Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
New Brunswick·Ann's Eye

If our women need protection, this shelter will make them feel at home

New Brunswick's first on-reserve women's shelter will serve all of the province's Mi'kmaw and Wolastoqiyik communities.

Nignen is New Brunswick’s first on-reserve emergency shelter

CBC News ·
Three young women dressed in colourful clothing smile and dance in a circular room.
At Nignen's opening ceremony, people sang and danced. Women's shelters don't have to be defined by pain and loss, there can be joy as well. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.

Ann Paul knows about circles.

In her community, many meetings and ceremonies take place in them.

When Ann saw Nignen, the first on-reserve shelter for Indigenous women in New Brunswick, she could tell right away that the building's architecture would reflect elements of First Nation culture.

WATCH | See how Indigenous culture was woven into the of design of Nignen: 

Ann's Eye: See what makes this women's shelter feel like home

1 year ago
Duration 4:26
Nignen is the first Indigenous women's shelter on-reserve in New Brunswick. Located on Natoaganeg First Nation near Miramichi, it serves 15 Mi'kmaw and Wolastoqiyik communities.

When she walked into the building on Natoaganeg First Nation, in western New Brunswick, she found a wide, circular room with lots of lighting, and artwork painted on the floors and walls.

"The energy is so beautiful in there, it's calming and it's so bright and beautiful," she said.

Nignen will start providing emergency shelter for women from all 15 Mi'kmaw and Wolastoqiyik communities in the province starting in the new year. There are bedrooms for both single women and families, plus a children's room that will offer traditional books and teachings to kids staying at the shelter.

Like the circles found throughout the shelter, the journey of surviving domestic violence isn't linear. Sometimes it takes three or four times to truly leave an abusive home, Ann said.

" If you have to go back again, go back again. It doesn't happen just like that. That's okay." 

Scroll through the photos and watch the video above to see what Nignen, which means "our home," looks like.

A circular, well-lit room with white walls shows a red design on a white floor. On the wall is a painting of an Indigenous woman with long, flowing hair and a pink, ankle-length skirt.
Ann Paul said she felt welcome as soon as she walked into Nignen. 'You could almost feel that this is going to be such a good place for people to come.' (Ann Paul/CBC)
In a sunny, circular room, women wearing ankle-length skirts hold up a giant, colourful quilt.
Women in the community made this quilt for the shelter. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Women dressed in colourful clothing dance around a bright, circular room.
It's unfortunate that a women's shelter has to exist in the first place, Ann says, but it's fortunate that if someone needs one, they have Nignen to go to. 'If you want your smudge there, if you need your women there standing behind you, they’ll be there.' (Ann Paul/CBC)
A bright room has a wood-paneled floor and a cozy double bed.
The shelter has four rooms for single women, plus four spaces with two bedrooms and their own bathrooms for families. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A brightly-lit bathroom with white walls and a wooden sink shows a bathtub and shower.
Nignen has washrooms for families and single women. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A large, open-space dining area has large windows, letting in lots of light.
Ann felt a sense of peace walking through Nignen. 'You know, they must have taken the lighting into consideration, because it’s calming lighting, soft lighting.' (Ann Paul/CBC)
Two men stand on either side of a woman with short, white hair, holding up a blanket to place around her shoulders.
Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy was included in Nignen's blanket ceremony. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Several people stand together inside a circular room, each one with a long, colourful blanket draped over their shoulders.
'When someone blankets you in a ceremony, it's an honour,' Ann says of the ceremony that took place when Nignen opened. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Light comes through a window into a well-lit room, falling over a bed with cream-coloured sheets. Through the window, you can see trees.
Nignen will have a sweat lodge in the spring, and there are plans to build solar panels into the building's roof and install a backup generator. That way, the building will always be secure, the door always locked, even if the power goes out. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A woman and a man, both dressed in red, stand with their arms around each other in a light, airy room.
Joanna Bernard (left) is from Madawaska First Nation and was previously the Assembly of First Nations's interim national chief. Chief George Ginnish of Eel Ground is on the right. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Two women, both wearing ankle-length skirts, stand in front of a podium inside a circular room. Behind them is a colourful painting of an Indigenous woman surrounded by flowers.
Ann says everybody at Nignen had a bright light around them. 'We brought all the good energy to spread around.' (Ann Paul/CBC)

For anyone affected by family or intimate partner violence, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services. Hope for Wellness at 1-855-242-3310 (toll-free) or the online Hope for Wellness chat is available to Indigenous people across Canada. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for safety or that of others around you, please call 911.

Ann's Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices·About CBC News
Corrections and clarifications·Submit a news tip·