Talk:Pugwash, Nova Scotia
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There has always been a discussion as to the meaning of the word Pugwash. Some say: deep harbour, or deep water. I have also heard "good harbour". I think the "History of Pugwash" by Smith says: Deep harbour. Is there a speaker of Mic Mac or Algonquin that can settle this matter? --Mf135gas 04:49, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
I asked Patrick Johnson of the Mi'kmaq Resource Centre at the Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia about this, and his reponse is below (November 7, 2005 3:17:04 PM):
"This is very interesting for I don't know if Pugwash refers to water at all. I know that the term Paqweak certainly refers to water and it is Shallow. The it would be spelled in the Smith/Francis orthography would be Paqwek which mean shallow. The term Te'mik means deep water. If it from a different orthography then I could be wrong. There is another term that means lots of (water) Pikwelk."
I believe that the word is refering to the river, and not the harbour. Since Te'mik means deep water, it's hard to imagine how it could of been mutated over time to Pugwash instead of Paqweak/Paqwek. Adam Hartling, 5/23/2006 adam_hartling@hotmail.com
I see once again the battle rages (Noting the most recent revision). I side with Adam's source at the Mi'kmaq Resource Centre, over Smith's book and the Pugwash Conferences website (if it is a Mi'kmaq word, they aught to know!). When I lived in the US, I met an acedemic who was was quite active in the Student Pugwash movement. Despite his involvment in the organisation, he was not aware that there was an actual village called Pugwash. The harbour is deep, but the river is shallow (full of mud flats). More than likely the Mi'kmaq camped near the shallow parts of the river, which were good for fishing and hunting waterfowl. It is quite unlikely that they would have even noticed the deepness of the harbour, as it would have had no impact on their way of life. I say Pugwash=Shallow Water, in reference to the river and associated alluvial areas (near where the mine is now). Feel free to counter... -Steve --Mf135gas 05:41, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
