To understand PEI’s history, we must honour stories like Oliver Thomas Labobe’s

Learn how this Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq leader took a brave stand for his people and how his courage helped record and challenge the loss of Mi’kmaq Rights in Epekwitk.
A leader who put injustice into words

Oliver Thomas Labobe, also recorded as Oliver Thoma and Thomas Lebone, was an Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq Saqamaw born in the early 1800s.
As a leader and father, he saw his people facing land loss, population decline, and the denial of Treaty Rights. Labobe chose to speak out.
On January 7, 1832, he signed the Five Chiefs Petition to the House of Assembly, which reminded settlers of promises broken:
“They promised to leave us some of our land–but they did not–that was not just.”
The situation remained grim.
Labobe’s legacy lives on today

In 1838, Labobe wrote another petition, this time to Queen Victoria. He warned their “once numerous tribe” had dwindled “to a skeleton of 500 individuals” and asked for land “on which we may reside and cultivate without fear of removal or molestation.”
Labobe’s petitions recorded more than hardship. They recorded a clear demand for justice and recognition of Mi’kmaq Rights.
This fight for justice continues today, and each of us has a part to play in writing a new story, one of reconciliation.