Mi’kmaw historian, author, activist Dan Paul dies
Daniel Paul, an elder of Miꞌkmaw, author, columnist and human rights activist, passed away early Tuesday morning in Halifax.
He had been diagnosed with terminal cancer late last year and was told he had only months to live.
Born in 1938, Paul grew up in Indian Brook, where he was first introduced to the appalling way in which wider Canadian society treated the Mi’kmaq nation.
He was perhaps best known for his acclaimed book We Were Not the Savages, A Mi’kmaq Perspective on the Collision between European and Native American Civilizations, one of the first Canadian history books told from an Indigenous perspective.
The book opened the world’s eyes to the historic mistreatment of his community and shed new light on the 1749 Mi’kmaw scalping decree and the role of Halifax founder Edward Cornwallis in those events.
His achievements as an activist and historian have been many, but Paul told SaltWire in a recent interview that one of his proudest moments was the role he played in the removal of the Cornwallis statue from Halifax Park, where it is such a prominent feature. took place for so many people. long.
He was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia and was the recipient of many honorary degrees.
