicated to supporting and managing the recruitment and hiring of staff, providing training and development, benefits administration, policies, record keeping, student programming and much more.

Indigenous Fisheries

Indigenous Fisheries Tagging Initiative

The CMM's Tagging Initiative is pleased to offer commercial fishing gear tagging services to include all Commercial Fishers in Atlantic Canada; Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Jordan’s Principle

Jordan’s Principle is a child first initiative that helps to provide funding to help ensure that First Nations children, living on reserve or ordinarily resident on reserve, with a disability or a short-term critical condition that affects their activities of daily living have access to needed health services and supports, comparable to those available to other children living in the same province.

Legal Services

The CMM Legal Advisor provides in- house legal services to The CMM and its five affiliated entities, Mi’kmaq/Maliseet Nations News Association (MMNN), Eastern Woodland Print Communications (EWPC), Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre (MDCC), and Mainland Mi’kmaq Developments Inc. (MMDI).

Membership

The CMM Membership program assists band members with applications for registration and membership. The CMM membership clerk issues Indian Status cards within the policy and guidelines set out by the Department of Indian Affairs.

Mental Wellness

To provide mental health and wellness services to 7 of the member communities including the following: helping clients navigate the provincial and federal mental health systems, offering emotional support to clients, professional letters of support to gain access to services, individualize client care plans and providing mental health workshops for community.

Mi'kmaq Ecological Knowledge Studies (MEKS)

The CMM's Mi’kmaq Ecological Knowledge Studies (MEKS) provides insight to help inform the decision-making process of project development. Through careful documentation of Mi’kmaq resource use and places of significance, our comprehensive MEKS reports provide culturally grounded information from a Mi’kmaq perspective. The program promotes the importance of Mi’kmaq Knowledge and Rights, contributing to the responsible stewardship of Mi’kma’ki.

Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Nations News

The MMNN is a First Nation owned, community focused monthly newspaper with a particular expertise in Mi’kmaq culture.

Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre

The Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre will be a meaningful and dynamic centre for Mi’kmaw people, and for visitors from across Nova Scotia, Canada and the world.

Mi’kmaw Forestry Initiative

The Mi’kmaw Forestry Initiative (MFI) is a province-wide program in Nova Scotia led by the Mi’kmaw people, dedicated to restoring and stewarding forest ecosystems using Mi’kmaw principles and values. Overseen by the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs and key organizations, MFI’s governance supports collaborative decision-making. The initiative began after years of negotiation and was inspired by recommendations from the 2018 Lahey Report, leading to its pilot launch in 2019. MFI manages over 30,000 hectares of forest land across several sites, including major areas in St. Croix, Digby, Caledonia, and Frasers Mills, focusing on sustainable practices and the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge into forestry management.

Mi’kmawey Green Communities

An environmental program dedicated to assisting Mi’kmaw Communities reach their goals for cleaner, greener and more sustainable communities.

Oceans

Procurement

Specific Claims Research

Since 1987 The CMM has investigated Aboriginal land claims for our six of our member First Nations communities. The Specific Claims Research Department currently conducts research on Specific Land Claims.

The Capacity Development Team

The Capacity Development Team (CDT) is here to support your fisheries and aquatic resource management capacity needs through structured organizational and technical capacity development activities and coordination of skills development and training opportunities.

Tripartite Forum

The Mi’kmaq-Nova Scotia -Canada Tripartite Forum was formed in 1997 as a partnership between the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq, the Province of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada.

Wills & Estates

The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) continues to distribute its three Wills and Estates Publications: How to Write a Will, How to Settle an Estate, How to Write a Power of Attorney & Personal Directive.