Map One - Regional Approach

Sub-Arctic

The Sub-Arctic region stretches east to west and is divided by the Canadian Shield and the northern Arctic regions. The taiga of the southern Sub-Arctic region consists primarily of coniferous forest of spruce and fir, with areas of tamarack, poplar, alder, larch, cottonwood, and willow. The taiga is interspersed by Lichen Woodland of spruce, birch alder, and fir. Plateau landscapes are flat to rolling lowlands interspersed with bog marsh and muskeg areas. The mountains of the western terrain are rugged highlands, while the northern areas are rugged plains of Precambrian rock and timberless. Snow cover is prevalent from October to April, when the ice breaks in May and June. Due to its far northern location, summer days in the Sub-Arctic are characterised by twenty-four hours of daylight.

The Sub-Arctic region has a low population density in relation to the vast territory it encompasses. Athapaskan groups occupied western areas, and Algonquian are associated with the eastern areas.

The nomadic lifeway of the Sub-Arctic populations was based upon seasonal hunting and gathering practices. Local and regional bands of twenty to thirty people had large ranges of mobility, which was vital for survival. The organisation of bands was determined by food procurement. Larger population gatherings occurred only when specific tasks, such as the caribou hunt, were carried out. Gathering practices provided the primary food sources. Edible berries, Labrador tea, wild roses, and fireweed are the most abundant in the Sub-Arctic region. Migratory waterfowl, eggs, small game, fish, fruit, and vegetables also contributed to a diverse diet.

Each seasonal encampment required appropriate dwellings. Skin or bark-covered tipi structures were used for summer communal encampments for hunting bands of one hundred people, and were often located by good fishing sites. Winter hunting bands consisted of twenty-five people related by familial ties or marriage. In winter, the hunters and their families hauled their possessions on toboggans or built-up basket sleds. These were made of green birch wood, which was steamed and bent at the ends before drying. The planks were lashed side by side and turned up at the front.

The autumn caribou hunt was a communal effort. Hunters beat sticks or blew whistles and herded the caribou into surrounds or corrals of tree trunks and brush, where the animals were ambushed and speared at close range. This act of enclosing the caribou was a precursor to a form of animal domestication. The Sub-Arctic peoples displayed their understanding of animal behaviour in the way they hunted for moose. The hunt involved luring the moose closer by imitating the male moose call using a birch bark tube. Another tactic was to rub a large bone or piece of antler against a tree trunk in imitation of the male moose marking its territory. The male moose would respond by defending its territory, and the hunter was then able to kill the animal with bow and arrow. During the late winter, hunters were able to hunt moose and caribou by wearing snowshoes, which enabled them to travel easily over snow and ice. The moose and caribou, on the other hand, became mired in deep snow and this allowed the hunter to get close enough for the kill. Hunters used similar methods to catch the wood buffalo, which ranged the lands west of Great Slave Lake and in the valleys of the southern tributaries of the Liard River. Wood buffalo were driven into bogs where they could be more easily killed. Big horned sheep and bears were hunted in the mountainous regions. The meat from both of these animals was prized as a delicacy. Large game meat was dry-roasted or stone-boiled in bark containers and root baskets. A single caribou might yield forty-four to sixty kilograms of meat, while a large beaver provided seventeen kilograms of meat. Small game, such as the beaver or muskrat, was a secondary source of meat. Snaring of animals in the winter was based upon the same method of slowing the animal in deep snow and spearing it at close range.

A wide variety of bows and arrows were used for hunting throughout the Sub-Arctic region. Around Great Bear Lake, the Hare, Yellowknife, and Dogrib used bows of dried willow, about one and a half metres long. With a shaft about as thick as the little finger, the arrow was feathered on one end and tipped with sharpened bone, stone, or copper on the other. Blunt arrows were designed to stun game like ptarmigan or grouse.

Fishing weir technology existed in the Sub-Arctic region. Woven wood fish traps were placed in rivers and streams for annual fish harvests. Spear fishing in winter involved boring holes through the ice. For spears, fishermen used pointed sticks of birch, with a strong double hook, or sharpened bone with a row of barbs or beaver teeth attached. Fishing hooks were made of wood, bone, antlers, and claws. Sharpened goose bones or jawbones of large fish were also very effective when baited with minnows. The ocean was another source of food. Sea mammals, such as beluga, walrus, and seals, were hunted on the open ocean with kayaks.