First Nations Of Canada - The Beothuk

Introduction

One First Nation, who lived in what is now known as Newfoundland and Labrador, no longer exists. These people were known as the Beothuk. Unfortunately, little is known about the history and culture of these unique people.
The last Beothuk, a woman named Shanawdithit, died in 1829.

The Story

The first English settlers told stories about the Beothuk, that they were giants in height and had light skin. There may be some truth to both of these stories. Because of their balanced diet, the Beothuk were probably much taller and healthier than the early Europeans who encountered them. It is also possible that some Beothuk had light skin. About A.D. 1000, Norse sailors ("Vikings") from Greenland settled in the northern part of what is now the island of Newfoundland in a place that has come to be known as L'Anse aux Meadows. Norse legends tell us that after settling down and living in peace with the Beothuk, the Norse ended up fighting them and were forced to leave. During the first peaceful contact however, some children may have been born between Beothuk and Norse parents. If so, some Beothuk children could have been born with lighter skin.

Another explanation goes further back than the arrival of the Norse and is based on a story told by the Cree of James Bay. A long time ago, the Cree knew a people who lived near them, and who they called Buatuk. This was thousands of years ago, before the Inuit arrived in the area. These Buatuk were said to be a tall race of people, who inhabited several islands in what we now call the Hudson Bay region. The Buatuk left the area and were replaced by the Inuit. It is possible that the Buatuk traveled east and ended up on what is now the island of Newfoundland, where they later became known as the Beothuk.

Some 500 years after the Norse left what is now known as Newfoundland, a Portuguese explorer named Gaspar Corte Real was the next to meet the Beothuk. He captured 57 of them and brought them back to Europe. This set the stage for how the Beothuk would be treated by European explorers and settlers for the next 300 years.

In 1612, something happened that forever changed the fortunes of the Beothuk people. An English merchant named John Guy had set up a trading post in the southeast part of the island of Newfoundland at Conception Bay. There, the English and Beothuk were maintaining good trade relations. One day, a ship arrived in the bay and the Beothuk, thinking it was their friend John Guy, canoed towards the ship. The ship was not Guy's however, and the captain of the ship, not aware of the good relationship between the Guy and the Beothuk, was afraid when he saw so many people canoeing towards him. As a result, he shot at the Beothuk with a cannon. This was the start of bad feelings between the English and the Beothuk.

The Beothuk never used to live in one place for very long. They would travel to the coast in the spring and summer to fish, and move to the interior away from the harsh winds to hunt in the fall and winter. When it was time for the animals or fish to have their babies or lay their eggs, they stopped hunting or fishing those animals. This was to make sure there would always be new animals or fish being born to take the place of the ones they killed. When the Beothuk were forced into the interior however, they had to hunt and fish always in one place. This broke a cycle that had evolved over thousands of years between them and the animals. As well, the Beothuk could no longer hunt and fish the marine life from the ocean. Whenever the Beothuk went near the ocean, English fisherman would shoot at them.

The end result was starvation for the Beothuk people.

Of all the Newfoundland settlers, it was John Payton Sr. and his son John Payton Jr. who had the worst history with the Beothuk. John Payton Sr. had clubbed several Beothuk to death. In 1819, his son, John Payton Jr., was under orders to capture a Beothuk woman to use as an interpreter. He surprised Nonobawsut's wife, a Beothuk woman named Demasduwit, carrying her baby. She tried to get away but was too ill to run. Nonobawsut tried to save her but was shot dead by Payton.

Demasduwit was captured and renamed Mary March (because she was captured in March). She was taken away and then promised that she would be let go but died of tuberculosis before she could get back to her village.

Soon there were only about 19 Beothuk left. In 1823, William Cull captured a Beothuk woman named Shawnadithit, along with her mother and sister. Shanawdithit was renamed Nancy April (she was captured in April) and lived as a servant. Her mother and sister died soon after.

In 1829 Shanawdithit died of tuberculosis. She was the last of the Beothuk. Her skull was taken for scientific research and her body was buried in St. John's. Although fisherman told a story of having seen some Beothuk paddling out into the ocean towards Labrador, the Beothuk were never seen again in Newfoundland.