Land Acknowledgment

NovaMuse is a collection of collections from museums across Nova Scotia. It is managed by the Association of Nova Scotia Museums.  

Museums in Nova Scotia are located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq. ANSM and the museums involved in NovaMuse extend our appreciation for the opportunity to live and learn on this territory in mutual respect and gratitude.
Due to historical and systemic biases, museums do not currently represent the experience of all Nova Scotians. The loss of language and the colonization of cultural identity, including Mi’kmaq, African Nova Scotian, Acadian, and Gaelic communities, has resulted in incomplete and inaccurate representations of cultural groups.

Narratives relating to Indigenous peoples, Nova Scotia as the birthplace of African presence in Canada for over 400 years, including enslavement and abolition, and the role of women, people of colour, LGBTQ2S+ people, and recent refugees and immigrants have not been adequately represented or made accessible.

We—ANSM, museums, and the greater heritage community—are actively addressing these challenges together. Using tools such as NovaMuse we are working towards the inclusion of these stories in partnership with communities. We are creating spaces and collections in which all Nova Scotians will see their reflection.