According to hockey historian David Carter, there is credible evidence that a Mi’kmaq game similar to ice hockey could have influenced the development of today’s game. To Mi’kmaq communities of Nova Scotia, the game was Oochamkunutk, which they played on ice with skates made from animal jawbones. The first hockey sticks ever sold, the most popular with the best players for nearly a century, were Mic-Mac sticks. They were produced by Mi’kmaq craftsmen at Indian Brook First Nation Reserve starting at about 1899. They were sold by Starr manufacturing in Dartmouth, NS, and were considered the best hockey sticks in the world–the gold standard. Mi’kmaq craftsmen supplied Canada’s hockey sticks until the 1930s when two-piece laminated, factory-made sticks replaced them. The role of Indigenous people in the evolution of ice hockey cannot be understated.
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As of October 3, 2020 the Birthplace of Hockey Museum is closed for the season. We hope to reopen in June 2021.
For information on special viewings or group tours, please contact us at 902-798-1800 or by email at BirthplaceOfHockey@gmail.com
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