Bibliography

Grabowski, Jan. Lecture His 2401, October 4, 1996. Email address:

Howley, James Patrick. The Beothuks or

Red Indians: The Aboriginal Inhabitants of Newfoundland. University of

Cambridge Press., Cambridge, England. Marshall, Ingeborg. History and

the Ethnography of the BeothukMcGill)Queens University Press.: 1996,

Canada. Marshall, Ingeborg C.L.. Reports and Letters by George

Christopher Pulling: Relating to the Beothuk Indians of Newfoundland

Breakwater Books.: 1989, St.John's, Newfoundland. Marshall, Ingeborg. The

red Ochre People: How Newfoundland'sBeothuk Indians Lived. J.J. Douglas

Ltd.: 1977, Vancouver. Rowe, Frederick W.. EXTINCTION: The Beothuks of

Newfoundland McGraw)Hill Ryerson Limited.: 1977, Toronto.

The Beothuk people of Newfoundland were not the very first inhabitants of

the island. Thousands of years before their

arrival there existed an ancient race, named the Maritime Archaic Indians

who lived on the shores of Newfoundland. (Red Ochre Indians, Marshall, 4.)

Burial plots and polished stone tools are occasionally discovered near

Beothuk remains. Some people speculate that, because of the proximity of

the artifacts to the former lands of the Beothuk, the Maritime Archaic

Indians and the Beothuk may have been related. It is not certain when the

Beothuk arrived on the island. In fact little is actually known about the

people, compared to what is known about other amerindian civilisations,

only artifacts and stories told by elders tell the historians who these

people really were. Some speculate that they travelled from "Labrador to

Newfoundland across the strait of Belle Isle, which at one time was only

12 miles wide. By about 200 AD the Beothuk Indians were probably well

settled into Newfoundland."(Red Ochre, 8)

The Beothuk were not alone on Newfoundland wither. The Dorset

Eskimos, who came from Cape Dorset regions of the north around 500 BC also

shared the island. They presumably had contact with the Beothuk,

exchanging tools or engaging in battle. In any case the Dorset Indians

died out leaving Newfoundland empty to the control of the Beothuk people

who now had no enemies and a wide vast territory. The Beothuk, although

part of the Algonkian family developed their own language and culture. The

400 words that are still known from their language prove their Algonkian

heritage. The development of their culture was a great success. The

success of the Beothuk people as a whole was in part because of their

skills in fishing, hunting and travel. They were the "only amerindian

group to navigate on the high seas."(Grabowski lecture Oct 4,`96.) This

was because of the construction of their canoes. Normally paddling on the

high seas is dangerous, but Beothuk canoes were so designed to with stand

high waves and stay accurately on course. The canoes "were made of a frame

work of spruce and then covered with birch bark."(Red Ochre, 9) They

curved high at the sides and a sharp bottom acted as a keel. The high

sides protected as a barrier from wave swamping the boat. Because of

hunting expeditions on the Funk islands, 60 kilometres from shore, ocean

travel was evident and sea worthiness was essential. The knowledge of

these canoes is only from documents produced by explorers and early

settlers, all that is left of the original canoes are models of canoes

found in burial sites.

"The Beothuk were a migratory people..."(Red Ochre, 14) they moved with the

seasons and

with the hunt. In fall they hunted caribou inland, in spring seals on the

coast, the summer months seafood and birds

eggs were harvested. The fall hunt was the most important, as it would

determine their success in surviving the winter months. The Beothuk

followed the patterns of migration of the caribou and laid out large traps

of fallen trees along the river banks. Trees would be left leaning against

their stumps creating a triangle to the ground. The trees would be piled

one over the next and so on and produced a "thicket that the caribou could

not penetrate or jump over."(Red Ochre, 15.) Trapping the caribou in the

water was the objective as " the animals could not move quickly in the

water."(Red Ochre,15.)

Indian people of North America have been called "red skins" for many

years. This expression comes from the european settlers who arrived in

Newfoundland and were met by the Beothuk. The Beothuk covered their entire

bodies, clothing, and weapons with a "mixture of red ochre and oil."(Red

Ochre, 4.)which protected them from the cold in winter and the mosquitoes

and other bugs in summer. Other Algonkian tribes used it, although "not so

lavishly as the Newfoundland indians."(Extinction, Rowe, 117) Some

evidence shows that some juices were used "especially alder" to paint

their bodies. "Sanku, a Micmac woman allegedly of part)Beothuk

descent...(said that)... this painting of the body was done annually at

special ceremonies which included the initiation of children born since

the last ceremony. These body markings related to tribal identity and had

religious significance."(Rowe, 118) Early European contact with the

Beothuk began possibly with the arrival of the Vikings around 1000 AD.

This can possibly be proven by the colour of the Beothuk's skin. Their

complexion was light compared to that of the Micmac. Supposing that

conflict arose between the Vikings and the Beothuk, it would be assumed

that prisoners would be taken by the Beothuk. If these "prisoners included

women or children, it would be unlikely that the Beothuk would put them to

death."(Rowe, 118.) It is possible that assimilation of these prisoners

into the community may have taken place. This might "explain why (John)

Guy's observations showed that some of the Beothuks he encountered had

yellow hair."(Rowe, 120.)

In 1497, John Cabot arrived in Newfoundland and brought back

the news about a new undescovered area in the north. Even before

this, however, there was contact between the Europeans and the

Beothuk. Fishermen from England, Spain, Portugal and Francehad been

usign the land to set up dry)fisheries. Because the fishermen were

primarily there only to fish, little documentation is

available.After teh announcement to Britain had been proclaimed

more and more fishermen arrived and began "using" the dry)fisheries

already in place of teh Beothuk. Innitially relations had been

friendly but as "using" turned into "stealing" the Beothuk bacame

increasinglyenraged adn occationally mounted raids on European

fishing camps. The fishermen accused the raiding parties of theft

and because there was little missionary interest in the Beothuk,

there was also little "law and order" in teh areas where Beothuk

and European fishermen shared land. Desperatly, teh Beothuk fought

back, and more fights ensued over fisheries equipment, but any

"atttempt at disobedience (on the part of the Beothuk) resulted in

strict punishment."(Grabowski, Oct.4)