Native Peoples of CanadaNative Peoples of Canada

Eastern WoodlandsEastern Woodlands

Eastern Woodlands Eastern Woodlands CulturesCultures

•Small nomadic bands of hunter gatherers•Seasonal migrations - by ocean in summer, inland in winter•Main source of food - large mammals (moose, deer)•Minimal political organization - bands led by skilled hunters, tribe governed by loosely organized system of regional chiefs•Main tribal groups - Mi'kmaq (NS), Malecite (NB), Algonquin (Quebec & Ontario)

Traditional Mi'kmaq star

Southern Southern Lowlads/Iroquois Lowlads/Iroquois CulturesCultures

•Sedentary agricultural culture•Semi-permanent villages spread across southern Ontario and northern New York State•Main food supply - cultivated corn, supplemented with wild game•Complex tribal organization emerged as a result of sizeable population and secure food supply•Two major groups - Huron (s. Ontario) & Iroquois Confederacy (n. New York State)

Plains Natives/Interior Plains Natives/Interior PlainsPlains

•Nomadic hunters whose lifestyle revolved around the buffalo hunt•Spent summers on central plains hunting migratory buffalo herds, winters in foothills hunting small game•Obtained horses in 16th century (brought to America by Spaniards)•No contact with Europeans until late 18th century (fur trade)•Major conflicts in late 19th century as European settlement spread westward•Major tribes - Blackfoot Confederacy (3 tribes), Assiniboine, Plains Cree

West Coast West Coast Natives/Pacific CoastNatives/Pacific Coast

•Inhabited islands and coastal areas of present day British Columbia•Lifestyle based on abundant marine food supply, particularly salmon•Houses, canoes and totem poles built out of cedar, a vital rsources available in abundant supply•Permanent villages allowed for development of complex tribal system•Social classes within tribes caused by differences in wealth (nobility, commmoners, laborers)•Major tribes - Nootka, Bella Coola, Nisgaa

Subarctic NativesSubarctic Natives•Inhabited northern regions of Canada south of Arctic tundra•Nomadic hunter-gatherers reliant on large mammals (moose, deer, caribou)•Played a critical role in the northern fur trade as guides and suppliers of furs for Hudson's Bay Co.•Major tribes - Naskapi. Woodland Cree, Chipewyan,

Arctic PeoplesArctic Peoples•Most recently arrived of our native peoples, reaching Alaska about 1000 years ago and gradually spreading eastward across the Canadian Arctic•Closely related culturally and genetically to the Arctic peoples of Europe and Asia•Spent summers on Arctic tundra hunting caribou, winters along edge of ocean hunting seal on ice floes•Furthest removed from contact with Europeans

Common Characteristics of Common Characteristics of Native PeoplesNative Peoples

•Common world view based upon a close relationship to the land•Humans viewed as integral part of environment, not dominant over it•Close connection between natural and spiritual world

Common Characteristics of Common Characteristics of Native PeoplesNative Peoples

•Native technologies reflected deep knowledge & understanding of environment•Technologies based upon natural resources (bone, stone, wood)•Survival dependent on adaptation to environment

Common Characteristics of Native Common Characteristics of Native PeoplesPeoples

•All native societies possessed some government structure, although the level of organization varied significantly•Small nomadic bands - egalitarian, group consensus•Sedentary tribes - larger populations, centralized control

Common Characteristics of Native Common Characteristics of Native PeoplesPeoples

•All native groups engaged in trade with one another•Exchange of surplus goods•Societies evolved as they exchanged ideas, technologies and goods