JULIAN, ANDREW (1???-1836)

JULIAN, ANDREW, Micmac Indian chief, s/o John Julian; m. Marie - ; d. c1836.

The Julian family considered the chiefship which had been granted to John Julian in 1779 to be hereditary, and soon after his death it was bestowed upon his son Andrew Julian. His selection was legitimized by a lieutenant governor's commission dated 23 November 1807, making him "Chief of the Tribe of Micmac Indians in the District of Miramichi." He acted as band chief at Eel Ground and as head chief, or 'king' over the bands at Eel Ground, Red Bank, and Renous.

Julian joined with other tribal leaders in 1810 in having a new church erected at the Micmacs' central gathering place at Burnt Church. In 1812 he and the other Micmac chiefs in the province agreed by treaty to observe a strict neutrality in the war which had erupted between Britain and the United States. These actions met with the approval of his tribe, but in 1813, when he and some of his relatives began to traffic in land at Eel Ground for personal profit, the tribe became concerned. When the abuses continued his removal from office was demanded, not just by his tribesmen but by all the other Micmac chiefs of New Brunswick. In a petition addressed to the lieutenant governor the chiefs described Julian as a man "totally unqualified" for the position which he was occupying and as a "palpable drunkard" who was driving his people "headlong to destruction."

Provincial authorities declined to remove Julian, so the Executive Council was implored to prevent him, at least, from selling any more reserve land. Accordingly, an executive order was issued and the land sales ended, but the leasing of land had not been expressly forbidden in the order, and Julian used this loophole as a way of raising money for his personal use for several more years.

In the 1820s, possibly because of his alcoholism, Julian faded from the scene and was not much heard from again. In the early 1830s his brother Denis Julian was the acting chief at Eel Ground. He clung stubbornly to office, however, until 5 August 1836, when "incapability" forced him to resign "all power and authority as King of the Indians of the Miramichi." He died soon afterwards. Little is known about his immediate family except that he and his wife had a daughter baptized in 1798.