In the beginning, before 1500 A.D. ....
"The history of this land does not necessarily begin in 1500, with the arrival of the Europeans with their alphabet, their pens and their parchment before them. Over the centuries during which the Micmac People roamed sea and land and learned them well, history was encoded in stories and chants, passed down by word of mouth, taught through dance, and song and dreams."
Taken from the book, Old Man Told Us, by Ruth Whitehead
"When there were no people in this country but Indians, and before any others became known, a young woman had a singular dream... A small island came floating in towards the land, with tall trees on it and living beings. [The Shamans] pondered the girl's dream but could make nothing of it. The next day an event occurred that explained all. What should they see but a singular little island, as they supposed, which had drifted near to the land and became stationary there. There were trees on it and branches to the trees, on which a number of bears... were crawling about...What was their surprise to find that these supposed bears were men."
Josiah Jeremy to Silas Rand 1869. In Legends of the Micmac by Silas T. Rand. 1894: 225.