Misplaced Pages

#472527

51-613: The university's teams were originally named the Beothuks , after the original inhabitants of Newfoundland, but was changed in 1990 when that name was deemed inappropriate. This Canadian university, college, or tertiary institution–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Newfoundland and Labrador -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Beothuk The Beothuk ( / b iː ˈ ɒ t ə k / or / ˈ b eɪ . ə θ ʊ k / ; also spelled Beothuck ) were

102-424: A 2011 analysis showed although the two Beothuk and living Mi'kmaq occur in the same haplogroups , SNP differences between Beothuk and Mi'kmaq individuals indicate they were dissimilar within those groups, and a 'close-relationship' theory was not supported. Burial tree A burial tree or burial scaffold is a tree or simple structure used for supporting corpses or coffins . They were once common among

153-521: A fork of the tree or tied to a heavy branch. Both grown persons and small children were laid to rest in this way. A burial tree could carry more than one dead. Maximilian zu Wied saw burial trees with red painted trunk and branches among the Assiniboine Indians. It seems any tree was proper. Cottonwood is mentioned by travelers on the great plains, as well as pine and cedar. The dead could be placed from around six feet up in

204-407: A group of Indigenous people of Canada who lived on the island of Newfoundland . The Beothuk culture formed around 1500 CE. This may have been the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples who first migrated from Labrador to present-day Newfoundland around 1 CE. The ancestors of this group had three earlier cultural phases, each lasting approximately 500 years. The Beothuk lived throughout

255-452: A scaffold put up near Fort Laramie in 1866. The heads and tails of her two ponies were fastened to respectively the eastern and the western poles. Among the Crow , the dead was wrapped in a robe and placed on the bier with the feet to the east. Much later, the bones could be collected and placed in a rock gap. The Mandan Indians positioned the dead body on the scaffold with the feet to

306-549: The Aboriginal Tasmanians , and that the government's knowledge of such violence while not actively preventing and stopping it implies a tacit approval of the violence. Adhikari collects various accounts of mass violence conducted by Europeans against the Beothuk, the most infamous of which is a raid that occurred in winter 1789. This was led by John Peyton Sr. , who was involved in many acts of violence against

357-647: The Balinese , the Naga people , certain Aboriginal Australians , and the Sioux and other North American First Nations . A number of Native Americans used a burial tree as either a final or intermediate resting place for a dead relative, either as the general rule (along with a scaffold) or as an alternative to a grave. The corpse was wrapped up carefully in a robe or blankets and either placed in

408-612: The Palaeo-Eskimo period, down to the Recent Indigenous (including the Beothuk) occupation. Two of the sites are associated with the historical Beothuk. Boyd's Cove, the larger of the two, is 3,000 m (32,000 sq ft) and is on top of a 6 m (20 ft) glacial moraine . The coarse sand, gravel, and boulders were left behind by glaciers . The artifacts provide answers to an economic question: why did

459-529: The 18th century, the Choctaw placed the dead on a scaffold as a first step in a burial process. Months later, bone pickers stripped the flesh from the bones. The skeleton was then cleaned and piece by piece put in a sort of small coffin and lastly placed in the Indian city's special bone house. The personal effects of an Indian woman were laid with her in an open pine box (likely made by a carpenter) situated on

510-568: The American anthropologist Frank Speck . He was conducting field studies in the area. She said her father taught her the song. Since Santu Toney was born about 1835, this may be evidence some Beothuk people survived beyond the death of Shanawdithit in 1829. Contemporary researchers tried to transcribe the song, as well as improve the recording by current methods. Native groups learned the song to use in celebrations of tradition. Scholars disagree in their definition of " genocide " in relation to

561-470: The Beothuk avoid Europeans? The interiors of four houses and their environs produced some 1,157 nails , the majority of which were forged by the Beothuk. The site's occupants manufactured some sixty-seven projectile points (most made from nails and bones). They modified nails to use as what are believed to be scrapers to remove fat from animal hides, they straightened fish hooks and adapted them as awls, they fashioned lead into ornaments, and so on. In summary,

SECTION 10

#1732788125473

612-748: 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. During the colonial period, the Beothuk people allegedly endured territorial pressure from other Indigenous groups: Mi'kmaq migrants from Cape Breton Island , and Inuit from Labrador. "The Beothuk were unable to procure sufficient subsistence within

663-473: The Beothuk. Peyton along with two others fired upon a band of 50 Beothuk with buckshot, killing many while injuring all others, beyond some injured individuals who were physically beaten to death after being shot, any others were left to die from their injuries or freeze to death. Several Beothuk were captured by settlers from the Newfoundland Colony during the early 19th century. Demasduit

