Beothuk

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The Beothuk (pronounced /biːˈɒtɨk/ or /biːˈɒθɨk/) (also spelled Beothic, Beothick, Beothuck)^[1] were the native inhabitants of the island of Newfoundland at the time of European contact in the 15th and 16th centuries. With the death in 1829 of Shanawdithit, a woman who was the last recorded surviving member, the people became officially extinct as a separate ethnic group.^[2]

History and culture

Newfoundland, Canada, historic home of the Beothuk

Beothuk means "people" in the Beothuk language. The origins of the Beothuk are uncertain. There are only limited records of their language, and theories about its origin are controversial. Some linguists believe it is a branch of Algonquian. This theory has been supported by recently derived DNA evidence that links this people to Northeastern First Nations, or Algonquian tribes.^[3] Prior to that, based only on linguistic analysis, some scholars regarded Beothuk as a language isolate.

Beginning around AD 1500, the Beothuk culture formed. This appeared to be the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples who first migrated from Labrador to Newfoundland around AD 1. The ancestors of this group had three earlier cultural phases, each lasting approximately 500 years.^[4]

In 2007 DNA testing was conducted on material from the teeth of Demasduit and her husband Nonosabasut, two Beothuk individuals who had died in the 1820s. The results suggest the Beothuk were linked to the same ancestral people as the Mi'kmaq, in which case their language was likely related as well. It also demonstrated they were solely of First Nation indigenous ancestry, unlike some earlier studies that suggested European admixture.

"The presence of both haplotypes [X and C in mitochondrial DNA, and Q M3 Single nucleotide polymorphism from the Y chromosome] among the current Mi’kmaq population suggests either gene flow between them and the Beothuk or a shared ancestral founder population or both. The fact that the languages spoken by both groups are believed to be of Algonquian origin, supports the idea of a common ancestry, though this may date back millennia."^[3]

Portrayal of a Beothuk camp by Major John Cartwright.

The Beothuk lived throughout the island of Newfoundland, particularly in the Notre Dame and Bonavista bays areas. Estimates vary as to the number of Beothuk at the time of contact with Europeans. Scholars of the 19th and early 20th century estimated about 2,000 persons at the time of European contact in the 15th century. Recent scholarship suggests there were no more than 500 to 700 people. They lived in independent, self-sufficient, extended family groups of 30 to 55 people.^[5]

Like many other hunter-gathering peoples, they appear to have had band leaders but probably not more formal "chiefs". They lived in conical dwellings known as mamateeks, which were fortified for the winter season. These were constructed by arranging poles in a circle, tying them at the top, and covering them with birch bark. The floors were dug with hollows used for sleeping. A fireplace was created at the center.

During the spring, the Beothuk used red ochre to paint not only their bodies, but also their houses, canoes, weapons, household appliances and musical instruments. This led Europeans to refer to them as "Red Indians". The use of ochre had great cultural significance. The decorating was done during an annual multi-day spring celebration. It designated tribal identity; for example, decorating newborn children was a way to welcome them into the tribe. Forbidding a person to wear ochre was a form of punishment.

The main sources of food for the Beothuk were caribou, salmon, and seals, augmented by harvesting other animal and plant species. The Beothuk followed the seasonal migratory habits of their principal quarry. In the fall, they set up deer fences, sometimes 30–40 miles long, used to drive migrating caribou and deer toward waiting hunters armed with bows and arrows.^[6]

The Beothuk tribe of Newfoundland is extinct. It is represented in museum, historical and archaeological records.

The Beothuk are also known to have made a pudding out of tree sap and the dried yolk of the eggs of the Great Auk.^[7] They preserved surplus food for use during winter. They trapped various fur-bearing animals, and worked their skins for warm clothing. The fur side was worn next to the skin, to trap air against a person's body.

