And this bird had a white head; it was a bald eagle. So Glooscap was happy that the eagle had come to visit him, and watched as the eagle flew up into the sky. And as the bird flew up, a feather came floating down. And before that feather could hit the Earth, Glooscap took it and looked up into the sky. He felt so strong holding onto that eagle feather.

And from that moment on the eagle feather has been a symbol of strength connecting our people with the Giver of Life, and Grandfather Sun and Mother Earth. As Glooscap traveled around, he came upon an old woman sitting on a rock. I am your grandmother. I owe my existence from this rock on the ground. If you respect my wisdom and my knowledge, this rock will help you understand your place in this world.

And Glooscap was glad his grandmother came to join him. He was grateful that now he had someone who was going to teach him all there was to know about living on Mother Earth. Wise in many ways, grandmother told Glooscap that she was going to teach him everything there was to know about the sky, Grandfather Sun, Grandmother Moon, the stars, the road of the spirits or the shadows, the Milky Way, and so many other things - and that she would teach him everything there was to know about the wind and the seasons and the tides and the characteristics and behaviors of the plants and animals, and how to make food and clothing and shelter.

So Glooscap was happy when his Grandmother came into the world. Soon after this, Glooscap saw a small animal scurrying along. It was Abistanooj, a marten. Grandmother and I need to continue to live; we need to rely on your body, because you can provide for us. With your skin, we can make our clothing, with your flesh we can eat, with your bones we can make our tools, and your internal organs we can use for our medicines.

Grandfather Sun, forgive me for taking the shadow of the animal, my brother, and Mother Earth, forgive me for taking part of yourself for my creation and my sustenance. Bring them together in the middle of this pit. And bring seven pieces of dry wood, and arrange them on top of the seven sparks. And invite our cousin Whirlwind, Wejosin, to come in.

This is how the first fire was created. The Jibuktew, we call it in our language - the Great Spirit fire. And so it was on this Great Spirit fire that Grandmother cooked the animal, the marten. And they shared this meat. And so Grandmother taught Glooscap about the fire and its relationship to our survival. And they lived together, and Grandmother shared her knowledge. She made their clothing and tools from the animal that Glooscap brought her and taught him everything there was to know about surviving.

One day, while Grandmother went off to find wood for the fire, Glooscap decided to take a walk down by the ocean. As he walked among the tall sweet-smelling grass, a young man stood up in front of him. And though he was young, he was big, and tall and husky, with white sparkling eyes. Where did you come from? I owe my existence to the Wejosin, Whirlwind.

When he passed through the ocean, in the direction of the rising sun, he caused the water to foam, and roil up. And this foam was blown ashore and carried by the whirlwind along the sand, picking up all these rocks, and feathers and wood and everything else, until it finally came to rest on this tall sweet-smelling grass.

I have very strong arms and legs; I can do things for you and Grandmother. But I also have vision. I bring vision to the future. And that he had to live his life in such a way that he would leave a legacy of life and survival for the younger generations to come. And they also carry all the characteristics and images of our ancestors: our Grandmothers, our Grandfathers, and so on. And so Glooscap was happy that his nephew came into the world to share his life, to offer his strength, and to share his vision — because young people look ahead of us; they see into the future and provide us with guidance in the way we live, so that we share our survival with the generations to come.

And so the nephew and Glooscap came back to grandmother with this understanding. And because the nephew owed his existence from the ocean, Glooscap called upon the fish. And he apologized for taking the life of the fish, and for taking the shadow of the fish. And he apologized to Mother Earth for taking elements from her for his own survival, and for the survival of his grandmother and his nephew.

And so they ate, and shared their life and Grandmother continued to teach them everything there was to know the world and about surviving on the Earth.

So finally, Glooscap was alone by the fire one day, and he had just finished putting another piece of wood to the fire. The squid would be attracted by the light and approach, only to be stranded on the shore when the tide ebbed.

This method worked only with the young squid, the adults keeping to deep water Denys, , p. Lobsters were taken with the same kind of harpoon as used for flounders Denys, , p. Within the Maritime Peninsula the resident bird population included gannets Moris bassana , black ducks Anas rubripes red-breasted mergansers Mergus serrator , ruffed grouse Bonasa umbellus , the great black-backed gull Laris marinus , the herring gull Larus argentatus , common murres Uria aalge , Atlantic puffins Fractercula arctica , great horned owls Buba virginianus , and barred owls Strix varia.

