Description
Book SynopsisThe supposed extinction of the Indigenous Beothuk people of Newfoundland in the early nineteenth century is a foundational moment in Canadian history. Increasingly under scrutiny, non-Indigenous perceptions of the Beothuk have had especially dire and far-reaching ramifications for contemporary Indigenous people in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Tracing Ochre reassesses popular beliefs about the Beothuk. Placing the group in global context, Fiona Polack and a diverse collection of contributors juxtapose the history of the Beothuk with the experiences of other Indigenous peoples outside of Canada, including those living in former British colonies as diverse as Tasmania, South Africa, and the islands of the Caribbean. Featuring contributions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous thinkers from a wide range of scholarly and community backgrounds, Tracing Ochre aims to definitively shift established perceptions of a people who were among the first to confront European colonia
Trade Review
"The mournful story of the "last of the Boethuks"" still resonates as part of Newfoundland history. The fourteen authors in the wide-ranging collection Tracing Ochre assess this story’s impact and credibility, including accounts from archaeologists, literary critics, and historians." -- Margery Fee * Canadian Literature, July 12, 2019 (web) *
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations and Maps Preface Introduction: De-islanding the Beothuk Fiona Polack Part 1: Land, Language and Memory Good and Bad Indians: Romanticizing the Beothuk and Denigrating the Mi’kmaq Maura Hanrahan When the Beothuk (Won’t) Speak: Michael Crummey’s River Thieves and Bernice Morgan’s Cloud of Bone Cynthia Sugars "The Ones That Were Abused": Thinking About the Beothuk Through Translation Elizabeth Penashue and Elizabeth Yeoman A Clearing with a View to the Lake, the Bones of a Caribou and the Sound of Snow Falling on Dead Leaves: Sensing the Presence of the Past in the Wilds of Newfoundland John Harries Part 2: Mercenaries, Myths and DNA Beothuk and Mi’kmaq: An Interiew with Chief Mi’sel Joe Chief Mi’sel Joe and Christopher Aylward The Beothuk and the Myth of Prior Invasions Patrick Brantlinger Bioarchaeology, Bioethics and the Beothuk Daryl Pullman Part 3: Ways of Knowing Towards a Beothuk Archaeology: Understanding Indigenous Agency in the Material Record Lisa Rankin Historical Sources and the Beothuk: Questioning Settler Interpretations Lianne C. Leddy Historical Narrative Perspective in Howley and Speck Christopher Aylward Part 4: Travelling Tales Santu Toney, a Transnational Beothuk Woman Beverley Diamond Routes of Colonial Racism: Travelling Narratives of European Progress and Aboriginal Extinction in Pre-Confederation Newfoundland Jocelyn Thorpe Unrecognized Peoples and Concepts of Extinction Bonita Lawrence Shanawdithit and Truganini: Converging and Diverging Histories Fiona Polack Coda: The Recovery of Indigenous Identity J. Edward Chamberlin
