THE EARLY FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES OF EASTERN CANADA

THE EARLY FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES OF EASTERN CANADA

GUIDED INQUIRY QUESTION • Who were the early First Nations peoples of Eastern Canada • Learning Goals: • 1. We are learning about various First Nations living in Eastern Canada before they had contact with European settlers. • 2. We are learning to create maps and look at maps showing original settlement locations of First nations peoples.

INTRODUCTION • First Nations peoples of the past depended on the environment to survive • The climate, vegetation and natural resources of the land determined the ways they survived • Let’s take a look at some of the major groups of First Nation peoples

ABORIGINAL REGIONS

EASTERN WOODLANDS PEOPLES • Lived on land near Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River, Atlantic coast and the Ohio River • Rolling hills and valleys of this region covered in hardwood forests and included many lakes, rivers and streams • Climate was warm in summer, cold in winter • Some people included Alqonguin-speaking nations such as Mi’kmaq, Odawa, Algonquin, Ojibwa and Wiskarini • Also Iroquoian-speaking farmers who grew corn, beans and squash and hunting (e. g. , Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, Erie, Wendat, Petun, etc. )

EASTERN SUBARCTIC PEOPLES • Lived in boreal forests of Easter Subarctic • Forested area from east coast of newfoundland to north-central area of Saskatchewan • Climate: simmers were warm and dry, while winters were long, cold and snowy • Forests were home to Moose, elk, deer, rabbits and caribou (animals would move with seasons, people would follow) • Included Cree, Ojibwa, Beothuk and Innu

ARCTIC PEOPLES • Lived on flat, treeless land in northernmost regions of Canada (islands of Arctic Ocean) • In some places, ground is frozen all year • People where hunters who used every natural resource to survive • People included Labrador, Hudson Bay and Baffin Island Inuit east of Hudson Bay