The Importance Of Hunting In First Nations

Even though all of the different groups’ style of hunting and food was disparate, they all shared similar general ideas. All of the First Nation groups hunted, this was the men’s responsibilities and was done in the summer time and occasionally in the winter. Small game(animal hunted for food), such as birds or small animals like rabbits would be caught in traps or snares and bigger game, like deer and bears, would be hunted using various different weapons like spears and bow and arrows. Some groups had special/important animals that they would hunt, for example, the Woodland First Nations’ most important game was the white-tailed deer because it gave them meat as well as fur for clothing and shelters. Additionally, the Plateau First Nations’ main food sources were deer and caribou
Fishing, just like hunting, was done by all First Nations, some societies relied on it more than others, such as the Pacific Coast First Nations who’s main food source was pacific salmon. Fishing was primarily done in the in the summer and spring with the exception of the Mackenzie River First Nations who would also catch fish through the ice in the winter. The means of hunting fish were relatively alike for all the First Nations, and they would use similar tools to catch fish as well. Fish would be caught using nets, spears, baskets or dip nets and fish traps and most of these tools would be made of bark, stone or bones, depending on the band and the available resources. Most First Nation bands were also gathered, this was chiefly done by the women and children, they would collect edible plants, mushrooms, and nuts etc… Finally, a couple of groups, like the Iroquoian also farmed. The Iroquoian farms were run by the women and they grew the three sisters, which were corn, beans, and squash.¬¬¬ The Iroquoians were also the first to harvest maple syrup. Indigenous peoples’ way of life varied from tribe to tribe, however, all of them were able to bring back enough food to support