The Micmac
The Micmac natives were one of the first inhabitants that arrived from Asia to the North American continent. They crossed Bering Strait, which was covered by the last glaciation, approximately 30,000 years ago. Upon the settlement of the continent, the Micmac finally settled in the Maritimes. Here, they established themselves as people and as the dominant tribe in the Canadian Maritimes. The Micmac were semi-nomadic since they routinely moved between summer fishing villages near the coast to inland locations for winter hunting. Their culture was established to distinguish them from the other native tribes settled nearby. Their clothing gave them a significant amount of freedom and was created, once again; to keep their tribe more characterized. Soon, came the contact with Europeans. The Micmac were probably the first Native Americans to have regular contact with the Europeans. This contact may have occurred as early as the 11th century with the Viking settlements on the coast of North America, or possibly with the Basque fishermen who visited the Grand Banks before Columbus' voyage in 1492. Before long, the European contact became very influential upon the Micmac peoples and integration of the two began. The Micma
Already strongly attached to the French through religion and marriage, the Micmac were convinced that the British were enemies. The same alliance drew the Micmac into conflict not only with the English but also with English allies, in this case the Iroquois. When the British won North America, the Micmac reluctantly accepted the outcome. Although the Micmac and a few other tribes signed the peace treaty with New England at Portsmouth, they still refused to recognize full British authority in Acadia. "Acadia had become Nova Scotia, but it was British in name only." Soon trouble began. The first concern of the British was to secure their fishing rights, so they were content to allow the French maintain their trade with the Micmac to keep everyone pleased. This was looked upon as a fault from the British side. The French not only continued trade, upon which the Micmac had become dependent, but also provided large annual gifts to the Micmac to keep their friendship and allegiance. The British could not compete with this as the government in London provided limited funds for gifts for British allies and since at the time the Micmac were not considered to be British allies. Trouble began in 1717 as settlement from New England began to expand northward into Abenaki lands along the coast of Maine as well as the Connecticut Valley. The Abenaki was a confederacy created that united several native tribes. The confederacy included the Mohawks, Maliseet, Micmac and Passamaquoddy. Conferences between New England and Abenaki representatives during 1717 and 1719 failed to reach any agreement. The epidemic continued to reduce the native population contributing to demoralization and the loss of faith. Meanwhile, the furs created a new fashion in France quickly spread its popularity throughout Europe. The French quickly saw a chance to make a large profit. Soon organized fur trade began. French trading ships made regular trips to the Micmac homeland for fur. The demand created by Europeans overwhelmed the resources available to Micmac. Already formidable warriors, the bartering for metal weapons gave the Micmac and their allies an enormous advantage over their enemies. In 1604 Samuel de Champlain and Pierre De Monts established the first settlement in North America at the mouth of the St. Croix River. The location was a terrible choice and they moved to a new site that became known as the Port Royal and was located in the Micmac territory. The first Jesuit missionaries had arrived at Port Royal in 1610 and met immediate success working among the Micmac. Father Leclerq was most popular among the Micmac. Consequently, as a result of the first settlement, the Micmac were already being converted thus taking their first step towards suppression. Father Leclerq is one of the reasons the Canadian tribe is known as being incredibly remarkable. He helped invent hieroglyphs, or ideograms as a means of acquiring religious or worldly knowledge. This knowledge was somewhat shared with the other tribes, especially the neighboring Beothuk. c were the most influential tribe in the Maritimes and their contact with the Europeans almost caused their own eradication. Most of the diet consisted of meat, favorably fish and seafood. Fish of all kinds including salmon and sturgeon, whales, walrus, seals, etc., made up a bulk of their diet. The Micmac spent most of the year along the seacoast, taking advantage of the abundance of food available there throughout all but six weeks of the year. The hunting season began in the fall. During the heavy snow, with the help of footprints, moose, deer and caribou were much easier to track. The depth of the snow did not provide many problems, as the Micmac were able to move about easily by using snowshoes, sleds and toboggans. The Micmac created different shapes and weaves for various snow conditions. Meat and fish were dried and smoked to preserve them. The fruit part of their diet consisted of berries, roots, and ot
Some common words found in the essay are:
America Micmac, Canadian Maritimes, Nova Scotia, Natives European, George Bay, Port Royal, Europe French, British French, Scotia British, British Seven, canadian maritimes, contact europeans, nova scotia, north america, port royal, micmac peace, tribe canadian, micmac natives, tribe canadian maritimes, fishing boats, americans regular contact, allies micmac, micmac reluctantly accepted, native americans regular, visited grand banks,
Approximate Word count = 2957
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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