714-625: The Beothuk. While some scholars believe that the Beothuk died out as an unintended consequence of European colonization, others argue that Europeans conducted a sustained campaign of genocide against them, including historian Mohamed Adhikari , legal scholar Sydney Harring, and professor of peace and conflict studies Paul Cormier. If such a campaign did occur, it was explicitly without official sanction after 1759, any such action thereafter being in violation of Governor John Byron 's proclamation that " I do strictly enjoin and require all His Majesty's subjects to live in amity and brotherly kindness with

765-541: The Beothuk. Examples included expeditions by naval lieutenants George Cartwright in 1768 and David Buchan in 1811. Cartwright's expedition was commissioned by Governor Hugh Palliser; he found no Beothuk, but brought back important cultural information. Governor John Duckworth commissioned Buchan's expedition. Although undertaken for information gathering, this expedition ended in violence. Buchan's party encountered several Beothuk near Beothuk Lake . After an initially friendly reception, Buchan left two of his men behind with

816-808: The Beothuk. The next day, he found them murdered and mutilated. According to the Beothuk Shanawdithit's later account, the marines were killed when one refused to give up his jacket and both ran away. The Beothuks avoided Europeans in Newfoundland by moving inland from their traditional settlements. First, they emigrated to different coastal areas of Newfoundland, places the Europeans did not have fish-camps, but they were over-run. Then, they emigrated to inland Newfoundland. The Beothuks' main food sources were caribou, fish, and seals; their forced displacement deprived them of two of these. This led to

867-542: The Boyd's Cove Beothuk took debris from an early modern European fishery and fashioned materials. Source: Groswater Palaeoeskimo Dorset Paleoeskimo Recent All Beothuk sites of note are in coastal areas, implying that prior to European settlement most Indigenous settlements were along the coast. This adds evidence to the claim that the Beothuk were cut off from their food sources which led to many of them starving to death as they were pushed inland. Many sites consist of

918-562: The European fishermen who had dried and cured their catch before taking it to Europe at the end of the season. Contact between Europeans and the Beothuk was usually negative for one side, with a few exceptions like John Guy 's party in 1612. Settlers and the Beothuk competed for natural resources such as salmon, seals, and birds. In the interior, fur trappers established traplines, disrupted the caribou hunts, and ransacked Beothuk stores, camps, and supplies. The Beothuk would steal traps to reuse

969-639: The anthropological definition of the word. 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 made at the centre. During spring, the Beothuk used red ochre to paint not only their bodies but also their houses, canoes , weapons, household appliances, and musical instruments. This practice led Europeans to refer to them as "Red Indians". The use of ochre had great cultural significance. The decorating

1020-469: The areas left to them." It has been alleged that French bounties induced the Mi'kmaq to kill Beothuk. This is, however, disputed by most historians and has since come to be known as the "Mercenary Myth". Beothuk numbers dwindled rapidly due to a combination of factors, including: By 1829, with the death of Shanawdithit, the people were declared extinct. Oral histories suggest a few Beothuk survived around

1071-487: The barbarous system of killing prevails amongst our people towards the Native Indians — whom our People always kill, when they can meet them ". Adhikari comments how the intentional nature of the destructive violence from colonizers is part of the evidence that makes this a case of genocide. Harring draws parallels between the genocidal violence inflicted upon the Beothuk and the genocidal violence inflicted upon

SECTION 20

#1732788125473

1122-499: 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 laid 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. About 1000 CE, Norse explorers led by Leif Erikson encountered Indigenous people in northern Newfoundland, who may have been ancestors of

1173-430: The fall, they set up deer fences, sometimes 30–40 miles (48–64 km) long, used to drive migrating caribou toward waiting hunters armed with bows and arrows. 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 . They preserved surplus food for use during winter, trapped various fur-bearing animals, and worked their skins for warm clothing. The fur side

1224-588: The home of John Peyton Jr. as a servant. The explorer William Cormack founded the Beothuk Institute in 1827 to foster friendly dealings with the Beothuk and support their culture. His expeditions found Beothuk artifacts but he also learned the society was dying out. Learning of Shanawdithit, in the winter 1828–1829, Cormack brought her to his centre so he could learn from her. He drew funds from his institute to pay for her support. Shanawdithit made ten drawings for Cormack, some of which showed parts of

1275-545: The island of Newfoundland, mostly in the Notre Dame and Bonavista Bay areas. Estimates of the Beothuk population at the time of contact with Europeans vary. Historian of the Beothuk Ingeborg Marshall argued that European historical records of Beothuk history are clouded by ethnocentrism and unreliable. Scholars from the 19th and early 20th century estimated about 2,000 Beothuk individuals lived at

