Peter Lewis Paul (1902 – August 25, 1989) was a

Maliseet The Wolastoqiyik, (, also known as the Maliseet or Malecite () are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the Indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their terri ...

ethnohistorian Ethnohistory is the study of cultures and indigenous peoples customs by examining historical records as well as other sources of information on their lives and history. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may ...

who, from the 1930s on, helped and advised many of his contemporaries in exploring Maliseet culture.

Biography

Peter Lewis Paul lived on the small Maliseet Woodstock Reserve on the banks of the Saint John River in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada. His mother and twin brother died in childbirth. Peter's father worked in a

lumber camp A logging camp (or lumber camp) is a transitory work site used in the logging industry. Before the second half of the 20th century, these camps were the primary place where lumberjacks would live and work to fell trees in a particular area. Many ...

, but after he left the reservation Paul was raised by his grandfather Nowell Polchies, who was a tribal elder and known as Wapeyit Piyel. Paul grew up hunting and learning family and tribal lore from his grandfather (his grandmother had a son that in childbirth on the same day that Paul's mother did). Paul married Minnie Dedham (1908–1974), granddaughter of Chief Gabe Atwin, in 1928. Together they had nine children: Rowenna, Donna, Carole, Diana, Wanda, Reggie, Robert, William and Darrell. Paul became a fountain of traditional knowledge and generously shared information with numerous professional linguists, ethnohistorians, and anthropologists. The recipient of many honours, he was awarded a Centennial Medal in 1969, received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

in 1970, and the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

on June 29, 1987. Peter Lewis Paul died on August 25, 1989, and was buried at the Calvary Cemetery in Woodstock, Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada.

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External links

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A COMMERCIAL HARVESTING PROSECUTION IN CONTEXT: THE PETER PAUL CASE, 1946
D. G. Bell Wolastoqiyik people Canadian anthropologists 1902 births 1989 deaths People from Carleton County, New Brunswick Members of the Order of Canada First Nations academics 20th-century anthropologists {{anthropologist-stub

Biography

References

Further reading

External links