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and the arrival
of white settlers is a tragic tale of the degradation of an entire
society. As Dan Paul points out, the European arrival was nothing
short of a “total disaster” for his people.
        It was 10,000 years ago the first Mi’kmaq settled in Nova
Scotia. Having descended from other tribes which crossed the Bering
Strait and spread out across North America, they had probably
retreated south once or several times as the climate dictated. Now
they were here to stay and prosper until their land was invaded by
Europeans in the seventeenth century. Each Native culture evolved
as it separated from the rest into a unique pattern of lifestyle,
language and government. While Mi’kmaq and Maliseet bore strong
similarities, for example, the Mi’kmaq and the Mohawk would be
radically different. *
        Mi’kmaq culture was of a highly organized and civilized
nature. It is reputed to have been an open and accepting society
with no degree of racial elitism. Early French officers would worry
about this openness, because it led to “reverse assimilation” as
French soldiers became part of Mi’kmaq communities and families.
Much earlier, it is suggested that even the notorious Vikings had
been welcomed into Mi’kmaq culture, accounting for the presence of
some very white Native people on hand to greet the English and
French when they arrived. 
        Mi’kmaq villages were democratic, with an established legal
system for resolving grievances. There were seven defined Mi’kmaq
districts in the region and most people lived in communities of 50
to 500. By the seventeentht century, the Mi’kmaq population in
Atlantic Canada stood at about 100,000. By 1843, this number had
diminished to a mere 1,300 survivors of the disease, malnutrition
and mistreatment that befell the people whose homeland was
overtaken by men from across the sea.
        According to Dan Paul, the Mi’kmaq were far too accommodating
to the intrusive Europeans. The English really had little to fear
from the Mi’kmaq until they began to outrage the local population
with vicious acts against these people they viewed as “savages.”
The resulting Mi’kmaq backlash would be an effort of simple
self-defence, a matter of survival against the militant British
.
        Mi’kmaq society was not warlike by nature. Men were
competitive but it was a kind of contest to be the best provider
for the community, not a competition for the greatest personal
profit. The English leaders could not cdomprehend this principle.
While the British notion of leadership hinged on enforced respect
and punishment, Mi’kmaq leadership was based on hunting skills and
character strengths. k
        Religion revolved around a personal and spiritual
relationship to the earth and the inherent spirit in all things of
the earth – from the rocks to trees and bears. The Mi’kmaq have
always believed in an afterlife and the morality of the community
was based upon religious beliefs embracing the interrelationship of
all things of the human world, the natural world and the spiritual
world. Monogamy was dominant in the culture, although polygamy was
permitted. Chrestian LeClercq, one of the first Europeans to
document the Mi’kmaq way of life, notes that they were a very
emotional people. Principles of honour played an important role in
their lives, as did romantic love and a sense of duty to family and
community. The attitude toward sex was very open and while
premarital sex was not encouraged, no stigma was attached to
someone born out of wedlock.
        When Port Royal’s first French settlers made unwelcome
advances against Mi’kmaq women, however, word was quickly returned
to the French leaders that such actions were offensive. Any white
man who attempted to repeat the offence might be severely punished
by the Mi’kmaq chief.
        Of their dietary habits, explorer Nicholas Denys wrote: “They
lived without care, and never ate either salt or spice. They drank
only good