Mikak
Encyclopedia
Mikak born Labrador
, Canada
and died at Nain
, Newfoundland and Labrador
. Mikak, daughter of Inuk
chief Nerkingoak, was very influential in creating friendly relationship with traders from Europe
and native Labradoreans. She became the first Labrador Inuit to earn a place in recorded history.
Mikak (known also as Micoc or Mykok) came in contact with two Moravian missionaries Jens Haven
and Christian Drachart in 1765 when they stayed under the hospitality of Mikak's father. She had embraced the Europeans from the start and memorized a prayer that Drachart had taught her. Then in 1767 she encountered the Europeans yet again but this time when she and others were taken prisoner by Francis Lucas and his men of Fort York trading post in Chateau Bay.
In 1768 the Governor Hugh Palliser
allowed Lucas to take Mikak and her two children to England
, where she learned to speak and write English fluently. The aristocrat
s of England treated her as a curiosity but were taken by her beauty and charm. John Russell
painted her portrait while she wore extravagant dresses and jewelry given to her by Augusta
, Dowager
Princess of Wales
. The portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, London but has since been moved to the Ethnological Institute at Göttingen University, Germany
.
Upon her return to Labrador in 1769 she had aided the two missionaries she had met previously to establish the first mission post in Nain, Labrador.
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and died at Nain
Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador
Nain or Naina is the northernmost town of any size in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located about 370 kilometres by air from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The town was established as a Moravian mission in 1771 by Jens Haven and other missionaries...
, Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
. Mikak, daughter of Inuk
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
chief Nerkingoak, was very influential in creating friendly relationship with traders from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and native Labradoreans. She became the first Labrador Inuit to earn a place in recorded history.
Mikak (known also as Micoc or Mykok) came in contact with two Moravian missionaries Jens Haven
Jens Haven
Jens Haven was a Moravian missionary and the prime mover behind the founding of the Moravian missions in Labrador....
and Christian Drachart in 1765 when they stayed under the hospitality of Mikak's father. She had embraced the Europeans from the start and memorized a prayer that Drachart had taught her. Then in 1767 she encountered the Europeans yet again but this time when she and others were taken prisoner by Francis Lucas and his men of Fort York trading post in Chateau Bay.
In 1768 the Governor Hugh Palliser
Hugh Palliser
Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War...
allowed Lucas to take Mikak and her two children to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where she learned to speak and write English fluently. The aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
s of England treated her as a curiosity but were taken by her beauty and charm. John Russell
John Russell (painter)
John Russell was an English painter renowned for his portrait work in oils and pastels, and as a writer and teacher of painting techniques.-Life and work:...
painted her portrait while she wore extravagant dresses and jewelry given to her by Augusta
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. She was one of only three Princesses of Wales who never became queen consort...
, Dowager
Dowager
A dowager is a widow who holds a title or property, or dower, derived from her deceased husband. As an adjective, "Dowager" usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles....
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...
. The portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, London but has since been moved to the Ethnological Institute at Göttingen University, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Upon her return to Labrador in 1769 she had aided the two missionaries she had met previously to establish the first mission post in Nain, Labrador.