Demasduit National Historic Person
Botwood, Newfoundland and Labrador
Painting of Demasduit, 1819
(© Library and Archives Canada / acc. no. 1977-14-1)
Address :
15 Airbase Place, Botwood, Newfoundland and Labrador
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2000-11-15
Life Date:
1796 to 1820
Other Name(s):
-
Demasduit
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
2000-15
Importance:
One of the last survivors of the Beothuk
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 15 Airbase Place, Botwood, Newfoundland and Labrador
Demasduit, one of the last known Beothuk, provided a remarkable record of the language of her people. She was taken captive in 1819 during a confrontation between English and Beothuk parties. During her captivity in St. John's, Demasduit led many to change their negative attitudes about her people after centuries of sporadic, often violent, contact. She provided her captors with a vocabulary of nearly 180 words including the name Beothuk. Demasduit, together with her niece Shanawdithit, created a legacy of knowledge about this now vanished people.