Native American Tribe: Beothuk
European Name: Red Indians
Definitions: no known meaning, suggestions: “the people”, “good people”, “kinship”
Origins: uncertain, some people believe the language of the Beothuk is a branch off of Algonquian (Native American language)
Housing: ✓ lived in wigwams, wigwams are called mamateeks in the Beothuk’s language ✓ wooden houses covered in birch bark ✓ constructed by placing poles in a circular shape, tying them at the very top of the poles, and covering them with the bark ✓ Floors had holes placed around the mamateeks for sleeping areas ✓ Fireplace in the very center ✓ had a variety of storehouses in the villages, looked a lot like European structures ✓ over periods of time, different models of their homes were constructed (i.e. multisided wigwam, using logs instead of poles, placing the earth around the perimeter) ✓ these homes look a lot like teepees
Food sources: ✓ main sources of food were salmon, seals, and caribou ✓ made a pudding out of sap from trees and dried egg yolk ✓ the loss of food access is one of the things that led to the Beothuk extinction ✓ fished with spears ✓ gathered plants along the coast ✓ built large fences driving the caribou towards hunters ✓ held there food in bark containers
Dress:
✓ trapped animals and used there fur for winter clothing ✓ women and girls: wore skirts with a mantle (sleeveless cloak) wrapped over ✓ men and boys: wore breechclout and leggings (for a little cooler weather) ✓ breechclout/breechcloths- a form of loincloth including a strip of material passed between the thighs and held up in front and the back my a string or belt ✓ For warmth: wore long coats that looked like ponchos, mittens, mukluk (a heavier boot ✓ Babies wore carried in the hood of the women’s coats ✓ Shoes: moccasins- a shoe made of soft leather, most likely deerskin,