From the descriptions available to us the migrant bird population must have been staggering. Denys, for example, found that at nesting time in Halifax Harbor there was. And aside from these the number of those which were spared and which rose into the air, made a cloud so thick that the rays of the sun could scarcely penetrate it… Denys, , pp.

Both Lescarbot , p. Le Clerq, , p. Besides the use of the head snare just described by Le Clerq, we must also note bird-stalking and night-clubbing. Lescarbot , pp. Sometimes they also glide softly, and without noise, in their canoes and light vessels of bark, to the shores where the ducks and other water-fowl are, and there strike them down….

Denys implies that this manner of bird hunting was only for children, however Denys, , p. To those places the Indians went, two or three in a canoe, with torches which they made of Birch bark; these burn more brightly than torches of wax.

Reaching the place where all these birds are, they laid down in the canoe, which they allowed to drift without their being seen. The current carried them right into the midst of all these birds, which had no fear of them, supposing them to be logs of wood which the sea was carrying from one place to another, something that often happens, which makes them accustomed to it.

When the Indians were in their midst they lighted their torches all at once. This surprised the birds and obliged them all at the same moment to rise into the air. The darkness of the night makes this light very conspicuous, so that they suppose it is the sun or other [such] thing. They all proceeded to wheel in confusion around the torches which an Indian held, always approaching the fire, and so close that the Indians, with sticks they held, knocked them down as they passed.

Besides, by virtue of much wheeling about, these became dizzy, so that they fell off as if dead; then the Indians took them and wrung their necks. As a result in a single night they filled their canoes… Denys, , pp.

Besides fish, mollusks, and sea-birds, the sea also provided the Micmac with sea-mammals such as whales, dolphins, porpoises, walruses, and seals, although not all of these were pursued. Evidence exists that our Indians did hunt some of the smaller whales such as the white whale and the common blackfish, as well as the Atlantic walrus, the harbor seal, and the gray seal, and it is possible that other dolphins and porpoises [were hunted] as well.

Of these mammals the harbor seal was probably the most common, and was probably the most used by the natives. This oil is to the Indians a relish at all the feasts they make among themselves.

They use it also to grease their hair… Denys, , p. With the passing of summer and the beginning of autumn, the southward bird migrations began, presenting the Micmac with even more varieties than in spring. The first birds to appear included the pied-billed grebe Podilymbus podiceps , the semipalmated plover Charadrius semipalmatus , the black bellied plover Sqquatarolasquatarola , the Hudsonian curlew Phaeopus hudsonicus , the Eskimo curlew P.

These were followed in September by the common golden-eye Glaucionette clangula , the passenger pigeon Ectopistos migratorius , the yellow rail Coturnicops noveboracensis , and the American golden plover Pluvialis aquatarola. The month of October saw the appearance of the black-crowned night heron Nycticorax nycticorax , the Canadian goose, the mallard Anas platyrhnchos , the baldpate Mareca americana , the green-winged teal Nettion carolinense , the bufflehead Charitonette albeola , the lesser scaup Nyroca affinis , the American scoter Oidemia americana , the mourning dove Zenaidura macroura , and the dowitcher Limnodromus griseus.

Of these, the Canadian goose, the common brant, the mallard, the green-winged teal, the passenger pigeon, the mourning dove, the plovers, the curlews, and the lesser yellow-legs were present in great enough numbers to be economically important. As Biard tells us:. Now our savages in the middle of September withdraw from the sea, beyond the reach of the tide, to the little rivers, where the eels spawn [sic], of which they lay in a supply; they are good and fat.

In October and November comes the second hunt for elks [sic- moose] and beavers; and then in December wonderful providence of God comes a fish called by them ponamo [tomcod], which spawns under the ice. Also then the turtles bear little ones, etc… Biard, , in JR.

Although our early historical sources mention the use of eels by the Micmac, we lack descriptions of the methods by which they were collected, and are forced to fall back upon the more recent ethnographical and philological materials. Rand presents us with the following list of terms relating to eel-fishing:.

From an illustration given by Speck , Pl. After a supply of eels had been secured and preserved, the Micmac turned their attention to the moose.

To hunt these at this time the hunters had to depend heavily upon stratagem and surprise, for at this time the animals could not be run down as in winter. In those localities they beat the woods, going from one part to another to find their tracks. Having found one they followed it, and they knew by their track, and even from the dung, whether it was male or female, and whether it was old or young.

