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The Beothuk
By Dr. Ingeborg Marshall
The
extinction of the Beothuk – at once the most distressing aspect of
their history and the most complex – has often been the focus of
interest in this aboriginal population. But there is more to know about
the Beothuk than their tragic fate. The Beothuk were a proud and independent
people who had successfully adapted to their environment and who flourished
until incursions by other populations deprived them of much of their resource
base. The purpose of this booklet is to a more complete picture.
It starts with an overview of the Beothuk’s position in Newfoundland
prehistory, followed by an outline of their distribution and population
size at the time of first contact with the Europeans, of their social
organization, subsistence strategies and burial practices. With this information
as a basis, attention is focussed on their history. Due to the nature
of the available documentation, it largely centres on the 
development
of relations between the Beothuk and those Europeans who came to fish
or settle in Newfoundland and on the impact of other native groups. Additional
cultural information on such matters as the Beothuk’s appearance
and clothing, their houses and means of transportation, and their language
beliefs are described in the context of reports written by contemporary
observers.
The intent of presenting cultural data in this sequence is to indicate
how little people in fishing communities as well as in government knew
about the traditions of their native neighbours or subjects. This lack
of understanding promoted misperceptions and disregard for the Beothuk
and exacerbated growing suspicion and hostile attitudes. The deterioration
of relations as well as other factors that contributed to the eventual
demise of the Beothuk are discussed as they emerge from the records.
The Beothuk was published by the Newfoundland Historical Society
and edited by Dr. Jim Hiller, History.