1326-497: The island, and others illustrated Beothuk implements and dwellings, along with Beothuk notions and myths. As she explained her drawings, she taught Cormack Beothuk vocabulary. She told him there were far fewer Beothuk than twenty years previously. To her knowledge, at the time she was taken, only a dozen Beothuk survived. Despite medical care from the doctor William Carson , Shanawdithit died of tuberculosis in St. John's on June 6, 1829. At

1377-516: The last half of the 18th and early part of the 19th century. Previous archaeological surveys and amateur finds indicate it was likely the Beothuk lived in the area prior to European encounter. Eastern Notre Dame Bay is rich in animal and fish life: seals, fish, and seabirds, and its hinterland supported large caribou herds. Archaeologists found sixteen Indigenous sites, ranging in age from the Maritime Archaic era (7000 BC – modern) through

1428-649: The later Beothuk, or Dorset inhabitants of Labrador and Newfoundland. The Norse called them skrælingjar ("skraelings"). Beginning in 1497, with the arrival of the Italian explorer John Cabot , sailing under the auspices of King Henry VII , waves of European explorers and settlers had more contacts. Unlike some other Indigenous groups, the Beothuk tried to avoid contact with Europeans; they moved inland as European settlements grew. The Beothuk visited their former camps only to pick up metal objects. They would also collect any tools, shelters, and building materials left by

1479-422: The metals, and steal from the homes and shelters of European settlers and sometimes ambush them. 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 Native American peoples, the Beothuk appeared to have had no interest in adopting firearms.) Intermittently, Europeans attempted to improve relations with

1530-427: The month she was taken. Government agents took her to St. John's, Newfoundland . The colonial government hoped to make Demasduit comfortable while she was living in the colony so she might be a bridge between them and the Beothuk. Demasduit learned some English , and taught the settlers about 200 words of the Beothuk language. In January 1820, Demasduit was released to rejoin her people, but she died of tuberculosis on

1581-469: The native savages [Beothuk] of the said island of Newfoundland ", as well as the subsequent Proclamation issued by Governor John Holloway on July 30, 1807, which prohibited mistreatment of the Beothuk and offered a reward for any information on such mistreatment. Such proclamations seemed to have little effect, as writing in 1766, Governor Hugh Palliser reported to the British secretary of state that "

Memorial Sea-Hawks - Misplaced Pages Continue

1632-411: The over-hunting of caribou, leading to a decrease in the caribou population in Newfoundland. The Beothuks emigrated from their traditional land and lifestyle into ecosystems unable to support them, causing under-nourishment and, eventually, starvation. 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. Information about

1683-526: The people could not be answered because few record-keeping Europeans contacted the Beothuk. By contrast, peoples such as the Huron or the Mi'kmaq interacted with the French missionaries , who studied and taught them and had extensive trade with French, Dutch, and English merchants - all of whom made records of their encounters. There are references that document Beothuk presence in the region of Notre Dame Bay in

1734-401: The platform or around the scaffold. The poles reached "a mans height above ground" (six to eight feet). An extraordinarily high scaffold carried the corpse of a Sisseton Sioux an estimated 18 feet above the ground. One scaffold described had poles painted black and red in horizontal stripes. An 1849 Nebraska traveler saw a scaffold made of lodge poles rested against each other at

1785-400: The post office and then subsequently lost. Additionally all images of this were subsequently lost once again due to neglect leaving nothing but first hand accounts to even confirm the existence of the remains and artifacts, leaving them entirely to the public imagination. Other accounts confirm that this is fairly normal for Beothuk remains. In 2007, DNA testing was conducted on material from

1836-478: The region of the Exploits River , Twillingate , Newfoundland and Labrador; and formed unions with European colonists, Inuit and Mi'kmaq. Some families from Twillingate claim descent from the Beothuk people of the early 19th century. In 1910, a 75-year-old Indigenous woman named Santu Toney claimed she was the daughter of a Mi'kmaq mother and a Beothuk father. She recorded a song in the Beothuk language for

1887-489: The remains are now lost and unable to be verified. A prime example of this is a picture of what was said to be a mummified Beothuk child, which was lost by the Newfoundland Museum that it was held in due to the fact that the museum shared a building with a post office. In the early 1900s the child's remains, as well as the remains of an adult Beothuk and a number of other Beothuk artifacts, were put in storage by

1938-704: The same elements because they are all former occupational sites. These sites show a variety of material culture based on what period they are from however most contain the remains of animals, remainders of permanent and semipermanent structures such as remains of fire pits and sleeping hollows. Several sites, such as Sampson's Head Cove, had wooden and bone tools as well as stone arrowheads. There have also been instances of stone jewelry found at residential sites. Several people have claimed to have uncovered Beothuk burials; however, these are not substantiated by much evidence of this. Additionally, many cases of Beothuk remains may have been true at one point but because of mishandling

