First Nations in Canada Before Contact Quiz

The Beothuk people lived on what is now the island of Newfoundland. Historians suggest that some indigenous people moved from what is now Labrador over to Newfoundland in approximately the first year CE. The Beothuk then came together as a culture in approximately 1500 CE. They were hunter/gatherers who sought fish, caribou, and seals, as well as various plants. Estimates for the number of Beothuk living in Newfoundland at the time of European contact range from 500 to 2,000. They lived throughout Newfoundland in smaller family groups and moved with the animals as they migrated so they could continue to hunt.

The Beothuk were not friendly with the Europeans when they first encountered them in the 15th century. They would try to raid European camps to steal their traps. However, the Beothuk did not become interested in using firearms, so many were placed at a disadvantage when going face-to-face with the Europeans who did use guns. Many Beothuk also died from illnesses such as smallpox that were imported by Europeans, and to which they had no immunity. They also starved to death both because they were impeded from traveling their traditional hunting grounds, and because of competition with others. The Beothuk were declared extinct in 1829.

There is archeological evidence that the Miꞌkmaq people have lived in Canada's Atlantic provinces, in the Gaspe Region of Quebec, and in northeastern Maine in the US for over 4,000 years. They were traditionally a hunter-gatherer society that came together in larger groups around the shorelines in the warmer months, then broke up into smaller groups inland in the winter months.

The Miꞌkmaq lived in areas that were not amenable to agriculture, so they relied on different animals at different times of the year. Early in the spring, they gathered smelt, herring, waterfowl eggs, and geese. Then, a bit later in the spring, they switched to other more abundant creatures and fished for cod and gathered shellfish. In the fall, they gathered American eels that came in to spawn. In the fall when they moved inland with small groups, they began hunting and trapping a variety of animals. Moose and caribou were the most important. In fact, every part of the moose was used for food (meat), clothing (skin), cords (tendons), and tools and carvings (bones). The Mi'kmaq also hunted and trapped deer, bear, rabbit, beaver and porcupine for food and other uses.

The Mi'kmaq first came in contact with European fishermen in the 1500s when a fur trade was developed with the Europeans. Although this changed how they lived, the Mi'kmaq survived and many live in their traditional territory in the 21st century.

The Naskapi people were originally from Northern Quebec and Labrador in the northeast section of the country. They are a native group of Cree descent. The Cree people traditionally lived further west, but the Naskapi people settled further east due to a relationship with the Innu people in the northeast. The Naskapi people are native to what they call "St'aschinuw", which means "our inclusive land".

Little is known of the Naskapi before contact because they lived so far north. In fact, the word "Naskapi" means "people beyond the horizon" and was used from the 17th century on to describe native people who lived beyond the reach of the influence of missionaries. It is known that the Naskapi were a nomadic people who seemed to live in small groups before European contact.

Once Europeans made contact with these people, the Naskapi were forced into some major relocations to different areas due to the needs of the Hudson's Bay Company. This resulted in sickness and starvation as they were forced from the lands and their traditional way of life. This First Nation survived and has taken control of rebuilding their lives after a self-governing agreement was signed in the late 20th century.

The Haudenosaunee people are actually a confederacy that was made up of six closely aligned First Nations, including the Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Tuscarora peoples. According to oral traditions, this confederacy may have been formed in the 1100s. The Haudenosaunee people occupied land from the St. Lawrence River west to the western portion of Lake Erie. The Haudenosaunee were not nomadic. They had the opportunity to rely on agricultural pursuits. They grew corn, beans, squash and pumpkins. They also fished, hunted, and gathered wild berries. The name "Haudenosaunee" means "people of the long house". This refers to their lifestyle. They lived in large, long houses where a number of families shared the space.

The Haudenosaunee people have lived in their traditional territory since at least 1,000 CE, but there is some archeological evidence that they may have existed long before that. When Europeans arrived, the Haudenosaunee developed many hostile relationships until treaties were signed with both the French and the British early in the 1700s. Despite some unresolved land-claims issues, the Haudenosaunee live mostly peaceful lives in what is now Ontario and Quebec in the 21st century.

The Inuit live in the furthest north in what is now Canada. Due to their relative isolation, they were the last group of Indigenous people to come into contact with Europeans. They relied on the ocean to survive, hunting seals, walruses, and fishing for whales. Sea mammals gave them the blubber upon which they depended for food and fuel. They also relied on caribou for meat, skins, and bones for tools. The Inuit people were nomadic in the summer when the weather was better for hunting. The Inuit came together in family groups to support one another in the harsher winters. Their homes were made from snow blocks in the winter, and more transportable animal hides in the summer. In the summer, they hunted in single-person kayaks that they propelled with a double-sided paddle.

Due to their relative isolation, the Inuit people were relatively protected from contact with European settlers. There were some explorers in the early 1600s who attempted to find a Northwest Passage, but there were not some of the major effects that some First Nations further south felt when settlers first arrived. The Inuit people continue to live in the far north early in the 21st century.

