The Beothuk occupied the territory of present-day Newfoundland. They were the first native group to come in contact with Europeans - first the Viking explorers and later the European whalers and fishermen. Unfortunately we don’t know much about the Beothuk because they became extinct soon after European contact, falling to small pox and starvation, and suffering casualities in raids from their neighbours, the Mi'kmaq.
The Beothuk made a red paint from powdered ochre and grease and smeared it over their bodies, clothes and utensils. They may have done this partly for warmth and partly for religious reasons. When the Europeans saw this, they called them “Red Indians” - a term which was applied to all native North American peoples for a long time afterwards.
FOOD AND ECONOMY
The Beothuk economy was mostly coastal. They depended on the sea for much of their diet, collecting shellfish, harpooning seals and whales and catching cod and other fish. When the Europeans took over the coasts for their own fishing stations, they forced the Beothuk into the harsh interior where those who didn’t succumb to European diseases died of starvation. The Europeans observed that the Beothuk went inland in winter to hunt for caribou which they stored by freezing or smoking. They also collected birds’ eggs which they stored by drying.
DWELLINGS
The Beothuk lived in cone-shaped dwellings called mamateeks made from poles covered in birchbark. In winter they added extra layers of bark insulated with moss and they slept in hollows carved out of the ground around the fire.