Beothuk canoes were made of bark. They were curved upward at the ends, with steep sides that rose to a point, and a V-shaped bottom.^[8]

The Beothuk followed elaborate burial practices. After wrapping the bodies in birch bark, they buried the dead in isolated locations. In one form, a shallow grave was covered with a rock pile. At other times they lay the body on a scaffold, or placed it in a burial box, with the knees folded. The survivors placed offerings at burial sites to accompany the dead, such as figurines, pendants, and replicas of tools.^[6]

European contact

About AD 1000, the Norse encountered natives in northern Newfoundland who may have been ancestors of the later Beothuk or Dorset inhabitants of Labrador and Newfoundland. The Norse called them skrælingjar ("skraelings" or barbarians.)^[9] Beginning in 1497 with the Italian John Cabot, sailing under the auspices of the English crown, later waves of European explorers and settlers had more continued contact.

In contrast with some other native groups, the Beothuk strove to avoid contact with Europeans, and moved inland as European settlements grew. They only visited their former camps to pick up metals and other items left behind after the Europeans had left for the winter. Contact between Europeans and the Beothuk was generally negative for one side or the other, with a few exceptions, such as that of John Guy's party in 1612. Settlers and Beothuk competed for important natural resources, such as salmon and seals. These encounters led to enmity and mutual violence. With superior arms technology, the settlers generally had the upper hand in hunting and warfare. (Unlike other indigenous peoples, the Beothuk appeared to have had no interest in adopting firearms.) ^[10] The European frontiersmen exhibited callous behavior toward the natives, but the Beothuk seemed to have had an equally strong cultural imperative toward revenge that caused them to carry out attacks.

Intermittently, Europeans attempted to improve relations with the Beothuk. Examples included expeditions by naval lieutenants George Cartwright (trader) in 1768 and David Buchan in 1811. Cartwright's expedition was commissioned by Gov. Hugh Palliser; he found no Beothuk but brought back important cultural information.

Gov. John Duckworth commissioned Buchan's expedition. Though undertaken for information gathering, this expedition ended in violence. Buchan's party encountered several Beothuk near Red Indian Lake. After an initially friendly reception, Buchan left two of his men behind with the Beothuk. The next day, he found them murdered and mutilated. According to the Beothuk Shanawdithit's later account, the deaths were due to the Beothuks' suspicion of the strangers. To his credit, Buchan did not attempt to take revenge and tried to make further contact with the people.

Extinction

Population estimates of Beothuks remaining at the end of the first decade of the 19th century vary widely, from about 150 up to 3,000.^[11] Information about the Beothuk was based on accounts by the woman Shanawdithit, who told about the people who "wintered on the Exploits River or at Red Indian Lake and resorted to the coast in Notre Dame Bay." References in records also noted some survivors on the Northern Peninsula in the early 19th century.^[12]

During the colonial period, the Beothuk people also endured territorial pressure from Native groups: Mi'kmaq migrants from Cape Breton Island, and Inuit from Labrador. "The Beothuk were unable to procure sufficient subsistence within the areas left to them."^[13] They entered into a cycle of violence with some of the newcomers. Beothuk numbers dwindled rapidly due to a combination of factors, including:

• loss of access to important food sources, from competition with Inuit and Mi'kmaqs as well as European settlers;
• infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, such as smallpox, introduced by European contact (Western peoples also suffered from these diseases. Vaccination against smallpox did not become widespread until the late 19th and 20th centuries);
• endemic tuberculosis (TB), which weakened tribal members; and
• violent encounters with trappers, settlers and other natives.

By 1829, with the death of Shanawdithit, the people was officially declared extinct.

"The tribe has vanished from the face of the earth; and the tale of their extinction forms an infamous stigma, a dark series of crimes, in the historic pages of both French and English colonisation."^[6]

Oral histories asserted that a few Beothuk survived for some years around the region of the Exploits River, Twillingate, Newfoundland; and Labrador; and formed unions with European-Canadians, Inuit and Mi'kmaq.^[14] Some families from Twillingate claim partial descent from Beothuks of the early 19th century.

