Daniel Nicholas Paul, CM ONS, (December 5, 1938 – June 27, 2023) was a Canadian Miꞌkmaq elder, author, columnist, and human rights activist.

One writer stated, "It's a Canadian version of Dee Brown's bestseller Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and, as such, served a valuable purpose in raising public consciousness about Miꞌkmaq history, identity, and culture.

He states: "High among the most appreciated honours that I've received during my career are the dozens of small items, Eagle Feathers, tobacco pouches, letters, mugs, etc., given and sent to me by students as thanks for helping them better understand the importance of according all Peoples human dignity and respect.

Prior to Paul's birth, his parents Sarah Agnes (née Noel), and William Gabriel, were relocated from Saint John, New Brunswick, to Indian Brook 14, Nova Scotia.

During his childhood, he earned money through selling the Star Weekly, Liberty Magazine, seeds, and greeting cards, and painted the interior of houses.

He was mainly self-educated and asserted that he had at least a master's from the University of Life, possibly a Ph.D.[citation needed] Paul's personal website lists his occupations since age 22, beginning as an accounts clerk in 1961 and employed by the Canadian department of Indian Affairs 1971–1986.

In 2001, Paul was involved with a CBC documentary entitled Growing Up Native, and in Bear Paw Productions' (Eastern Tide's) Expulsion and the Bounty Hunter.

He has written chapters for several books - two editions of the Mi'kmaq Anthology, Dawnland Voices, Living Treaties, Nova Scotia - Visions of the Future, and Power and Resistance.

[16] Historians Geoffrey Plank and Stephen Patterson, however, offer evidence that indicates some of the Mi'kmaq leadership did support frontier warfare against Protestant families, such as Chief Jean-Baptiste Cope.

Historian John G. Reid's work indicates that by the time Cornwallis had arrived in Halifax in 1749, there was a long history of the Wabanaki Confederacy (which included the Mi'kmaq) killing European settlers along the New England-Acadia border in Maine during conflict.

[20] Post-colonial historian John G. Reid states, "I believe (genocide) is essentially a 20th-century term, and I'm not sure that it's the best way to understand 18th-century realities... What happened in the 18th century is a process of imperial expansion that was ruthless at times, that cost lives….

"[21] Kyle Matthews, the lead researcher at the Montreal Institute For Genocide and Human Rights Studies, states, "The word 'genocide' is today used by anybody, at any time — some people use it to get media attention or to support a cause," he said.

"[20] Paul also asserts that his work is largely responsible for the removal of the names of colonial figure's from Nova Scotian landmarks who were involved in frontier warfare against the Mi'kmaq.

Paul praised Chief Jean-Baptiste Cope for negotiating the November 1752 Peace and Friendship Treaty with the Crown, "in a desperate attempt to prevent the complete annihilation of his people".

As Paul also notes, in 1985, the Supreme Court of Canada finally affirmed and recognized its validity[31][32] In this case, the Crown prosecutors argued that Cope had violated the treaty, which, in turn, made it null and void.