The Chebake

 

Because of family breakdown I spent the first year of my life living in Lower Wedgeport on the Nicholas Road in a little house facing Baie la Chebec, near the south wharf. After my family situation in Halifax normalized, I spent a week every summer at my grand père Mathurine’s house in Wedgeport across from the old lobster cannery, just down from Eglise Saint Michael, usually coinciding with the tuna fishing championship. As a kid I heard of the Chebake, but it was only mentioned as a very dangerous beach up north. There was no awareness among the people of Wedgeport of my mother and grand mere’s generation of the meaning of the name Chebake, an Acadien Chiac word, whose meaning has resolved into a simple place name, a beach across the creek from present day la Shoppe a Carl.

Wedgeport, or Tusket Wedge the 19^th century name place name was called by the Mi’kmaw, Kepe’k. Kepe’k is an Algonquin descriptive name meaning the narrowing of waters, just like Quebec. As the mixed blood Acadien moved into the area they adapted the place name from:

Kepe’k (like Quebec) to Cha’beck to Cha’ bake.

Gradually in the time of assimilation into the racist Land of Evangeline paradigm the old usage was abandoned and the place name transformed into Tusket Wedge/Wedgeport.  

It is very likely the Chebake or Kepe’k was a stopping point for the Mi’kmaw on their way from the coast, through Poqomkek (Pubnico,) then across the bay on their way to Aklasie’we’katik (Tusket.)

 EW

Map from Tan Wegi-squalia’tiek, Mi’kmaw Place Names