Remembering the spirit of the Beothuk: The Beothuk Saga by Bernard Assiniwi

Bernard Assiniwi wrote a complete novel on the history of the Beothuk based on ethnographic works. He paid tribute to the nation of the Beothuk with the novel illustrating a counter-narrative on this history, taking the point of view of the natives. The narrator is presented as a voice of ‘living memory’ pursuing the goals of the founder of the nation, Anin. The novel does not begin with contact with colonisers, the major part is about the precolonial history of the Beothuk. The spirit and the imaginary of the Beothuk are presented in the actions, the representations and the dreams of some of important characters for the Beothuk. Moreover, the specific gender relations of the Beothuk are underlined in the novel. By analysing the characteristics of how Assiniwi remembers the history of the Beothuk, the chapter shows how the author deplores the absence of deep contact between the Beothuk and the colonisers. Finally, the chapter explains the originality of the novel compared to ethnographic studies that were made on the Beothuk. The analysis of the novel reveals the self-perception of the history of the natives as the destiny of the Beothuk is highly representative of the devastating effects of colonialism on Native populations, even to the present day.