By its track they knew also whether they were near the beast; then they considered whether there was any thicket or meadow nearby where the beast was likely to be, judging from the direction it was taking. They were rarely mistaken.

They made a circle around the place where it was, in order to get below the wind so as not to be discovered by the Moose. They approached it very softly, fearful of making noise enough to reveal themselves to it. Having discovered it, if they were not near enough they approached closer until within arrow-shot, which is from forty-five to fifty paces. Then they launched their blow against the beast, which rarely fell to a single arrow. Then it was necessary to follow its track. Sometimes the beast would stop, hearing no more noise.

Knowing this from its pace, they went slowly and tried to approach it yet again, and gave it still another arrow shot. If this did not make it drop, they had again to follow it, even to evening, when they camped near the beast, and in the morning went again to take up the track. The animal being sluggish in rising because of the blood it had lost, they gave it a third shot, and made it drop, [thus] accomplishing the killing. They then broke off some branches to mark the place, in order to send their wives to find it… Denys, , pp.

Le Clerq states that the Indians also captured moose by the use of snares or nooses made from large leather thongs set in game-paths Le Clerq, , p. The most successful method, however, was that of moose-calling, which could only be employed at this time.

The male approaches, and the Indians who are on the watch kill with shots from their guns. The same cunning and dexterity they also use with respect to the female, by counterfeiting the cry of the male… Le Clerq, , p.

These dogs were relatively small compared to European dogs , having narrow heads, long noses, large teeth, and a howl instead of a bark. From the descriptions available, they seem to have been used chiefly to track down and worry the game, and were very highly prized Butler and Hadlock, ; Denys, , pp.

In summer and autumn beavers were usually taken in traps, of which the deadfall was the most common. Another method, however, was to break the dams and to lower the water in the reservoir until the houses showed completely, at which point the beavers could be shot relatively easily with arrows.

The demands of the fur trade were such that the Indians preferred to hunt the beavers in the winter — a much more difficult task, as we shall see. Before the contact period the Indians,.

The Indians seem to have been amused by the French passion for beaver skins, for on one ocassion one told Le Clerq:. He makes for us kettles, axes, knives, and gives us drink and food without the trouble of cultivating the ground.

The Micmac also felt that the beavers had sense and formed a separate nation, for they said that,. Besides moose and beaver, the Micmac also hunted bear, otter, muskrat, and caribou during the autumn months, although the hunt for the latter offered great difficulties in this season since the favorite localities of these animals, the swamp barrens, were very wet at this time and the animals remained in the shrubby margins where it was impossible to track them.

Also, at this time the bears were very fat in preparation for their winter hibernation, and were a great treat. The Micmac hunted them at this time by tracking them down; our sources fail to mention whether or not dogs were used for this purpose Denys, , p. With the passing of December and the end of the tomcod harvest, many of the Micmac entered the most trying period of the year, during which it was necessary for them to subsist almost entirely upon the products of the chase.

Its flesh is as good as veal; and furthermore they make of its fat an oil which serves them as sauce throughout the year; they fill several moose-bladders with it, which are two or three times as large and strong as our pig-bladders; and in these you see their reserve casks. Likewise in the month of February and until the middle of March, is the great hunt for Beavers, otters, moose, bears which are very good , and for the caribou, an animal half ass and half deer.

If the weather then is favorable, they live in great abundance, and are as haughty as Princes and Kings; but if it is against them, they are greatly to be pitied, and often die of starvation. The weather is against them if it rains a great deal, and does not freeze over, for then they cannot put their dogs upon the chase, because they sink down: the savages themselves do not do this, for they wear snowshoes on their feet which help them to stay on top; yet they cannot run as fast as would be necessary, the snow being too soft… Biard, , in JR.

Ganong identifies the species concerned as the gray seal harbor seal , but this seems to be an error since this animal whelps during the months of September, October, and November while that described by Biard and Denys whelped during the months of January and February. This whelping date points rather to the hooded and harp seals; at present these do not occur in this region but we have good reason to think that they did in the prehistoric and early historic Bartlett, , pp.

With the end of the whelping season and the disappearance of the seal herds most of the Micmac were reduced to dependence upon land game, and upon whatever remained of their stores of dried and smoked eels and fish, and of ground nuts. With the establishment of French settlements and posts they often found it necessary to turn to them for aid in surviving the months of February and March.

