Facts on the Subarctic Indians

People

Most First Nations people of the subarctic spoke languages related to either Algonquin or Athapaskans, although groups in different regions spoke different dialects. The Beothuk people in what is now Newfoundland, for example, spoke a language that was seemingly unrelated to any other known dialect. Natives of the subarctic were typically not organized into tribes, but were grouped into small bands of 25 to 50 people who spoke the same language and shared common traditions. Prior to contact with Europeans, subarctic tribes didn't have formal chiefs, with adult men and women in the band sharing in the decision-making process.

Survival in the subarctic came from hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering wild plants, as farming was not practical so far north. Men did most of the big-game hunting, while women fished and snared small animals such as hare. Women were also responsible for cutting and drying meat, and processing animal hides. Animals were scarce, distributed sparsely over vast areas of land, which led the subarctic human population densities to be among the lowest in the world. In fact, some scholars estimate that no more than 60,000 people lived in the entire subarctic area.

In subarctic folklore, power was equated with knowledge, and the hero in many subarctic myths was the first person to gain knowledge. The hero in these myths typically had survival skills that allowed him to outwit evildoers and fight dangerous animals. Most subarctic people believed that each of them possessed some degree of medicinal power that could be increased with rituals and customs, such as killing a particular animal. Some of these myths were meant to teach children the importance of maintaining good relations with the spirits of animals and nature.

Clothing varied from band to band according on what resources were available. Natives living in the northern forest, for example, wore soft tanned-hide moccasins, with leggings, shirts and coats during the warmer months. Subarctic natives typically wore lighter-weight clothing and would build fires for warmth. In the winter, they would usually wear special sleeping robes made from rabbit skins that were cut into strips, then woven together.