Summary: The Micmac People

In the late 1600’s, the Micmac peoples had established a relationship with the French settlers in the Gaspé peninsula. Chrestien LeClrecq was a missionary to this land for a period of time and had learned the language of the Micmac during his stay. In this compelling source of an interpreted conversation between a Micmac leader and some of the gentleman of Isle Percée, we can gather that the French people’s feeling of being more superior than the Micmac, did not match up with how the Micmac viewed the French. The accurate and unbiased translation of the speech given shows us the captivating and less heard opinion of the Micmac peoples. The document by Chrestien LeClercq, who was translating a Micmac leader, was written around the year 1677. The article was written as a translation of a speech that was given by a
The Micmac had been living in wigwams prior to the European invasion, which had served its purpose for them. Since the Micmac people were semi-nomadic, it was crucial that they would be able to pack up their belongings and move to where the food was during any particular season. The French of course, were not nomadic once they settled in the colonies. There, they built tall, permanent houses for them to reside in. The Micmac leader expressed that he did not think that building such big homes was a necessity since they are able to do the same things in their small wigwams as the French do in their big houses. Another point about housing that the Micmac leader points out is the use of seigneuries and living in houses that didn't belong to them. The leader said "we can always say, more truly than thou, that we are at home everywhere, because we set up our wigwams with ease wheresoever we go, and without asking permission of anybody” which furthers the argument that the Micmac were not enthused by the French controlling their