I talked to Mi'kmaq historian Daniel Paul today about Sir John A, told him about the Tantallon school changing its name. Paul, 81, author of We Were Not the Savages, started in the 1980s trying to get Edward Cornwallis's name off things. 1/n

Before Paul started writing history, few people knew about Cornwallis's scalp proclamations, putting a price on Mi'kmaq heads, and there was a junior high named for him. It took a while, but the school was renamed and the statue in Halifax removed. 2/n

Paul thinks the same fate awaits Sir John statues, schools etc: “I think eventually he will be relegated to history books the same as Cornwallis. Being put on a pedestal and shown as a hero will, I think, fade into the background ... 3/n

... He will be recognized in the history books as one of the founding fathers of Canada but not as a hero.” 4/n

Something I found interesting: Paul praised Joseph Howe and Abraham Gesner (inventor of kerosene) two Nova Scotian politicians who were friends to the Mi'kmaq. 5/n

I asked him if we ought to put up a statue of Membertou, the great Mi'kmaq chief. Paul said he would like to see a statue of Jonas Salk, who invented the polio vaccine. 'These kinds of people are the real heroes. Why don’t we promote them?' 6/6

By the way, this insight and many more will be included in an upcoming issue of @macleans!