Mi'kmaw elder and author Daniel Paul dies at 84

Mi'kmaw author and elder Daniel Paul holds a copy of his book "We Were Not the Savages." (Heidi Petracek/CTV)

Mi’kmaw elder, human rights activist, author, and historian Daniel Paul has died at the age of 84.

Diagnosed with an incurable liver cancer last December, Paul was given three to six months to live.

Among his fight with cancer, Paul recently announced on Facebook that he suffered a "mini stroke" on the night of May 20, waking up the next morning with the left side of his face sagging, and barely able to use his left arm or hand.

Paul's niece Candice Lee Sylliboy told CTV News her uncle left a footprint for all to follow.

“Uncle Dan was very kind, humble, and loving, to all the people he loved. He was the trailblazer for Mi’kma’ki in providing Canada with the true history of the Mi’kmaw people,” she said.

“He was not afraid to stand up and speak his truth about the past. He always stood up for what was right for the nation, and he did it in the way of education.”

Paul was well-known for his book 'We Were Not the Savages,' which outlines the history of the Mi’kmaq people during European colonization, and exposed Colonel Governor Edward Cornwallis’s violence against Mi’kmaw people, including his 1749 bounty on Mi’kmaw scalps.

The book is considered a landmark of Mi’kmaw literature, and led to a life of public advocacy and fighting for the rights of Mi’kmaw people, and the removal of Cornwallis from public landmarks and place names.

In 2022, Paul received the Nova Scotia Human Rights Wel-lukwen Award which is presented to someone for building cultural awareness of L’nu’k traditions and history.

The exact cause of his death is unknown at this time.

-With files from CTV's Heidi Petracek

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