Editing Demasduit

{{short description|Beothuk woman}}
[[Image:Demasduit.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Watercolour on ivory miniature ''Portrait of Demasduit (Mary March)'', by [[Henrietta Hamilton]], 1819 (Library and Archives Canada)<ref>Charlotte Gray 'The Museum Called Canada: 25 Rooms of Wonder' Random House, 2004</ref>]]
[[File:The taking of Demasduit.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The taking of Demasduit, drawn by her niece [[Shanawdithit]]]]
[[File:Shanawdithit portrait.jpg|thumb|right|This miniature portrait called ''A female Red Indian of Newfoundland'' and dated 1841 by some sources may have been painted by naturalist [[Philip Henry Gosse]]<ref>Mullen, Gary R., "[http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1659 Philip Henry Gosse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914174434/http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1659 |date=2011-09-14 }}," ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'', 26 August 2008, retrieved 9 September 2011</ref> and is most likely a later copy of ''Portrait of Demasduit'' by Hamilton (above)]]

'''Demasduit''' ({{circa}} 1796 – January 8, 1820<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/demasduwit_5E.html | title=DEMASDUWIT | author=G. M. Story | publisher=University of Toronto/Université Laval | accessdate=October 2, 2013 | archive-date=October 4, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004233510/http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/demasduwit_5E.html | url-status=live }}</ref>) was a [[Beothuk]] woman, one of the last of her people on [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]].

==Biography==
Demasduit was born around 1796, near the end of the 18th century. It was once believed that the Beothuk population had been decimated by conflict with European settlers. However, the most reliable research{{by whom|date=September 2024}} today{{when|date=September 2024}} suggests{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} instead that the Beothuk population was very small, between 500 and 1,000 people at the time of European contact, and when European settlers arrived permanently, the Beothuk were cut off from their traditional coastal hunting grounds. Furthermore, there was no one to promote peaceful relations between the Beothuk and the settlers. As Newfoundland's population was small,{{quantify|date=September 2024}} a missionary effort could not be supported, and the European governments were mainly interested in marine resources, so no agents were appointed to liaise with the native population. Further contributing to the Beothuk's demise was the arrival of European diseases in North America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/aboriginal/beothuk-disappearance.php|title=Disappearance of the Beothuk|website=www.heritage.nf.ca|access-date=2019-10-21|archive-date=2019-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021225039/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/aboriginal/beothuk-disappearance.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the fall of 1818, a small group of Beothuks had captured a boat and some fishing equipment near the mouth of the [[Exploits River]]. The governor of the colony, [[Charles Hamilton (governor)|Sir Charles Hamilton]], authorized an attempt to recover the stolen property. On March 1, 1819, [[John Peyton (fisherman)|John Peyton Jr.]] and eight armed men went up the Exploits River to [[Beothuk Lake]] in search of the Beothuks and their equipment. A dozen Beothuk fled the campsite, Demasduit among them. Bogged down in the snow, she exposed her breasts, a nursing mother, begging for mercy. [[Nonosabasut]], her husband and the leader of the group, was killed while attempting to negotiate for Demasduit’s release. Her infant son died two days after she was taken.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marshall |first=Ingeborg |title=History |url=https://beothukinstitute.ca/the-beothuk/history/ |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=beothukinstitute.ca |language=en-US}}</ref>

Peyton and his men were absolved of the murder of Nonosabasut by a grand jury in St. John's, the judge concluding that "[there was] no malice on the part of Peyton's party to get possession of any of [the Indians] by such violence as would occasion bloodshed".{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Demasduit was taken to [[Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador|Twillingate]] and for a time lived with the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] priest there, [[The Reverend|Rev.]] John Leigh. He learned that she was also called Shendoreth and Waunathoake, but he renamed her Mary March, after the [[Virgin Mary]] and the month in which she was kidnapped. 
Demasduit was brought to [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]] and spent much of the spring of 1819 in St. John's, brought there by Leigh and John Peyton Jr. While there, [[Henrietta Hamilton|Lady Hamilton]] painted her portrait.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Disappearance of the Beothuk |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/indigenous/beothuk-disappearance.php |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=www.heritage.nf.ca}}</ref>

