Daniel N. Paul - Böcker

Here is a contemporary Mi'kmaq legend of the life of a great man, who becomes chief, the embodiment of Mi'kmaq values of humility, courage, honour, service and sacrifice of personal gain for the sake of others. He lived a long and storied life, hundreds of years ago, before the arrival of the European scouts and, later, their warships. He was a renowned warrior but, more so, a peacemaker. His people followed him to the point of devotion, yet he was uncannily modest, even embarrassed by his own achievements. He suffered great loss, yet his understanding of his place, his role in a great society, a greater natural world and an inestimable metaphysical world, guided him through his pain.Mi'kmaq readers may recognize these time-honoured themes based on traditional tales passing values generation to generation. Others will gain a new appreciation for what was lost under colonialism and the attempted genocide of this vibrant, sophisticated and successful culture and society.With We Were Not the Savages, Daniel Paul changed the way the world understood the history of Eastern Canada and the fully developed civilization that existed before the arrival of the European explorers and settlers, and the nature of the subsequent violent attack on that culture. With Chief Lightning Bolt, Paul shows us exactly what was lost, the beauty of the Mi'kma'ki that once existed, the culture that survived and is only now beginning to recover.

The title of this book We Were Not the Savages speaks to the truth of what happened when Europeans invaded Mi'kmaw lands in the 17th century. Prior to the European invasion the Mi'kmaq lived healthy lives and for thousands of years lived harmoniously with nature in the land they called Mi'kma'ki. This book sets the record straight. When the Europeans arrived, they were welcomed and sustained by the Mi'kmaq. After they became well established, over the next three centuries, they turned on the Mi'kmaq; their language, culture and their way of life was systematically ravaged by the newcomers to whom they had extended human kindness. The murderous savagery of white supremacist policies that begot residential schools, Indian reserves, scalping proclamations, etc., all but wiped out the Mi'kmaw people. Yet the Mi'kmaq survived and today stand defending the land, the water and nature's bounty from the European way of life, which threatens the natural world we live in and need to survive.Since the first edition was published in 1993, Daniel Paul's ongoing research puts the lie to the mainstream record of Canadian settler colonialism and reveals that the mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas is not confined to the past. In this 4th edition the author shares his research, which catalogues not only the historical tragedy but the ongoing attempts to silence the Mi'kmaq and other Indigenous Peoples. Paul's work continues to give the Mi'kmaw people a voice that must be heard. It is a guiding light in a dark world.