Then Lightning Bolt spoke. “Brothers and sisters, my children, the news I bring you this Sunrise is filled with dark foreboding for our future survival as a Nation. I will relate to you, word for word, what has been reported to me…” When finished, Lightning Bolt began to talk to the People about the future, although by now they had a bewildered and shocked look about them.
“There is no question about the fact that many of the people invading our lands are cruel and viscious, lacking a sense of justice and equality. To them we will be like black-flies, a nuisance to be destroyed. With a breaking heart I urge you my children to prepare yourself for the dreadful things to come. Many of the strangers coming to our lands will at first appear to be friendly, but it will be only a ruse. When they multiply, they will turn upon us and in the end seek to destroy us. They will, without conscience, take all that is ours. Our remaining Peoples will be left destitute and landless.
“To try to prevent this from happening, I’m calling a general Chief’s meeting of Eastern and Western Nations to plot strategy. To this end I’ve already sent runners to deliver to them the news about the invasion and to invite them to a meeting five Sunrises after the first Moon of Spring. My hope is that by that time the leaders, in consultation with their People, can agree to make emergency plans to deal with this menace to our survival. Go, my children, and pray constantly to the Great Spirit for guidance.”
The National Chief’s meeting got under way shortly after the Great Chief had passed his one-hundredth Spring. After extending greetings, Lightning Bolt urged the Chiefs to meet in small groups, then reassemble the next morning. The next Sunrise, in an air of despair, he called the general meeting to order soon after dawn. “My beloved children, as I told you last Sunrise, I’ve called this conference to hear your reactions to the news of the European invasion and to try to reach a consensus on the kind of policy we should adopt to deal with the crisis. Before we start, I call upon senior Elder Morning Child to lead us in prayer to our Maker. Morning Child.”
“Lightning Bolt, my Grandfather, brothers and sisters, let us pray that the Great Father will shine His light down upon us to fill us with the wisdom we will need to resolve this grave matter. Oh Great Spirit, Master of the Universe, the giver of life to all creatures and things, please show us your poor children the way. Let your wisdom show through in all of our decisions, and…”
When Morning Child had finished offering prayers to the Great Spirit, and the Sweet-grass and Pipe-Smoking Ceremonies were over, Lightning Bolt continued, “Thank you my beloved sister. My children, I’ll now ask, in order of age, all the national leaders to come forward and share with us the reactions of their communities to the coming of the strangers. And then, share with us suggestions for dealing with the situation. We’ll start with the Chief of the Maliseet Nation, Big Mountain.”
Big Mountain gave a detailed report about how his people had received the news, and their reactions. Then the other Chiefs all made their orations. They told of the People’s fear and sense of dismay upon hearing the news of the way the people with pale faces had treated the Red People of the Big Island. However, as feared by Lightning Bolt and Flaming Hair, they relayed that many had almost immediately begun to rationalize the mistreatment of the Red People as the actions of renegades, and to espouse a belief that the leaders of these People would be appalled by the actions of the few and react accordingly. After all, they said, “the invaders wore clothes and manned great canoes; they must be civilized.” A consensus emerged to acknowledge the dangers that lay ahead but nevertheless to welcome the strangers. The general feeling was that if these people were greeted with civility and generosity, they would react in kind.
To boost their plea for a moderate approach, they brought forward a man called Broken Stone who had encountered some of these people off Eskikewa’kik and traded some of his furs with them. He produced a knife made out of some kind of manmade hard stone and demonstrated how it worked. He then told them of receiving from them a gift of a wondrous medicine called “brandy.” He told how it made a person feel so good that he felt no pain, and how it made one forget all his troubles. When he finished, several other instances were recounted where individuals had come in contact and experienced similar treatment.
Lightning Bolt and Flaming Hair, with sinking hearts, continued to listen as their brothers spoke. As they had predicted, the leaders didn’t recognize the extreme danger the People were in and instead were going to try to appease the Europeans. With a sense of dismay and desperation Lightning Bolt began to speak. “My beloved children, I beg of you to reconsider the course of action you are advocating for dealing with these strangers. You say they should be treated like brothers. I ask you: Do brothers come into your home and molest and rape your women and children? Do they come into your home and destroy all that is yours and take you and your families and sell them into slavery? Do they take the very young, the aged, the sick and infirm and slaughter them? No, brothers do not do these things. You talk about the possibility that these people may be civilized. I remind you my friends that abducting, sexually molesting, selling, and murdering our children are not the actions of a civilized people. I ask you, my friends, are the beastly actions they’ve taken against the Red People of the Big Island the deeds of a civilized People? Of course they’re not. The ways of the white man are not known to you my friends; I will try to enlighten you.