The Blackfoot Confederacy, or Siksikaitsitapi, is a group of First Nations that included the Blackfoot, Blood, Peigan and Sarcee people. They lived in the southern prairie provinces from what is now Manitoba through to the Rocky Mountains. The Blackfoot Confederacy often fought against the Plains Cree and the Plains Ojibwa, or Saulteaux people. The Blackfoot Confederacy were a nomadic nation. The bison was the main animal that was used to support life on the prairies. They also ate roots, berries, and other animals like elk, deer, and rabbits. The Plains people lived in tipis, dwellings that were put together with poles that spread at the bottom and leaned together at the top. The frame was covered with Buffalo skins, and was insulated in winter.

The first record of European contact with the Blackfoot is when Anthony Henday, a trapper for the Hudson's Bay Company, encountered a group of them in 1754 in Alberta, one of what is now Canada's prairie provinces. The Blackfoot remained somewhat hostile towards the settlers. Unfortunately, though, they did catch cholera and smallpox from the Europeans which caused many to die because they did not have the immunity to these diseases that the settlers had. Despite this, these First Nations survived. In the early 20th century, three Blackfoot First Nations live in what is now Alberta, Canada. These include the Siksika, the Kainai, and the Piikani Nations.

Dogrib, or Tlicho people are members of the Dene, a larger group of First Nations people who lived in the sub-Arctic in what is now Canada. The land is mostly made up of tundra, but there are some forested areas. These people were nomadic because their lives depended upon hunting animals that migrated at different times of the year. Caribou was the main animal that was traditionally hunted by the Dogrib/Tlicho. That animal gave them food, and material for clothing, shelter, and tools. They also hunted muskox and rabbit, and occasionally fished. Due to their nomadic lifestyles, their dwellings had to be portable. This includes tipis covered with caribou hides and banked with snow in the winter, as well as some dugout pit houses and lodges made with poles. They travelled using snowshoes and toboggan in the winter.

Fur trappers with the Hudson's Bay Company arrived in 1670. This forced a change in the social structure of the Dogrib/Tlicho people. Before contact, band leaders were skilled hunters who led their community members. After contact, the band leaders became more adept at trading than hunting. As with many other Indigenous people, they were also decimated by diseases. It is estimated that approximately 80% of the Dogrib/Tlicho people died because of European diseases in the 1800s. The survivors went on to negotiate a land-claims agreement in 2005 that had them gain control of 39,000 square km of their traditional lands. According to government statistics, there were about 3,000 members of this First Nation living in what is now the Northwest Territories in 2009.

The Interior Salish people lived in what has been termed the "plateau" area. A few groups make up the Interior Salish peoples, including the Lil'wat (Lillooet), the Secwepemc (Shuswap), the Ntlakapamux (Thompson), the Okanagan (Syilx), and the Sinixt. They lived in both forests and deserts, with their main source of support being rivers. These include the Fraser, Thompson and Columbia Rivers in British Columbia. Their most important food source was the salmon that spawned in the rivers in late summer and fall. Once caught using spears, nets, and traps, the fish were filleted and dried by the women. In the summer, the Interior Salish people lived in bark-covered tipis, structures built by propping logs together. In the winter, they would dig pits for their homes. Each would have a roof structure made of logs. They entered these houses by descending a ladder that went through the smoke hole in the roof.

Europeans first encountered Interior Salish people in the late 1700s and early 1800s. This led to lands being surveyed, and reserves (also known as reservations in the US) being established. This further led to land claims disputes that have continued into the 21st century.

The Haida people live on an archipelago called Haida Gwaii that is off the west coast of what is now Canada. There is evidence that they have occupied the region for over 12,000 years. In fact, the oral history of the Haida people states that they lived with the glaciers, and were there when the first tree grew after the glaciers receded. The Haida people have honoured trees throughout their history. When red cedar trees arrived on the islands about 7,500 years ago, they started creating totem poles, some of the most beautiful native structures that have ever been created. They have also traditionally used the cedar trees to build lodges in which to live.

Unfortunately, there was a smallpox epidemic in 1862 because of European contact. This saw the Haida population drop from an estimated 6,607, down to only 829 when it was over. The Haida Nation survived, and successfully negotiated an agreement that protects all of the land and water in their traditional territory in the 20th century. The area was also officially renamed "Haida Gwaii" in 2010. This traditional name replaced its previous "Queen Charlotte Islands", a name that had been given by settlers after contact.

There were a few groups of First Nations living in the northwest before European contact. Included amongst this group are the Tsimshian people. There is archeological evidence that the Tsimshian people have lived in what is now northern British Columbia for approximately 5,000 years. The Tsimshian people were not nomadic. Instead, they built large, multi-family homes from cedar posts and beams that were covered with planks. Salmon was very important to the Tsimshian people. In this area, five different types of salmon spawned up the rivers at five different times. They were caught and dried for winter. The women would also comb the beaches at low tide for any food sources that were there. Other sources of food include seals, shellfish, crabs and other fish like lingcod, halibut and herring. The eulachon is a type of very oily smelt. They were harvested for their oil for lighting and cooking.

After contact with Europeans in the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Tsimshian had the same tragic outcome as many other First Nations in what is now Canada. It is estimated that about 25% of the Tsimshian died in a number of large-scale smallpox outbreaks in the second half of the 19th century. They survived, and in the early part of the 21st century make up the largest First Nation in what is now British Columbia. This includes about 10,000 people in seven distinct groups including the Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, and the "Allied Tribes" of the Lax Kw'Alaams - the Metlakatla, Kitkatla, Gitga'at at Hartley Bay, and Kitasoo at Klemtu.