Henri Membertou
Henri Membertou was born around 1510 close to what is modern day Annapolis Royal and passed away so September 11 1611. He was the leader of the Mi’kmaq First Nations band which was located near Port Royal and was the first native to be baptized on 18 September 1611 at Annapolis Royal.
Before he was grand chief of the Mi’kmaq tribe he was the district chief of Kespukwitk the area where the French colonists first landed. As well as being the district chief he was also the spiritual leader of his tribe and was believed to have healing and prophesy powers.
Henri Membertou along with his band were one of the first to greet Europeans when they first arrived in North America. He had a great relationship with the french settlers the french even
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He was the first Mi’kmaq to be baptised along with twenty-one members of his family. After he was baptized it became customary for all Mi’kmaq people to be baptized. He was baptized because according to the catholic church catholics can not take land from other catholics.
Along with being the leader of the Mi’kmaq people he was also the autmoin or shaman or in english the medicine man. In return for gifts he would make prophecies about the success in hunts or war
One of his bravest moments happened when a fellow Mi’kmaq sakmow who was killed by a Armouchiquois or Passamaquoddy tribe that is now Maine. He lead five-hundred warriors into a raid on the Armouchiquois town, Chouacoet, present-day Saco Maine in july 1607. Henri Membertou single handedly killed twenty of their braves and including two of the their leaders; Onmechin and Marchin while not losing one of his men.
Unlike most other Mi’kmaq people Henri Membertou was a man who kept a beard unlike most other Mi’kmaq who removed all facial hair. Father Biard wrote “...bearded like a Frenchman, although scarcely any of the others have hair upon the