In winter the Micmac method of hunting was by snowshoe, with the hutners forcing the game to travel and fatigue itself in the deep snows while they moved relatively unhindered across its surface. This method worked best with moose, less well with caribou, and not at all with beaver. As stated before, the necessary conditions for a successful hunt were heavy snow and a surface crust, for at this time the Indians and their dogs had no trouble in staying on the surface, while the moose found the going very difficult.

The game was located by watching for places where the tender year old twigs of alder, aspen, birch, striped maple, mountain ash, or shrubs, had been nibbled. The moose were usually not too far distant and were approached directly and openly.

If there was only one, the Indians gave chase immediately, wearing it out and closing the gap between it and them until they were close enough to spear it with thier moose-lance, which was armed with a large pointed bone.

In contrast with the case of moose, the winter hunt for beaver was extremely difficult, although necessary since the coats were at their best in this season. According to Le Clerq,. These animals make sport of the hunter, scorn him, and very often escape his pursuit by slipping from their pond through a secret outlet, which they have the instinct to leave in their dam in communication with another neighbouring pond… Le Clerq, , p.

We may therefore consider it here in its entirety. As for that [hunting] of the Beavers, it also was done in winter with Dogs, but they were only used to find the houses in which they smelled the Beavers through the ice. Having found them, the Indians cut through the ice and made a hole large enough to let through a Beaver.

Then they made another hole twenty-five or thirty paces away, on the open surface of the lake. In this place an Indian or two took their stand with a bow and an arrow which has a harpoon or bone at the end, made like a barbed rod, like that which was used in fishing the Sturgeon, but smaller. It has also a cord to which it is attached at one end, and the Indian took hold of the other.

Everything being ready, another Indian went to the other near the house of the Beavers. There they are all arranged one against the other, that is to say, all those of one Beaver family.

Having found them,the Indian passed his hand very gently along the back of one several times, and, approaching little by little to the tail, tried to seize it. I have heard it said by the Indians that they have kept the arm so long in the water that the ice froze all around the arm.

When they once seized the tail they drew the Beaver all at one swoop out from the water upon the ice, and at the same time gave it the axe upon the head. They killed it for fear lest the Beaver bite them, for wherever these set their teeth they take out the piece. Having thus drawn one out they tried to obtain another, which they did so in the same way, rubbing them gently.

That does not put them to flight, for they imagine they are touching one another. But nevertheless three or four of them having been removed, the ramainder take to flight and throw themselves into the water. Not being able to remain long with[out] breathing, the daylight which shows over the hole out on the surface leads them to go there to get air.

The other Indians who are there in ambush, so soon as they appear, give them an arrow shot; the harpoon, which has teeth, holds in some part of the Beaver from which it cannot be drawn out.

The cord is then pulled and the Beaver is drawn out through the hole; then they raise it upon the ice and kill it. Some time after there comes another which is taken in the same way. Few in a house are saved; they would take all. The disposition of the Indians is not to spare the little ones any more than the big ones. They killed all of each kind of animal that there was when they could capture it. It is well to remark here that they were more fond of the young than of the grown of various species of animals, whatever these might be, to such a degree that often when they were chasing two Elks [moose], male and female, they quitted the male if they perceived that the female was pregnant, in order to obtain the young ones, for ordinarily they carry two, and it is for them a great dainty… Denys, , pp.

It is rather surprising that the Beavers do not flee from the noise thus made as they would under other circumstances. It is doubtful whether this method is older than the use of iron axes of weight suitable for frequent and rapid ice-breaking.

The Micmac also used their dogs to locate bear dens, whose inmates were routed out, if necessary, and dispatched with spears and arrows. A few general remarks need to be made concerning the Micmac hunting complex.

We are told by Lescarbot , p. Fishing activities including sea-mammel hunting dominated the Micmac way of life during the late spring, summer, autumn, and early winter; hunting dominated their way of life only during the months of February and March.

Within the hunting complex, the fact that moose and beaver were of primary importance has several interesting implications. Both of these animals are residents of the hydrosere and are comparatively non-migratory — thus contrasting sharply with the nomadic forest bison and caribou of the xerophytic central boreal forest.

Among the Micmac these territories were reassigned each year, for Le Clerq , p. It is not permitted to any Indian to overstep the bounds and limits of the region which shall have been assigned him in the assemblies expressly to make this assignment….

