Plnal Plansue, Elder Bernie Francis, was born and raised in the Maupeltu (Membertou) First Nation Community, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia on October 3, 1948.  He was formally acknowledged as an Elder during Treaty Day, 2014 when he received the Donald Marshall Elder’s award. He has received two honorary doctorates, the first a Doctor of Letters degree from Dalhousie University, and the second the degree of Doctor of Civil Law, Honoris Causa from Saint Mary’s University in May 2018 in recognition of his life-time achievements.

Bernie is widely recognized for his training and life time work in linguistics, and now is commonly referred to as a ‘Mi’kmaw Linguist’, two words that speak volumes. Bern was a young man in his mid-twenties in the early 1970s when Doug Smith, a University of Toronto PhD student in linguistics, came to the Maupeltu (Membertou) community in Sydney, Nova Scotia where Bernie grew up.  It was the beginning of a lifetime friendship as well as a path of learning and achieving.  The two began working on creating a new and more accurate spelling system for the Mi’kmaw language, now called the Smith/Francis orthography. Together, they developed a system that accurately reflects the language as it was and is spoken, not as French, English, Portuguese, Dutch, and Basque speakers would hear and write it, but the language of his ancestors, the language of this land, Mi’kma’ki. This orthography is now adopted by the Canada-Nova Scotia-Mi’kmaq Tripartite Forum and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Chiefs, as well as throughout a number of communities in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and P.E.I.  Through this work, he has brought the voices of his ancestors together with the precision and science of linguistics, overcoming the challenge for many Indigenous peoples today seeking to have their ways of knowing and Indigenous knowledges recognized.

An example of the precision in Bernie’s work is in the founding of the Court Translation program.  It has to do with prepositions.  Dr. Francis began to notice how Mi’kmaw first language speakers on trial often did not understand what the prosecutors or judges were saying in English.  One example he often has given, is the difference of the word ‘in’ and ‘on’ in English, which is not distinguished in Mi’kmaw.  The simple admission on the part of the accused that someone was shot on the bed rather than in the bed, could lead to a life sentence in prison due to the subtle changes in circumstances and contexts conveyed by the preposition. The same for the word “guilty” and so many other words that English first language speakers take for granted

This precision, careful listening, and observant nature has shifted a number of assumptions people hold, and people’s perceptions as they come to understand the difference between Mi’kmaw and English as Bernie has described as the difference between a still photograph and a video.

Bernie’s work has changed the course of history. Treaties and treaty rights have long been contested in courts.  In one case, a 1750 document was written in French and Mi’kmaw and was staunchly defended by an eminent historian as a declaration of war on the French by the Mi’kmaq. With a careful reading and translation of the Mi’kmaw, Bernie revealed the phrase, “Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek” and showed what the Mi’kmaq were truly saying—they sprang from this land, this is where they were rooted and nowhere else…they did not want to lose it.   There was no declaration of war—just a request for recognition of their rights.  

This term, Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek became the name of the historic, ground-breaking Mi’kmaw Place Names digital atlas and website that took over six years to create and is still being developed as of 2020. The project was a multi-partnership between the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM), Saint Mary’s University (SMU), the Canada-Nova Scotia-Mi’kmaq Tripartite Forum, the Nova Scotia Museum as well as other partners such as Mi’kma’ki All Points Services (MAPS), Parks Canada, and the Union of Nova Scotia Indians (UNSI).  Bernie was the main linguist translating and transliterating each of the 750 place names on the atlas today. Again, these place names reveal the way the Mi’kmaq experienced and related to the landscape as their home, not a conquered territory.

Bernie is fluent in English, Mi’kmaw and Spanish as well as a marginal speaker of French and a student of Arabic as of 2017.  He has co-authored two books, The Language of this Land, Mi’kma’ki with Dr. Trudy Sable, and The Mi’kmaw Grammar of Father Pacifique with Dr. John Hewson.  He has worked with Sheree Fitch to translate Kisses, Kisses Baby Oh into Mi’kmaw, and produced c.d.s of Mi’kmaw songs as an accomplished musician. He is also a black belt in Uechi-Ryu and the father of four grown children, and a grandfather. 

Bernie has traveled to communities throughout the Atlantic Provinces to teach language courses and speak at conferences.  He has worked closely with educators to develop culturally relevant curricula. He is called on from all public spheres to assist with translation of terminology, text, and speeches into Mi’kmaw.  And he continues to attend linguistic conferences to continually hone his skills.