In 1910, a 75-year old Native woman named Santu Toney, said to be the daughter of a Mi'kmaq mother and a Beothuk father, recorded a song in the Beothuk language for the American anthropologist Frank Speck, who was doing field studies in the area. She said her father had taught her the song. This is further evidence that some Beothuk people survived beyond the death of Shanawdithit in 1829, as Santu Toney was born about 1835. Contemporary researchers have tried to make a transcription of the song, as well as improve the recording by current methods. Native groups have learned the song to use in celebrations of tradition.^[15]

Genocide

Whether Europeans committed genocide against the Native peoples has been a controversial topic. There are questions about its definition, and differing political agendas by parties to such discussion.^[16] While some scholars believe that the Beothuk died out due to the elements noted above, another theory is that Europeans conducted a sustained campaign of genocide against them.^[17] According to the genocide theory, there was complex institutional racism and systematic discrimination committed by British colonists. This revisionist history is similar to that developed by scholars of the extinction/genocide of the Tasmanians in Australia.^[18]

Demasduit (Mary March)

Demasduit (Mary March), 1819.

Demasduit was a Beothuk woman, thought to be about 23 years old, who was captured near Red Indian Lake in March 1819 by a party led by John Peyton, Jr. He was the son of John Peyton, Sr., a salmon fisherman notorious for his hostility toward the Beothuk. Peyton, Jr. became well known for his significant efforts to improve relations with the Beothuk. He was held in high regard by Captain David Buchan, with whom he had travelled into the interior of Newfoundland in search of the Beothuk. The younger Peyton was later appointed Justice of the Peace at Twillingate, Newfoundland.

The Newfoundland governor, seeking to encourage trade and end hostilities between the Beothuk and the English, approved Buchan's 1819 expedition. It proved profitable for Peyton, as he earned a bounty for the capture of a Beothuk. During the capture, the husband, Nonosbawsut, and brother of Demasduit were killed. She left a baby behind, who died after the mother was taken from her people.

The British named Demasduit Mary March, her surname the month in which she was taken. She was brought to Twillingate and later St. John's, Newfoundland. The colonial government intended to give Desmaduit comfort and friendly treatment during her stay with the English. They hoped that when Demasduit/March was returned to her people, she could serve as a liaison between the Beothuk and the Europeans. Demasduit learned some English and taught the settlers about 200 words of Beothuk vocabulary. In January 1820, during a return trip to Notre Dame Bay, Demasduit died of tuberculosis before reaching her people.

Shanawdithit (Nancy April)

Believed to be a portrait of Shanawdithit, painted in 1841 by William Gosse, who titled it, "A female Red Indian of Newfoundland".

Shanawdithit, niece of Demasduit, was the last recorded Beothuk. She was captured in April 1823, when she was in her early 20s. Named Nancy April by the English, she lived for several years in the home of John Peyton, Jr. and worked as a servant.

William Cormack had founded the Boeothick Institute to foster a positive relationship with the Beothuk, and study and support their culture. His expeditions found Beothuk artifacts, but he concluded that the group was dying out. Cormack brought Shanawdithit to St. John's in 1828 so that he could learn from her. His institute provided for her support.

She made drawings for Cormack that illustrated Beothuk implements, concepts, and mythologies. (Examples at the external link show his comments on her drawings, based on her stories about them.) She also augmented his knowledge of Beothuk words. Shanawdithit outlined the numerical decline of the Beothuk over the previous two decades. She stated that at the time of her capture, only about a dozen people remained. Despite medical care from specialist Dr. William Carson, Shanawdithit died of tuberculosis on June 6, 1829.

Archaeology

The Boyd's Cove site lies in eastern Notre Dame Bay on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. It is situated at the bottom of a bay and is protected by a maze of islands sheltering it from waves and winds. The site was found in 1981 during an archeological survey to locate Beothuk sites, begun to discover more insight into Beothuk culture. Existing historical records were too limited to answer a number of important questions about the Beothuk. Because of the scarcity of record-keeping Europeans in contact with the Beothuk, information about their lives has been more limited than that for peoples such as the Huron or the Mi'kmaq, who were studied by French missionaries and had extensive trade with Europeans.