Although we have no evidence to support us, we may expect that these assemblies were formal ceremonies in that they reassigned to extant bands and families those territories which they had traditionally used and were still using; their most important function, undoubtedly was the reapportionment of territory to new families or bands. In the central and more xerophytic boreal forest hunting territories disappear — a fact which has caused an amazing amount of controversy and speculation among anthropologists.

The latest and most definitive papers on this problem are those of Speck and Eisely and of Cooper , pp. Besides this loin cloth the men also wore upon occasion cloaks made of the skins of moose, beaver, marten, bear, lynx, and seal, these being thrown over the shoulders and tied under the chin with strings of leather. This cloak arrangement was also worn passed over one shoulder and under the other, and, except during the severest part of the winter, taken off indoors.

In addition to the loin cloth and cloak, Micmac men — and also the women — habitually wore buckskin leggings and moccasins. The leggings, which were worn for protection against the brush, thorns, and brambles of the forest, and also against cold, were fastened to the belt and had no seat. They were made from a single piece of leather each, with the seam on the outside, and were fringed. The customary garment of the Micmac women seems to have been similar to that of the men, except that the skin cloak was worn in a somewhat different manner.

The women wear this robe in Bohemian fashion. The opening is on one side. They attach it with cords in two places, some distance apart, in such a way that the head can pass through the middle and the arms on the two sides.

Then they double the two ends one above the other, and over it they place a girdle which they tie very tightly, in such a manner that it cannot fall off. In this manner they are entirely covered. They have sleeves of skin which are attached together behind. They have also leggings of skin, like stirrup stockings without feet; the men wear these likewise Denys, , p.

These garments were made of carefully dressed and tanned hides, usually of moose or caribou if the hair was to be removed. To dress their skins, these are soaked and stretched in the sun, and are well-heated on the skin side for pulling out the hair. Then they stretch them and pull out the hair with the bone instruments made on purpose, somewhat as do those who prepare a skin for conversion into parchment.

Next, having rubbed it well between the hands, they dress it over a piece of polished wood made shelving on both sides just as is done to dress the skins for making gloves upon an iron. They rub it until it becomes supple and mangeable. Then they wash it and twist it with sticks many times, until it leaves the water clean. Then they spread it to dry. For the skins dressed with the hair, these are only treated with the livers, with which they are well rubbed by hand; they are passed repeatedly over the sticks to dress them well.

If they are not then soft enough, more of the livers is added and they are once more rubbed until they are pliable; then they are dried… Denys, , pp. In winter the covering of the men seems to have been somewhat more complete.

Le Clerq , p. These were also made of sealskin. In any case, the early Micmac coats apparently had detachable sleeves, for Le Clerq tells us:. One of these sleeves falls in front, and covers only half of the arm; the other falls behind, and clothes the entire shoulders… Le Clerq, , pp.

This distinctive cultural trait — sleeves separate and distinct from the garment — has been described by Wissler , pp. We must obviously add the Micmac to this distribution.

For such occasions as weddings and feasts the Micmac wore garments of the type just described, but made with skins prepared and decorated with greater care. Denys informs us that,. Others have three rows at the bottom, some lengthwise, and others across, others in broken chevron, or studded with figures of animals, according to the family of the workman. They work all these fashions in colours of red, violet, and blue, applied to the skin with some isinglass. They had bones fashioned in different ways which they passed quite hot over the colours, in a manner somewhat like that in which one gilds the covers of books.

When these colours are once applied, they do not come off with water… Denys, , p. According to Le Clerq these decorations were put on in only four kinds of colors: red, white, black, and yellow. The red and yellow were probably derived from ochres; the white from powered or burned shell; and the black either from bog manganese or charcoal.

Another very vivid red used only in staining porcupine quills may possibly have been derived from the roots of bedstraw Galium tinctorium Linn. Le Clerq, , pp. In other words, the Micmac were already creating items for sale to tourists. From a legend collected in the 19th century, but apparently referring to the 17th century, it would seem that European trade items played an important part of the costume of some Micmac warriors. These articles were piled in, and the blanket filled so full that they could scarcely tie it; then another was put down and filled….

Lescarbot tells us that none of the Micmac wore hats of their own make, and that those that they had were derived from the French. In place of hats they decorated the hair itself:. To distinguish the men and the women from the boys and the girls by their ornaments; the first have the hair cut below the ears.

