After the Europeans Arrived

-clothing made of fabric, not animal hides
-metal cooking pots, utensils
-firearms (powder horn carried by the Mi’kmaq man)

The Europeans brought a very different way of life with them from their homelands. Their arrival changes the lives of the native people. These changes were not all for the better and not always peaceful.

Problem: Two groups of people with very different ways of life now sharing the same land.
What did each of the groups think of each other?

Native people were amazed by the Europeans, their bleached skins and strange clothes fascinated the natives. Many native people felt the Europeans were helpless in the Canadian environment.

Example: The Europeans suffered from a disease like scurvy which they did not know how to treat. The Micmacs showed them how to treat the illness using a broth made from leaves and bark of trees.

The Micmacs also felt Europeans were evil. They brought with them many diseases which killed many of the natives (TB, Smallpox).

Many battles resulted over the use of the land. The Micmacs felt the land belonged to everyone, while the Europeans felt people could own land and decide who used it.

Europeans felt the native people were backward and inferior. They felt that the native myths about the creation of the world and their beliefs in animal spirits were proof of this.

The Europeans thought they could easily trick the Micmac people with trading deals. They were amazed that the Micmac could trade valuable furs for cheap axes, knives, cooking pots, and worthless beads.
While the native peoples learned to survive and developed ways of life suited to the Canadian environment, the Europeans were backward in trying to cope with the harsh reality of living in what is now Canada.

One very negative point which came out of this was in that the Micmac skills in using the materials found in nature were either forgotten or turned into making items for sale.

1. Read through and make jot notes on the modern Micmacs page 35. 

2. Write a short essay comparing our lifestyle with that of the early Micmac.
Consider: Travel
                hunting
                food
                medicines
                clothing
                homes