The Injun Rocks of Kejimkujik

Low Water at the foot of Eel Weir, Kedjimkujik

Did you know that Injun Rocks or petroglyphs can be found deep in the woods of Kejimkujik National Park?

So what are they? Petroglyph comes from the Greek words petros meaning “stone” and glyphein meaning “to carve”. A Petroglyph is a carving in stone that usually depicts a symbol or a story. They are found all over the world and are often associated with prehistoric peoples.

About 4,500 years ago the land where Kejimkujik National Park is located in Nova Scotia was inhibited by Maritime Archaic Indians. Then later the nomadic Woodland Indians would travel through the area travelling from the Bay of Fundy to the Atlantic coast. The many lakes and rivers made this area a prime canoe route and the natives would utilize seasonal campsites along these rivers and lakeshores.

Descending from these people came the Mi’kmaq who had utilized the area for over two thousand years. They camped here, lived here and hunted here. The rock carvings or Injun rocks as they were referred to were inscribed into soft slate rock by the Mi’kmaq people.

These rocks are covered with Indian writing and primitive pictures of birds and animals. There are some with pictures of canoes, ships, sunrises and lots of other things. Some include men & women in traditional dress and many are hunting and fishing scenes. They tell the story about life for the Mi’kmaq people long ago.

Some of these carvings are cut deep into the rock, while others are barely visible and glasses are needed to view them. It was believed that some of them may have been done by the first French people or by the first British. Most have been since proven to have been done by the Mi’kmaq.

The superintendent of the government Experimental Station at Kentville, Mr. Kelsal was one of the first to document these carvings. He would travel and stay in the area every summer with his wife working on a project to copy a lot of these drawings. This was before and during the earliest days of the National Park.

Now the park protects this important part of the Mi’kmaq heritage. Unfortunately these carvings are fading mainly because of natural erosions; many are already too faint to see anymore. Today the only way to view these Injun rocks is by a guided walk led by a trained Park Interpreter. Public access is otherwise prohibited to the area the rocks are located.

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