Hledání Noclehu - Mi'kma'ki /Acadie/ Nova Scotia
Invited by @dvoeverie-stitches to participate in Hledání Noclehu for tonight, I greeting Mother Mary into my home as Stella Maris, the Star of the Sea. This iteration of her is the patroness of Acadians since the late 19th century, though I do think her protective and merciful hands were appreciated by Acadians who worked the sea and were deported on its waves.
My Stella Maris rosary enrobes a scrimshaw of her likeness, with a little cabin lights the way to home in a dark and cold wilderness. My mother's newly woven table cloth cradles Her and a devotional card is held for Her presence. Cedar incense wafts in the air, denoting the importance of cedar in many traditions here on Turtle Island, as well as to those voyageurs who baptized themselves with cedar fronds before taking the dangerous riverine highways in the 17th and 18th centuries.
I welcome Mother Mary Star of the Sea tonight as I remember refugee stories that involve crossing dangerous bodies of water, even now. December 13th was Acadian Remembrance Day, when Acadians commemorate the sinking of the Duke William and the Violet, as well as the wreck of the Ruby in 1758, marking one of the deadliest transports befalling Acadian deportees during the Great Upheaval, claiming the lives of more than 850 souls. For mourning, it's tradition to wear a black star that day.
The ocean still claims many lives today as we evidently see in the global news, where we often see these migrant tragedies unfold in real time.
As directly quoted from the UN News on November 12th 2025:
"Forty-two people are missing and presumed dead following a shipwreck off Libya – the latest fatal crossing in the Central Mediterranean, where more than 1,000 lives have been lost this year."
"The Missing Migrants Project was established in 2014. Since then, more than 25,600 people have died or disappeared in the Central Mediterranean, which spans from North Africa to Italy.
It is the world's deadliest migration route due to factors that include the length of the journey, which can take days; increasingly dangerous smuggling patterns, gaps in search-and-rescue capacity and restrictions on the work of NGOs saving lives at sea.
Furthermore, migrants often make the crossing in unseaworthy, overloaded inflatable boats. As many of these vessels can be launched at one time, this can complicate search and rescue efforts."
Forty-two people are missing and presumed dead following a shipwreck off Libya – the latest fatal crossing in the Central Mediterranean, whe
I feel that as human beings, regardless of background, seeing someone drown should distress us, and make even the hardest of hearts realize that no one should be considered illegal. Immigrants, migrants, refugees all deserve compassion, effective assistance, care, safety and warmth. They did back then, and they do now.
Cape Breton's Diversity in Unity
To hear a community singing of Ave Maris Stella, the hymn-inspired anthem of Acadian culture and identity, peruse this page from Cape Breton's Beaton Institute of Music.
