An easternAlgonquion
fomilyof the 1860s,
trovellingin the Quebec
winter by tobogganond
snowshoes.
TheAlgonquians
the Cree,Ojibwa,
Atthetimeof firstcontact,the Algonquians-including
andthe Maliseetand Mi'kmaq(coast)-lived
andOttawa(woodlands),
inthe forestsof the CanadianShield.Calledthe "Peopleof the
mainly
movedaroundin kinshipbandsand lived
NorthWoods,"the Algonquians
inwigwamsmadeof bentwoodenpolesand barkor skins,A wigwam
heldoneor two familiesand couldbe builtveryquicklywith materials
readiV
on the forestfloor.
available
TheAthapaskans
TheAthapaskans-including
the Kutchin,Dogrib,Beaver,Slavey,and
Athapaskan
alsocalledthe Dene.Likethe Algonquians,
Chipewyan-are
people
weresemi-nomadic
huntersandfisherswhosemdn food sources
of the subarctic
werethelargeandsmallgameanimalsof the borealforests
participated
in
Alsolikethe Algonquians,
the Athapaskans
northwest.
furtrading,as wellas in coastalfishing.
inland
languagegroupis distinctfrom Algonquian,
however,
TheAthapaskan
the Athapaskans
andtheirhomelandfar distant,Unlikethe Algonquians,
to dealdirectly
appeartohavebeenamongthe lastAboriginalgroups
part
Thisis in
withEuropeans,
becauseof the structureof Aboriginaltradingalliances,
and in part becauseEuropeansdid not come intoregular,
untilthe expansionof the Hudson's
directcontactwiththe Athaoaskans
BayCompanyand its rival,the NorthWestCompany,inthe late1700s.By
often
1790,
the Chipewyansbeganto tradedirectlywith Europeans,
for higherpricesbetweenthe two rivalfirms.
bartering
alltrade
From1821to 1858,the Hudson'sBayCompanycontrolled
inthesubarcticregion.Duringthisperiod,as theirlandbecameoverhunted,
the Athapaskans
cameto dependmore and more on the
for food and ooods.
Eurooeans
TheMi'kmaq
of
the Maritimes
Speakersof Algonquian
languagesalsolivedfarfrom
the woodlands,as far east,in
fact, as the Atlanticprovinces.
Amongthe easternAlgonquian
speakerswere the Mi'kmaq,
who livedin semi-nomadic
communitiesrangingfrom the
Nova
GasoePeninsulato
Scotiato Newfoundland.
Tradersand middlemen,the
Mi'kmaqwere amongthe first
tribesto tradewiththe French,
withwhom they remained
staunchalliesagainstthe
British.A bountydatedfrom
1756offers25 poundsfrom
"HisMajesty'sGovernment"in
exchangefor a Mi'kmaqscalp,