“I could start by referring to the Legend of the Dictators, but I’m sorry to say that their actions do not equal what the Europeans are capable of. I’ll give you a firsthand account of what the white man is capable of doing. Flaming Hair, my brother, has told me about their way of life. They live in a selfish manner and work to acquire property and power at the expense of others. They don’t enjoy freedom and the right to select their leaders as you do. Their leaders are born into their positions and retain their power by brute force.” Lightning Bolt and Flaming Hair spoke for the rest of the afternoon, enlightening the assembled Chiefs about the ways of the Europeans. Lightning Bolt, showing the wear and stress of his role, concluded by saying, “My brothers and sisters, my children, you talk of trying to establish brotherly relations with a People you don’t know. I tell you they will not be accommodated until they have everything that is ours and have driven us into degradation, if we are permitted to live.
“Accordingly, I urge you, my beloved people, please take time and more carefully consider our options. To protect ourselves I have in mind an option that is very drastic. Before discussing it I want to tell you that it is against the values of our traditions. However, in good conscience I must propose it. My friends, our traditions demand that we welcome any stranger that comes among us. But, in this case, if we don’t set aside our civilized values and take defensive measures I predict we will be lost! Therefore, I recommend that we unite and with a determined effort drive these people from our lands. If we don’t, they will spread like wildfire and consume everything in their path. If we are to act and contain the danger, the time to act is now. Trying to do so a few generations from now will be too late.
“I will now adjourn the meeting for us to reflect upon what has been said so far. We will meet again when the sun has moved to halfway between noon and dusk tomorrow.”
When the meeting reassembled the next sunrise, Big Mountain rose to respond to the concerns of the Grand Chief. “Oh Lightning Bolt, our esteemed father, you are a man with whom we have travelled far during the time allotted to us on Mother Earth by the Great Spirit. Your wisdom has always served us well and will continue to serve us well until the Great Spirit takes you home. But father, after carefully weighing the words you’ve spoken, I must tell you that we’ve decided to try to make a civilized accommodation with the strangers first. If it doesn’t work, then we will follow your wise advice and take the harsh measures you advocate to ensure the survival of our Nations.”
Big Mountain continued to rationalize the proposed action for some time
and Lightning Bolt sadly responded, “My brothers, I must accept the will of the People. However, I feel obligated to say that when, in the not-too-distant future, you find that the course you have selected is the wrong one, it will be too late to try the one I suggested. Go in peace, and may the Great Spirit love and protect us all.”
Over the following four Seasons, no other violent incidents were reported and the people were lulled into a false sense of security. On a warm Sunrise, one Moon after Summer began, Lightning Bolt called family members and close personal friends to his wigwam for an intimate discussion. “My children, as you are aware, the recent passage of Mother Earth’s annual renewal was the one-hundred-and-first renewal that this old body has known. With the passage of so many Springs my body has, as happens to all things, withered and lost most of its vitality. Time, my children, has finally caught up with me.
“In witness to this, last night in my dreams the Great Spirit sent Glooscap to me to deliver a message I’ve long expected. He told me that my time on Mother Earth will come to pass before the passage of another Moon. For this I’m grateful, for I’ve longed to be in the arms of my Spring Flower again, and to have the company of my many friends who have gone before me. For this long-awaited pleasure I ask you to rejoice with me in happiness. Don’t weep for my poor bones, for although we will miss each other after I’ve gone home to the Land of Souls, our separation is only temporary. One Sunrise we shall all be reunited in happiness for eternity.
“However, as I prepare to depart upon my final journey, there is one thing that troubles me: the fate of our People. With a heavy heart my beloved friends, I must tell you that Glooscap in our talk told me something I already knew. He confirmed that the strategy adopted by our leadership to deal with the Europeans won’t work because the European leaders do not understand how to get people to do things without using force. He said they will come like an outbreak of ravenous caterpillars and eventually consume us. He confirmed that many of the first arrivals will appear to be weak and helpless and that our People will assist them in their efforts to survive and establish themselves upon our lands. Then, once established, they will turn upon our People like parasites. And, may the Great Spirit help you my children, He said many of our Nations would come to extinction and not one would be left untouched.
“He said that before it ends, thousands of Moons will pass and the People shall know unimaginable horrors. They will endure extermination efforts, hunger and starvation, and unknown diseases. The hatred of the People that the White Skins shall develop, because of colour and different cultural practices, will degrade and humiliate us for thousands of Moons. He further told me that the future children of the Europeans, to ease their collective guilt about the horrors they have subjected our Peoples to, will begin to pretend to themselves that they have done nothing wrong. To help in this regard, they will create a fantasy that our People were uncivilized savages, comparable to wild animals, when their ancestors first arrived upon the shores of our land. And, because of this lie they will claim that our People were not entitled to ownership of their properties, nor to claim any rights.
“As time passes they will even go so far as to pretend that our People are to blame for our own misfortunes, preposterous as it may seem, because they did not immediately embrace European civilization and happily agree without reservation to the destruction of their own.”
Lightning Bolt paused, while those gathered around looked each other in the eyes, hardly believing his words. Those with a sense of wisdom fought tears of sadness for the things to come. Those who were not yet wise felt anger rising up inside, wanting to stave off this tide of darkness that their own most highly respected Elder was saying would come to pass. Lightning Bolt looked to each person with kindness and love in his eyes. The Peacemaker offered these last words as a kind of prayer for his future children’s children. “Glooscap left me with one thing that gave me a small glimmer of hope. He said that one Sunrise our People will rise up from the ashes of their past greatness and reestablish their Nations. For this, I give humble thanks.”