Numerous historical references document Beothuk presence in this region, especially in the last half of the 18th and the early part of the 19th century. Previous archaeological surveys and amateur finds indicated that it was likely that the Beothuk had lived here even earlier. Eastern Notre Dame Bay has been known for its rich animal and fish life: seals, fish, and sea birds, and its hinterland supported large caribou herds.

Archaeologists found 16 Aboriginal sites, ranging in age from the Maritime Archaic Indian era (7000 BC - modern) through the Palaeo-Eskimo period, down to the Recent Indian (which includes the Beothuk) occupation. Two of the sites have been related to historic Beothuk. Boyd's Cove, the larger of the two, is 3000 sq. m and is located on top of a 6-m glacial moraine, coarse sand, gravel and boulders left behind by glaciers.

The artifacts have provided answers to an economic question: why the Beothuk did not engage in the fur trade with Europeans. The interiors of four houses and their environs produced some 1,157 nails, the majority of which had been worked by the Beothuk. The site's occupants had manufactured some 67 iron projectile points (most made from nails). They had also modified nails to use as what are believed to be scrapers to remove fat from animal hides; straightened fish hooks and adapted them as awls; fashioned lead into ornaments, and so on. In summary, the Boyd's Cove Beothuk took debris from an early modern European fishery and refashioned materials for their own purposes.

Footnotes

References

• Hewson, John. "Beothuk and Algonkian: Evidence Old and New." International Journal of American Linguistics, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Apr., 1968), pp. 85–93.
• Holly, Donald H. Jr. "A Historiography of an Ahistoricity: On the Beothuk Indians." History and Anthropology, 2003, Vol. 14(2), pp. 127–140.
• Holly, Donald H. Jr. "The Beothuk on the eve of their extinction." Arctic Anthropology, 2000, Vol. 37(1), pp. 79–95.
• Howley, James P., The Beothucks or Red Indians, 1918. First published by Cambridge University Press. Reprint: Prospero Books, Toronto. (2000). ISBN 1-55267-139-9.
• Marshall, Ingeborg, A History and Ethnography of the Beothuk. McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal & Kingston, 1996. ISBN 0-7735-1390-6.
• Marshall, Ingeborg, The Beothuk. The Newfoundland Historical Society, 2001.
• Pastore, Ralph T., Shanawdithit's People: The Archaeology of the Beothuks. Breakwater Books, St. John's, Newfoundland, 1992. ISBN 0-929048-02-4.
• Renouf, M. A. P. "Prehistory of Newfoundland hunter-gatherers: extinctions or adaptations?" World Archaeology, Vol. 30(3): pp. 403–420 Arctic Archaeology 1999.
• Such, Peter, Vanished Peoples: The Archaic Dorset & Beothuk People of Newfoundland. NC Press, Toronto, 1978.
• Tuck, James A., Ancient People of Port au Choix: The Excavation of an Archaic Indian Cemetery in Newfoundland. Institute of Social and Economic Research, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1994.
• Winter, Keith John, Shananditti: The Last of the Beothuks. J.J. Douglas Ltd., North Vancouver, B.C., 1975. ISBN 0-88894-086-6.
• Assiniwi, Bernard, "La saga des Béothuks". Babel, LEMÉAC, 1996. ISBN 2-7609-2018-6

External links

• "The Beothuk of Newfoundland", obituary of Shanawdithit
• James P. Howley, F.G.S., "Drawings by Shanawdithit", THE BEOTHUCKS OR RED INDIANS: THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF NEWFOUNDLAND, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915, Memorial University of Newfoundland & Labrador Website
• The Beothuks, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage.
• Beothuk, Native Languages.
• The Indigenous Maps and Mapping of North American Indians
• Ideas on CBC program about Demasduwit

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