Kejimkujik National Park () is a national park of Canada, covering 404 km2 (156 sq mi) in the southwest of Nova Scotia peninsula. Located within three municipalities, Annapolis, Queens, and Digby, it consists of two separate land areas: a large inland portion, which is coincident with the Kejimkujik National Historic Site of Canada, and the Kejimkujik National Park Seaside on the province's Atlantic coast. Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site is located within, and (together with the adjoining Tobeatic Wilderness Area) comprises the core protected area component of the UNESCO Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve, designated for its outstanding biodiversity value. Kejimkujik is the only heritage site in Canada that has the dual designation as both a national park and a national historic site for the entirety of its landscape. Designated in 1994, the national historic site is a Mi'kmaq cultural landscape of forested upland plain located between Nova Scotia's South Shore and Annapolis Valley regions. It is home to several petroglyph sites, historical habitation sites, fishing, hunting and foraging territories, important historical travel routes (particularly canoe routes), and burial grounds dating back millennia. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada has designated the inland portion of the park a national dark-sky preserve, with some of the best night sky viewing conditions in southern Canada. Every summer, Kejimkujik hosts a "Dark Sky Weekend" with interpretive experiences highlighting the park's outstanding stargazing opportunities. Interpretive events during the weekend typically focus on astronomy and storytelling incorporating the constellations visible in the region's night sky during the summer. In 2022, the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet (497593 Kejimkujik) in honour of Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site and its dark sky preserve status. The national park is named after Kejimikujik Lake. With a surface area of 26 square kilometres, Kejimkujik Lake is the largest lake in the park and the second largest freshwater lake in mainland Nova Scotia.
History The name Kejimkujik is officially translated to "tired muscles" in the Mi'kmaq language (possibly a reference to the physical effects of a long canoe trek through the area's waterways), although other sources interpret it to mean "swollen waters" or "attempting to escape". Some Mi'kmaw knowledge holders (and Parks Canada's official interpretation) state that the name derives from the Mi'kmaq word Kejimkuji’jk, which means "little fairies". Prior to the establishment of the area as a national park, Kejimkujik Lake was called Fairy Lake.
Canoe routes in the park have been used for thousands of years by the Mi'kmaq to travel from the Bay of Fundy to the Nova Scotia peninsula's Atlantic shore. A major travel route for the Mi'kmaq was the Mersey River, which drains areas deep in the peninsula's inland, including Kejimkujik Lake, to the Atlantic Ocean. Historically, the Mi'kmaq travelled up the Mersey River (inland) to the area around Kejimkujik Lake, where they lived and hunted during the fall and winter months. Historically, fall coincided with the inland migration of caribou, which inhabited the Canadian Maritimes until the early 20th century and provided an important food resource for the Mi'kmaq. Also important to the Mi'kmaq was the abundance of eels found in the area's waterways, with evidence of eel weirs constructed along the Mersey River possibly dating back thousands of years. There are several Mi'kmaw petroglyph sites in Kejimkujik, which contain around 500 individual glyphs. They are primarily found on slate beds on the eastern side of Kejimikujik Lake, but other sites are also known. Petroglyphs in the park receive a high level of protection because of their cultural and historical significance. Only one site can be visited by the public, and is only accessible via a guided tour with park staff during the summer months. Petroglyphs in Kejimkujik illustrate aspects of Mi'kmaw life shortly after European colonization of the area, and are dated to the 1700s and 1800s. Many glyphs are symbolic, and their subject sometimes ambiguous. Motifs associated with traditional culture including canoes, wigwams, traditional regalia, and decorative designs are common inclusions. Some glyphs illustrate aspects of the area's historical ecology through portrayals of animals that were formerly important to the Mi'kmaq as a food resource, like caribou. Caribou were driven to extirpation in the Maritime Provinces in the centuries following European settlement of the region, and have not occurred in the Kejimkujik area since around the late 19th century. While there are images of game animals, plants are notably absent. The petroglyphs also illustrate motifs associated with European colonial culture, like sailing ships, horses, women in dresses, Christian symbols, and five-pointed stars. After European settlement, the Mi'kmaq living in the area found it increasingly difficult to maintain their traditional way of life. Many Mi'kmaq families were forced off of their hunting grounds by settlers who were clearing the land for farming and logging. Poverty eventually became pervasive for the area's Mi'kmaq residents. Ultimately, many of these residents either took up farming themselves or found employment as hunting and fishing guides for wealthy visitors to the area, who were drawn by the region's storied wilderness and wild game. Today, the area does not serve as a residential area, but is still considered to be a spiritual home to the Mi'kmaq people. Opportunities for park visitors to learn about and experience Mi'kmaq culture and history are a primary component of Kejimkujik's interpretive programming, and include interpretive tours of one of the petroglyph sites, a recreated traditional Mi'kmaw encampment with an authentic wigwam, storytelling events, and an annual summer workshop demonstrating the art of Mi'kmaw birchbark canoe building by a renowned Mi'kmaw craftsman.
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