Subarctic

Subarctic

The Subarctic region of Canada has an area of 5 million km^2, ¾ of it is on the Canadian Shield. Temperatures reaches -40C in winter to +30C in summer. It is the most spread out location in Canada because it only has a population of 60,000. Is is inhabited by the Dene, Carrier and Cree peoples as well as Inland Tlingit.

Obtaining food is hard. They will hunt, fish trap and gather wild plants such as wildberries. They hunt moose, caribou, hare, musk oxen, bear and elk. They also eat Pemmican which is a mix of animal meat and grease and berries. This type of food can be preserved for years. It is also high-energy food.

image from:

http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_subarctic4.html

 

The Subarctic People live in many types of houses; nevertheless, they are all simple and easy to move. Dene group live in tipis which are made of whale bones. The bones are covered with animal hides which preserves heat. Since they are semi nomadic, some houses have a foundation. For example, here is pit houses.

This is an image of a pit house.

image from:

http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_subarctic4.html

Nanabush and Wishkecahk are heroic and trickster figures of the Algonquian clan. The Gwinch’in people believed in animal spirits such as “The Raven” who is a trickster.

image from:

http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_subarctic4.html

 

The key transportation method of the Subarctic people is walking. Their lives depend on their ability to travel long distances. Snowshoes are important tools for winter. Dog sleds are rarely used in the Subarctic.

The Subarctic people live in bands consisting of 25-30 people. In the spring, they travel to streams or rivers to catch fish. They have to pack light. During winter, they have left rivers in order to hunt caribous and so on.