The boys wear their of full length; they tie it in tufts on the two sides with cords of leather. The dainty ones have theirs ornamented with coloured Porcupine quills. The girls wear theirs also full length, or tie it behind with the same cords. But the belles, who wish to appear pretty, and who know how to do good work, make ornamental pieces of the size of a foot or eight inches square, all embroidered with Porcupine quills of all colours.

It is made on a frame, of which the warp is threads of leather from the unborn Moose, a very delicate sort; the quills of Porcupine from the woof which they pass through these threads, just as one makes tapestry, and it is very well made. All around they make a fringe of the same threads, which are also encircled with these Porcupine quills in a medley of colours.

In this fringe they place wampum, white and violet. They make of it also pendants for the ears, which they have pierced in two or three places…Such is the ornamentation of the girls. As soon as they are married, the mother in delivering them to their husbands, cuts their hair. Lescarbot, pp. Lescarbot, , pp. They allow their hair to hang down. Other authors, such as Denys , p. According to Lescarbot this provided some protection against the numerous mosquitoes.

Le Clerq informs us that a shiny or greasy appearance was the height of fashion, and was called for on public occasions. The Micmac women pierced their ears in several places for the purpose of wearing pendants of wampum, shell, or quill-work, as well as little bells, solz-marquez, and deniers which they obtained from the French Denys, , p. Supplementing such ornaments, and their painted skin robes, the Micmac used considerable quantities of face paint, but do not seem to have used body paint.

When, now, we say that the Indians paint themselves, that is equivalent to saying that they daub their faces, which is done sometimes with black and sometimes with red, just as it pleases them. The most capricious make a mixture of these two colours.

Some paint themselves with a single colour, or with several; others daub all the forehead with red, and the remainder of the face with black. Others again, still more fanciful than the first, draw a line wholly of black from the middle of the forehead clear to the end of the nose, while the two cheeks will be all mottled and streaked with white, yellow, black, and red.

This painting is precisely that which they make use of on the days of their feasts, and of their leading diversions. They use it also in mourning, for, in order to mark their sorrow and affliction when they hear of the death of some one of their kinsmen, they paint the whole face in black. But when they go to war, then they make use of red, in order, they say, that neither their enemies nor yet their own companions may be able to detect the different expressions of countenance which fear very often causes to appear in even the most intrepid and the bravest persons Le Clerq, , pp.

Father Maillard has left us an even more detailed description of the Micmac manner of applying war paint:. After this [tearing a captured beast into pieces and eating it raw] they bring out Oorakins, bowls of bark full of that coarse vermillion which is found along the coast of Chibucto, and on the west side of Acadia Nova Scotia which they moisten with the blood of the animal if any remains, and add water to compleat the dilution.

Then the old, as well as the young, smear their faces, belly and back with this curious paint; after which they trim their hair shorter, some of one side of the head, some of the other; some leave only a small tuft on the crown of their head; others cut their hair entirely off on the left or right side of it; some again leave nothing on it but a lock, just on the top of their forehead, and of the breadth of it, that falls back on the nape of the neck.

Some of them bore their ears, and pass through the holes thus made in them, the finest fibril-roots of the fir, which they call Tooboo, and is commonly used for thread; but on this occasion serve to string certain small shells… Maillard, , pp.

Let us speak of another thing which they regard as adornment. From these various references it would seem safe to conclude that the Micmac practised tattooing during the late French period, and that they may have practised it earlier, since the method of applying the powder to the body seems Aboriginal. Maillard here stands as one of our best sources, and his observations confirm and extend those of earlier writers. It will therefore be necessary for us to lean heavily upon his writings, although it derives from a period following that being considered in this study.

Some difference of opinion exists between Le Clerq and Maillard as to the exact manner in which a courtship is initiated; this may reflect temporal or regional variation in custom more than error upon the part of the observers. The account given by Le Clerq is the earlier, and tells us that,.

A boy has no sooner formed the design to espouse a girl than he makes for himself a proposal about it to her father, because he well knows that the girl will never approve the suit, unless it is agreeable to her father. The boy asks the father if he thinks it suitable for him to enter into his wigwam, that is to say, into relationship with him through marrying his daughter, for whom he professes to have much inclination. If the father does not like the suit of the young Indian, he tells him so without other ceremony than saying it cannot be; and this lover, however enamoured he may be, receives this reply with equanimity as the decisive decree of his fate and of his courtship, and seeks elsewhere some other sweetheart.

