Demasduit facts for kids

Demasduit (born around 1796 – died January 8, 1820) was a Beothuk woman. She was one of the last people of her tribe living on the island of Newfoundland. Her story is important for understanding the history of the Beothuk people.

Demasduit's Life Story

Demasduit was born around 1796. At that time, the Beothuk people were facing many challenges. Experts now believe there were only about 500 to 1000 Beothuk when Europeans first arrived. When European settlers permanently moved to Newfoundland, the Beothuk lost access to their traditional hunting grounds along the coast.

There was also no one to help create peace between the Beothuk and the settlers. The European governments were mostly interested in fishing, so they didn't appoint people to work with the native population. European diseases also arrived in North America, which sadly contributed to the decline of the Beothuk people.

In the fall of 1818, a small group of Beothuk took a boat and some fishing gear near the Exploits River. The governor of the colony, Sir Charles Hamilton, allowed people to try and get the stolen items back.

On March 1, 1819, a man named John Peyton Jr. and eight armed men went up the Exploits River to Red Indian Lake. They were looking for the Beothuk and their equipment. About a dozen Beothuk ran away from their camp, and Demasduit was among them. She got stuck in the snow and asked for mercy. Her husband, Nonosbawsut, who was the leader of their group, was killed while trying to talk about Demasduit's release. Sadly, her baby son died a few days after she was captured.

Peyton and his men were later found not guilty of Nonosbawsut's death by a jury in St. John's.

Life After Capture

Demasduit was taken to Twillingate. For a while, she lived with an Anglican priest named Rev. John Leigh. He learned that she was also called Shendoreth and Waunathoake. But he gave her a new name, Mary March. This name came from the Virgin Mary and the month she was captured.

Demasduit was later brought to St. John's. She spent much of the spring of 1819 there. While in St. John's, Lady Hamilton painted her portrait.

During the summer of 1819, several attempts were made to return Demasduit to her people. However, these attempts were not successful. Captain David Buchan was supposed to travel overland to Red Indian Lake with Demasduit in November. People in St. John's and Notre Dame Bay had even raised money to help her return home.

Sadly, Demasduit became sick and died from tuberculosis on January 8, 1820. She passed away at Ship Cove (now Botwood) while on Buchan's ship, the Grasshopper. Her body was left in a coffin on the lakeshore. Members of her tribe found it and took it back to her village in February. Demasduit’s body was placed in a burial hut next to her husband and child. At that time, only thirty-one Beothuk people were left.

Demasduit's Legacy

Demasduit's niece, a young woman named Shanawdithit (1801–1829), was the last known Beothuk person.

The song "Demasduit Dream" by the Newfoundland band Great Big Sea tells the story of this event.

The Mary March Provincial Museum in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador was named after her. In May 2006, a group of local second-grade students, led by Conor O'Driscoll, collected over 500 signatures. They wanted the museum to be renamed using Demasduit's original name instead of the name she was given after her capture. In December 2021, the museum's management announced they would indeed rename it using Demasduit's original name.

Genetic Testing Discoveries

In 2007, scientists performed DNA tests on material from the teeth of Demasduit and her husband Nonosbawsut. The results showed that they belonged to specific genetic groups called Haplogroup X (mtDNA) and Haplogroup C (mtDNA). These same genetic groups are also found in today's Mi'kmaq populations in Newfoundland. This research helps us understand more about the history and connections of Indigenous peoples.

See also

• List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador

Images for kids

• 

  Watercolour on ivory miniature Portrait of Demasduit (Mary March), by Henrietta Hamilton, 1819 (Library and Archives Canada)

• 

  The taking of Demasduit, drawn by her niece Shanawdithit

• 

  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 and is most likely a later copy of Portrait of Demasduit by Hamilton (above)