During the early days of the Qalipu First Nation, we relied on the Mi’kmaq Online Dictionary as one of the main Mi’kmaw language resources that was readily available.  We referenced this fantastic online resource when we developed our membership database.  To say “we” or “us”, we used the word “GINU”.

It wasn’t long before someone pointed out that the spelling system for that online dictionary was Listuguj, used primarily in Quebec, while Nova Scotia and Newfoundland officially use another system known as Smith-Francis.  In the Smith-Francis writing system, that same word is spelled with a K, as in “KINU”.

We held on to GINU for a while anyway but felt it was time to update to the spelling with which our membership is most familiar and to reflect our official orthography.

The next time you log in to your membership profile, you may see KINU instead of GINU where we were able to make the change (the web link and a couple of other instances can’t be changed).

The words are pronounced identically [ghee nu], and it still means “we” or “us”.

Did you Know?

Every member of the Band has a profile on the KINU database? It’s how we reach you for Elections, and how we understand the demographics of the people we represent.  Please take the time to make sure your profile is up-to-date: https://mala.qalipu.ca/ginu/login.aspx