It is not the same if the father finds that the suitor who presents himself is acceptable for his daughter; for then, after having given his consent to this lover, he tells him to speak to his sweetheart, in order to learn her wish about an affair which concerns herself alone. For they do not wish, say these barabrians, to force the inclinations of their children in the matter of marriage, or to induce them, whether by use of force, obedience, or affection, to marry men whom they cannot bring themselves to like.

Hence it is that the fathers and mothers of our Gaspesians leave to their children the entire liberty of choosing the persons whom they think most adaptable to their dispositions, and most comfortable to their affections, although the parents, nevertheless, always keep the right to indicate to them the one whom they think most likely to be suitable for them… Le Clerq, , pp.

He makes her a present from whatever important things he possesses; and the custom is such that if she is agreeable to his suit, she receives and accepts it with pleasure, and offers him in return some of her most beautiful workmanship. She takes care, they say, not to receive the least thing from those who seek her in marriage, in order not to contract any engagement with a young man whom she has not the intention of marrying. The girl, for her part, also does her best with that which concerns the housekeeping, and devotes herself wholly, during this year, if the suit of the boy be pleasing to her, to making snowshoes, sewing canoes, preparing barks, dressing skins of moose or of beaver, drawing the sled — in a word, to doing everything which can give her the reputation of being a good housewife.

As they are all equally poor and rich, self-interest never determines their marriages. Also there is never a question of dowry, of property, of inheritance, of a contract, or of a notary who arranges the property of the two parties in case of divorce.

If they possess a blanket, or some beaver robe, it is sufficient for setting up housekeeping, and all that even the richest can hope for is a kettle, a gun, a fire-steel, a knife, an axe, a canoe, and some other trifles. These are all the riches of the newly-married couples, who do not fail, nevertheless, to live content when this little is wanting, because they hope to find in hunting that with which to supply in plenty their needs and necessities.

Many persons are persuaded but too easily that the young man abuses his future spouse during this year which he is obliged to spend in the wigwam of his sweetheart. But aside from the fact that it is a custom and an invariable law among the Gaspesians, which it is not permissible to transgress without exposing the entire nation to some considerable evil, it is true to say that these two lovers live together like brother and sister with much circumspection.

I have never heard, during all the time that I lived in Gaspesia, that any disorder occurred between them, considering likewise that the women and the girls, as we have said, are themselves as modest as not to permit in this matter any liberty which would be contrary to their duty… Le Clerq, , pp. Contrary to our custom, in their marriages the father does not give a dower to his daughter to establish her with some one, but the lover gives beautiful and suitable presents to the father, so that he will allow him to marry his daughter.

The presents will be in proportion to the rank of the father and the beauty of the daughter: dogs, beavers, kettles, axes, etc. But they have a very rude way of making love; for the suitor, as soon as he shows a preference for a girl, does not dare look at her, nor speak to her, nor stay near her, unless accidentally; and then he must force himself not to look her in the face, nor to give any sign of passion, otherwise he would be the laughingstock of all, and his sweetheart would blush for him.

After a while, the father brings together the relatives, to talk over the match with them, — whether the suitor is of proper age, whether he is a good and nimble hunter, his family, his reputation, his youthful adventures; and if he suits them, they will lengthen or shorten, or make stipulations as to the time and manner of his courtship as they may think best… Biard, ; in JR.

To continue our account of Micmac courtship and marriage we need to turn from Le Clerq to Denys. We learn that. The relatives of the boy came to visit those of the girl, and asked them if it were pleasing to them. The Medicine Wheel is a very powerful symbol of Native American spirituality. Because it is a circle, it represents the many cycles that appear in the natural world: the cycle of night and day, of the seasons, and of birth, life, and death.

However, it is important to note that each Nation has been given its own understanding of the Medicine Wheel, and the colours, order, and other details may differ. This does not mean that any one understanding is right or wrong; each Nation received teachings that work best for them.

The description that follows is for the Mi'kmaw Medicine Wheel. As is true of many Native American traditions, the Mi'kmaw Medicine Wheel contains four colours: red, white, yellow and black.

These colours represent the four races of man, of which Native Americans were aware long before the arrival of the Europeans. Also, each direction has an associated spirit helper, an element, and a sacred medicine.