During the summer of 1819, a number of attempts were made to return her to her people, without success. Captain [[David Buchan]] was to go overland to Beothuk Lake with Demasduit in November, the people of St. John's and [[Notre Dame Bay]] having raised the money to return the Beothuk to her home. However, she was taken ill and died of [[tuberculosis]] at Ship Cove (now [[Botwood]]) aboard Buchan's vessel ''Grasshopper'', on 8 January 1820. Her body was left in a coffin on the lakeshore, where it was found by members of her tribe and returned to her village in February.<ref>MacLean, John. ''Canadian Savage People'', 1896. pp 318.</ref> Demasduit’s body was initially placed in a burial hut beside her husband and child, before her remains and her husband's were later removed by [[William Cormack]] and brought to Scotland, where eventually their remains were held in the [[National Museum of Scotland]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Cowan |first=Peter |date=26 May 2017 |title=Indigenous leaders unite for return of Beothuk remains, inclusion in MMIWG inquiry |work=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/indigenous-leaders-roundtable-1.4132582}}</ref>

There were only thirty-one of the Beothuk remaining at that time.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

==Legacy==
In 2020, the remains of Demasduit and her husband Nonosabasut were repatriated from Scotland after years of advocacy.<ref name=":0" /> Chief Mi'sel Joe of the [[Miawpukek First Nation]] in Conne River first began the push for repatriation in 2015, and he was joined by other Indigenous leaders. Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador [[Dwight Ball]] and Heritage Minister [[Mélanie Joly]] made formal requests to [[National Museums Scotland]] in 2016, with Ball crediting Chief Mi'sel Joe specifically for beginning the process by bringing the issue to public attention.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=21 January 2019 |title=Remains of 2 Beothuk people to be transferred from Scotland to Canada |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/beothuk-remains-transfer-1.4986453 |website=CBC}}</ref> Their remains had been in Scotland for 191 years when they were returned to Newfoundland and were stored at [[The Rooms]], a provincial museum and archive in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Quinn |first=Mark |date=12 March 2020 |title=Beothuk remains returned to Newfoundland after 191 years in Scotland |work=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/beothuk-remains-returned-nl}}</ref> This return was praised and recognized by Canadian politicians including Premier Ball and Minister of Canadian Heritage [[Steven Guilbeault]], as well as by leaders from the Miawpukek First Nation, [[Innu|Innu Nation]], [[Nunatsiavut]], [[NunatuKavut]], and [[Qalipu First Nation]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 March 2020 |title=Nonosabasut and Demasduit Returned to Newfoundland and Labrador |url=https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2020/exec/0311n10/ |access-date=26 September 2023 |website=Government of Newfoundland and Labrador}}</ref> In 2022, CBC News reported that the government of Newfoundland and Labrador was planning a new cultural centre at [[Beothuk Lake]] to serve as a final resting place for the remains.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooke |first=Ryan |date=9 June 2022 |title=Stolen skulls returning to Beothuk Lake, as N.L. plans for new cultural centre |work=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/beothuk-remains-reburied-demasduit-nonosawbsut-1.6481613 |access-date=26 September 2023}}</ref>

Demasduit's niece, a young woman named [[Shanawdithit]] (1801–1829), was the last known Beothuk.<ref name=":1" />

The song "Demasduit Dream", recorded by Newfoundland band [[Great Big Sea]], is named after Demasduit and alludes to her life and capture.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-11 |title=Great Big Sea - CanadianBands.com |url=https://canadianbands.com/artists/great-big-sea/ |access-date=2023-09-27 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Demasduit Regional Museum, formerly known as the Mary March Provincial Museum, in the town of [[Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador]], is named after her. The museum's exhibits "look at the history of the Beothuk, early European settlers, and the stories of a thriving, vibrant [[Mi'kmaq|Mi’kmaq]] population in this area."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Demasduit Regional Museum |url=https://www.therooms.ca/DRM |website=The Rooms}}</ref> In May 2006, a group of local grade 2 students, led by student Conor O'Driscoll, helped collect more than 500 signatures on a petition to rename the museum to Demasduit's original identity, rather than the name she was given after her capture.<ref>{{Cite news|last=CBC News|date=May 31, 2006|title=N.L. children petition to rename museum|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/n-l-children-petition-to-rename-museum-1.622507|url-status=live|access-date=March 1, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820071848/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/n-l-children-petition-to-rename-museum-1.622507}}</ref> The director of The Rooms, which owns and operates in the museum, announced in December 2021, that they would rename it using Demasduit's original name rather than Mary March.<ref>{{cite news | last=CBC News | date=December 27, 2021 | title=Mary March museum changing name out of respect for Beothuk woman, director says | work=CBC News | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/demasduit-museum-renaming-1.6280057 | url-status=live | access-date=December 28, 2021 | archive-date=December 27, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227234036/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/demasduit-museum-renaming-1.6280057 }}</ref> They considered multiple options for renaming the museum, including the Demasduit Regional Interpretation Centre, before deciding on the new name of Demasduit Regional Museum.<ref>{{Cite news |last=CBC News |date=10 March 2022 |title=Panel picks Demasduit Regional Museum as new name for Mary March museum |work=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/demasduit-museum-renaming-1.6379808}}</ref>