1989-489: The society and hence placed in trees (or buried) away from the common burial ground outside the village. During winter, the Ponca Indians would often substitute a grave with a scaffold because the ground was frozen. A Lakota summed up the reasons why a high scaffold outdid a grave, "(1) Animals or persons might walk over the graves; (2) the dead might lie in mud and water after rain or snow; (3) wolves might dig up

2040-470: The southeast, so the spirit was directed to the old Mandan country around Heart River , North Dakota . With the scaffold rotten and on the ground, the bones were wrapped in a hide and buried in the refuse at the Mandan village or in a riverbank. The skull would be placed among other clan skulls arranged in circles on the ground near the scaffolds. Newborns, who died unnamed, were not considered members of

2091-435: The teeth of Demasduit and her husband Nonosabasut , two Beothuk individuals buried in the 1820s. The results assigned them to Haplogroup X (mtDNA) and Haplogroup C (mtDNA) , respectively, which are also found in current Mi'kmaq populations in Newfoundland. DNA research indicates they were solely of First Nation Indigenous maternal ancestry, unlike some earlier studies suggesting an Indigenous/European hybrid. However,

Memorial Sea-Hawks - Misplaced Pages Continue

2142-454: The time of European contact in the 15th century; however, there may have been no more than 500 to 700 people. Based on the carrying capacity of the ecosystem at the time of contact the population is estimated to have been between 1,000 and 1,500. They lived in independent, self-sufficient, extended family groups of 30 to 55 people. Like many other hunter-gatherers , they appear to have had band leaders but probably not more formal chiefs, in

2193-618: The time, there was no European cure for the disease. The area around eastern Notre Dame Bay, on the northeast coast of Newfoundland, contains numerous archeological sites containing material from Indigenous cultures. One of these is the Boyd's Cove site. At the foot of a bay, it 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 to study their artifacts for insight into Beothuk culture. Records and information were limited, therefore some questions about

2244-458: The top and with two biers halfway down. An Ojibwe man would get his arms and other personal effects with him on the scaffold along with food, eating utensils and tobacco . This practice may have been used only as a temporary solution when death occurred far from the common burial ground with graves and markers. Birch bark served as an option to a body wrapping of skin among the Ojibwe. In

2295-403: The tree to close to the top. Some of the belongings of the deceased were often placed near the corpse. A burial scaffold was usually made of four upright poles or branches, forked at the top. This foundation carried a sort of bier, where the dead body was laid to rest out of reach of wolves. The preferred location was on a hill. Relatives would often place some of the belongings of the dead on

2346-514: The voyage to Notre Dame Bay. Shanawdithit was Demasduit's niece and the last known full-blooded Beothuk. In April 1823, she was in her early twenties. She, her mother, and sister sought food and help from a white trapper , as they were starving. The three were taken to St. John's, but her mother and sister died of tuberculosis, an epidemic among the First Nations . Called Nancy April by the settlers, Shanawdithit lived for several years in

2397-590: Was a Beothuk woman, about 23 years old at the time she was captured by a party led by the fisherman John Peyton Sr. near Beothuk Lake in March 1819. The governor of the Newfoundland Colony was seeking to encourage trade and end hostilities with the Beothuk. He approved an expedition, to be led by the Scottish explorer David Buchan , to recover a boat and other fishing gear foraged by the Beothuk. Buchan

2448-512: Was a nursing mother with child. Her husband, Nonosabasut , confronted Peyton Sr. and his party, attempting to negotiate for the release of his wife. Peyton Sr. refused and a scuffle broke out between him and Nonosabasut, resulting in the death of the latter. Peyton Sr. and his party took Demasduit to Twillingate, with her baby dying before they reached the settlement. The settlers at the Newfound Colony named Demasduit Mary March after

2499-419: Was accompanied by two soldiers; the Beothuk mistakenly thought Buchan had hostile intentions and killed and decapitated the soldiers accompanying him. In 1819, an armed party led by Peyton Sr, totaling about nine men (including Peyton Jr.), came upon a Beothuk camp looking for stolen fishing gear. The Beothuk scattered, although Demasduit was unable to escape and begged for mercy, exposing her breasts to show she

2550-423: 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. Their main food 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

2601-424: Was worn next to the skin, to trap air against a person's body. Beothuk canoes were made of caribou or seal skin, and the bows of canoes were stiffened with spruce bark. Canoes resembled kayaks and were said to be fifteen feet (4.57 m) in length and two and a half feet (0.76 m) in width with enough room to carry children, dogs, and property. The Beothuk followed elaborate burial practices. After wrapping

SECTION 50

#1732788125473
#472527