Editing Beothuk (section)

=== Claims of Modern Survivors ===

Oral histories suggest a few Beothuk survived around the region of the [[Exploits River]], [[Twillingate]], Newfoundland and Labrador; and formed unions with European colonists, Inuit and Mi'kmaq.{{sfn|Marshall|1996|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ckOav3Szu7oC&pg=PA224 224–226]}} Some families from Twillingate claim descent from the Beothuk people of the early 19th century.

In 1910, a 75-year-old Indigenous woman named Santu Toney claimed she was the daughter of a Mi'kmaq mother and a Beothuk father. She recorded a song in the Beothuk language for the American [[anthropologist]] [[Frank Speck]]. He was conducting field studies in the area. She said her father taught her the song.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hewson |first1=John |last2=Diamond |first2=Beverley |date=January 2007 |title=Santu's Song |url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/NFLDS/article/view/10104/10366 |url-status=dead |journal=Newfoundland and Labrador Studies |publisher=Memorial University's Faculty of Arts |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=227–257 |issn=1715-1430 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405033724/https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/NFLDS/article/view/10104/10366 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |access-date=March 24, 2016}}</ref>

Since Santu Toney was born about 1835, this may be evidence some Beothuk people survived beyond the death of Shanawdithit in 1829. Contemporary researchers tried to transcribe the song, as well as improve the recording by current methods. Native groups learned the song to use in celebrations of tradition.<ref name="Perry">{{cite news |url=http://www.lportepilot.ca/News/2008-09-10/article-1423205/Santus-Song/1 |last=Perry |first=S.J. |title=Santu's Song: Memorable day for Beothuk Interpretation Centre |work=Porte Pilot |date=September 10, 2008 |access-date=January 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309041803/http://www.lportepilot.ca/News/2008-09-10/article-1423205/Santus-Song/1 |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>