Shanawdithit

Shanawdithit (* probably 1801; † June 6, 1829 in St. John's (Newfoundland) ), also Nancy April , was probably the last survivor of the Beothuk Indian tribe based in Newfoundland .

A female Red Indian of Newfoundland , attributed to William Gosse, possibly Shanawdithit or Demasduit

She was captured by a group of English settlers in 1823, along with her mother and her sister. It is believed that she was born in 1801. Her father died in the spring of 1823 when he broke into the ice while fleeing from a group of white hunters. Hungry and without male protection, the three women wandered around until they met white people. The Beothuk women were brought to St. John's , where Shanawdithit's mother and aunt died of tuberculosis.

Shanawdithit, now Nancy April , was taken to Exploits Island and worked as a housekeeper for John Peyton Jr. In September 1828 she was brought back to Saint John's with William Cormack , who kept a record of her life with the Beothuk. He taught her the English language and recognized her talent for drawing. Very soon she was able to communicate with him in English, supported by drawings. However, only one portrait of Shanawdithit is known. She remained in Cormack's care until he left Newfoundland in the spring of 1829.

Shanawdithit's health had been unstable in previous years and has deteriorated rapidly since then. Dr. William Carson took care of her for the last few weeks of life. She died on June 6, 1829 in St. John's Hospital in tuberculosis . After her death, her skull was taken to the Royal College of Physicians in London for study, where it was lost in an air raid during World War II . Her remains are buried in the old cemetery south of Saint John's. The cemetery was moved in 1903 because of a railway construction, but there is a memorial at this point with the inscription:

The parish church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was located on the site of this monument from 1859 to 1963. Fishermen and sailors from many ports found a spiritual home in their sacred walls. The grave of Nancy Shanawdithit, probably the last of the Beothuk, was located near this point. She died on June 6, 1829.

Shanawdithit is very popular with the Newfoundlands. In 1999, they chose the readers of the newspaper The Telegram for bemerkenswertesten Ureinwohnerin the last 1,000 years.

literature

• Bruce G. Trigger (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Vol. 15. Northeast . Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1978, ISBN 0-16-004575-4 .

Web links

• Shanawdithit . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• Drawings by Shanawdithit