In November 2022, the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador announced plans for a commemoration project recognizing 200 years since the death of Demasduit. The project was delayed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Executive Council |date=4 November 2022 |title=Project Commemorates the 200th Anniversary of the Death of Demasduit |url=https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2022/exec/1104n06/ |website=Government of Newfoundland and Labrador}}</ref> The plans include a bronze statue of Demasduit, Nonosabasut, and their child, as well as a surrounding healing garden, to be located in [[Botwood]]. Funding from this project was contributed by the federal and provincial governments through the [[Department of Canadian Heritage]], as well as additional funding from the Town of Botwood, Miawpukek First Nation, Botwood Heritage Society, Botwood Mural Arts Society and the [[United Church of Canada]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=The Canadian Press |date=4 November 2022 |title=N.L. statue pays homage to one of the last of the Beothuk |work=CTV News |url=https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/statue-in-newfoundland-to-pay-tribute-to-one-of-the-last-of-the-beothuk-people-1.6139631}}</ref>

==Genetic testing==
In 2007, DNA testing was conducted on material from the teeth of Demasduit and her husband [[Nonosabasut]]. The results assigned them to [[Haplogroup X (mtDNA)]] and [[Haplogroup C (mtDNA)]], respectively, which are also found in current [[Mi'kmaq]] populations in Newfoundland.<ref name="Kuch">{{cite journal | url=http://www.sjdimond.us/document/2007_Extinct%20Beothuk.pdf |last=Kuch |first=M |year=2007 |title = A preliminary analysis of the DNA and diet of the extinct Beothuk: A systematic approach to ancient human DNA |journal =American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=132 |issue=4 |pages=594–604 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20536 |display-authors=etal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214202135/http://www.sjdimond.us/document/2007_Extinct%20Beothuk.pdf |archive-date=2015-02-14 |url-status=dead |pmid=17205549}}</ref><ref name="Pope">{{cite journal |url=https://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Pope%2C_Carr%2C_Smith%2C_%26_Marshall_2011_Genome_54%2C110.pdf |last=Pope |first=A |year=2011 |title=Mitogenomic and microsatellite variation in descendants of the founder population of Newfoundland: high genetic diversity in an historically isolated population |journal=Genome |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=110–119 |doi=10.1139/g10-102 |pmid=21326367 |access-date=2020-01-30 |archive-date=2021-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411020057/http://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Pope%2C_Carr%2C_Smith%2C_%26_Marshall_2011_Genome_54%2C110.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Canada}}
*[[List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador]]
* [[Shanawdithit]] and Demasduit were the last members of the [[Beothuk]] people of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]
* [[Ishi]], the last known member of the [[Yana people#Yahi|Yahi people]] of [[California]]
* [[Squanto]], the last member of the [[Patuxet tribe|Patuxet]] people of [[Massachusetts]]
* [[Man of the Hole|The Man of the Hole]], last member of an [[Uncontacted peoples|uncontacted]] [[Indigenous peoples in Brazil|people of Brazil]]
* [[Juana Maria]], the last known member of the [[Nicoleño]] tribe

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2362 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'']
*[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/n-l-children-petition-to-rename-museum-1.622507 Article on petition to rename the Mary March Museum on ''CBC News Online'']
*[http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/features/mary-march/index.html Ideas on CBC program about Demasduwit]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Demasduwit}}
[[Category:1790s births]]
[[Category:1820 deaths]]
[[Category:Beothuk people]]
[[Category:People from Newfoundland (island)]]
[[Category:Newfoundland Colony people]]
[[Category:19th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)]]
[[Category:19th-century indigenous people of the Americas]]
[[Category:Violence against Indigenous women in Canada]]
[[Category:Violence against Indigenous people in Canada]]
[[Category:Women in Newfoundland and Labrador]]