In his book, “We were not the Savages,” Daniel Paul traces back the history of his Mi’Kmaq people in relation to pre, during and post European contact.  In doing so, he speaks of the great loss suffered by his ancestors (70-100 million dead) at the hand of European invaders and how such disrespect and dishonor continues in present day Canada.  In his book, Paul uses the term “pre-Columbian contact” as opposed to “pre-European contact” to describe time periods for it has been recorded that Scandinavian contact had been made in generations prior to the Columbus era.  There had been many counts of blonde haired blue-eyed Natives who in fact dressed up as English and French soldiers and were able to go unnoticed!

The book continues with a description of events that followed the contact that consisted mainly of a greed for goods from the land; gold, furs, and property.  A term also used for the Native people of North America were, “heathen savages” a term Paul says, was coined as a means of belittling the impact of slaughtering a nation of people.

Paul, Daniel. We were not the savages: First Nation’s History. 3rd ed. Canada: Fernwood Publishing, 2006. Print.