Nova Scotia Archives

Mi'kmaw Teaching and Learning Resources

Letter from Silas Rand to Lt. Gov. LeMarchant regarding the petition of the Mi'kmaq. Few details.
view page 1 2 3 4 view transcript 1 2 3 4

close

note: transcription publicly contributed - please contact us with comments, errors or omisions

other places, and intend to publish it, here, and in England, and to call the attention of all [?classes] to the claims [underlined] of the Indians.

It may be also proper to [?note OR state] that the Indians do not consider themselves subjects of Queen Victoria. I had written this [expression?] at the close of the Petition. The venerable old chief- Francis Paul,- shook his head: that [expression?] could not be admitted. "We treated [underlined] as an independent nation", said he, " and no steps had ever been taken to alter this relation". I must say I admired the Independant spirit of the old man. I dashed my pen thro the offensive expression. [Simple Justice - underlined], is all he asks. Why may he not have it?

There is just one more request which I promised to make on their behalf. Should an answer be obtained, they wished it to be forward to them [if possible - written above so insert here] thro me, as I understand their tongue and


Date: 1852

Retrieval no.: Commissioner of Public Records — Mi'kmaq and Government Relations series Nova Scotia Archives RG 1 volume 431 number 66

Questions to Consider

  • When do you think the document was written?



  • Who do you think wrote the document?



  • Why do you think the document was written



  • Who do you think received the document?



  • Who do you think this document was written for?



  • What information do you think this document provides? What do you think it tells us about the past?



  • How do you think the document reflects the attitudes and values of the time period in which it was written?



  • What impact do you think the document had at the time it was written?



    • Do you think those were different impacts for different people?



               

Nova Scotia Archives — https://archives.novascotia.ca/teaching-learning/mikmaq/archives/?ID=300

Crown copyright © 2026, Province of Nova Scotia.