Lightning Bolt’s loved ones spent most of the night in intimate conversation with him, departing just before dawn for their own wigwams. Word spread quickly about the dream of the Grand Chief. The People, with twinges of sadness, began to make preparations to celebrate his Feast of the Dead. The third night before the next Moon Lightning Bolt awoke to find his precious Spring Flower standing by his sleeping place. She whispered softly, “Give me your hand my dear husband.”
With her warm hand in his, the Great Chief slipped into eternity.
AFTERWORD FROM DANIEL PAUL
During my work as an historian and writer, I have had the privilege and the burden of responsibility that is associated with reading the source documents arising from the colonial history relevant to this book. While engaging this research and during the publication and revisions of We Were Not the Savages, the notion of writing an historical novel came to me as another way to present a small but important part of the history.
It appeared most important, from my Mi’kmaw perspective, to highlight the period just before the first onslaught of European invasion and colonization. The first definitive invasion occurred during the fifteenth century. This was a period that included a successful campaign of genocide that was waged against the Peoples who occupied the northernmost island in northeastern North America, now known as Newfoundland.
By combining the best of the written historical documents alongside trusted oral traditions, including information from oral traditions never recorded prior to the publication of this book, my effort was to draw the reader into the story from Mi’kmaq eyes, ears and heart. With the insider knowledge afforded to me as a Mi’kmaq Elder, my life has given me many moments of clarity and insight associated with the histories of encounter between the European nations and the Mi’kmaq People.
The main character of the story, Chief Lightning Bolt, otherwise known among the People as the Peacemaker, is a fictitious historical figure whom I have living among our People prior to European invasion. While he lived long ago, for the Mi’kmaq, time is somewhat irrelevant, because we today are connected to our ancestors who still come to us in dreams and visions. Through their stories and teachings, we come to know who we are and what is our way in life, and we learn about our values, beliefs and the ways that we are taught to treat others.
Chief Lightning Bolt is a highly significant Elder, typical of those found within our oral traditions, precisely because he embodies the best of Mi’kmaq values, ethics and beliefs. His path through life and his actions toward his family, friends, fellow villagers, members of the other Mi’kmaq territories and Peoples from many other Nations who came to engage with him during difficult times as well as times of celebration and great accomplishment, are all actions that give testament to celebrated Mi’kmaq ways.
These cultural ways highlight courage, honour, humility, service and sacrifice of personal gain for the sake of others. Lightning Bolt carries this story through his exemplary character, which is celebrated not only within the oral traditions of our People, but also within the chronicles of history. But to get to the essence of this story seemed important to me. For this reason, I wanted to reveal the truth about the Mi’kmaq People. To do this on our own terms, without the imperial gaze of colonial influence, is not an easy task, but is one that must be accomplished.
Therefore, basing this story in the period prior to settlement of the French Acadians, and before the British invasion and their expulsion of the French, the intention was to build a sense of the “pre-contact” culture, values, relationships, family life and national politics of the Mi’kmaq during the fifteenth century.
It is to this world that we turn to find the essence of Mi’kmaw cultural identity. It is from these ashes of our greatness that we can one day see the Eagle rising through the Eastern Door, giving hope and purpose to a Nation being reborn. There is this clear purpose i
n these pages. Giving insight and clarity where there was none. Offering the assurance of a story borne of generations of toil and suffering, but today a story celebrating courage and survival, entitlement and justice-making. These are the spirit and eternal sparks of Chief Lightning Bolt that give energy and life to this story.
Not withstanding, a friend of European lineage who proofread the early draft of the manuscript that became this book stated to me, “The story speaks of an idyllic way of life — people loving their families and community, no greed, no jealousy or other nasty hateful sins. How could this be? We were taught they were savages!”
However, the myth of savagery, as clever a device of colonization and subjugation as the myth tends to be, is also greatly contradicted by the findings of many European chroniclers during the colonial history. They were awed and reacted in disbelief to what they saw practised in the Americas. These cultural ways stood in such stark contrast to what they knew of European cultural practice, their awe comes forward in their analysis of Mi’kmaq contexts. The following are just a few of their testimonials.
A missionary priest, who was abroad in Mi’kmaq country in the late 1600s and early 1700s, attests to the eloquence and civility of the People: “The Mi’kmaq is a poetic child. His distances are measured in rainbows. His words sound the sense. His fancy is illimitable. He is a born orator. He loves justice and hates violence and robbery. He is courteous.” The Jesuit missionary Pierre Biard was quoted as saying, “Never had we to be on our guard against them.” The use of the word “child” echoes the biblical teaching to “become like children” before the Lord. As such, his words convey a sense of the innocence, directness, honesty and transparency within the Mi’kmaq culture that form the basis of systems of familial and national justice and citizenship.
Another priest, impressed with the legends he heard while in the company of the Mi’kmaq, wrote:
Chief Lightning Bolt Page 28