by Daniel N. Paul, CM, ON, Mi’kmaw Elder and Historian

(During my discourse I shall be using a couple of Mi’kmaq words because they fit the stories being related. When an Elder is talking to a young boy or man the so-called vocative case is used, i.e., kwi’s. (pronounced gweees)

For a young girl or woman it would be tu’s. (pronounced dooos) Also, I’ll be using Aunt and Uncle, as was the Mi’kmaq custom then, for Elders who in many cases were of no blood relation.)

Humans have a tendency to view historical events through eyes that fit present day conditions, therefore, especially for younger readers, I’ll set the stage for some of the stories I’ll be relating over the next several months by giving a short description of the conditions the Mi’kmaq and other First Nations Peoples were living under in the 1930s and 1940s.

When I was born in 1938 Registered Indians had the same legal rights as insane persons and drunks, none. We were Wards of the Federal Crown and all our activities were governed by the provisions of the Indian Act, which at that time had some very discriminatory Sections that negatively affected our lives. For instances there were provisions that prevented a lawyer from representing us in lawsuits against the Crown without the permission of the Indian Affairs Superintendent General and we could be barred from entering poolrooms.

Poverty was rampant and most of our homes were borderline uninsulated shacks. Diseases such as TB were very common and malnutrition was the norm ...

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