Keywords Native Tribes

Ridge Pole Lodges
These lodges of the subarctic people were quickly assembled with poles covered with bark or skins (artwork by Gordon Miller).

Social System and Early Economy
The Beaver traditionally lived in small nomadic hunting bands of 25-30 people. They came together into larger groups along the Peace River for summer ceremonials, at which they sang, danced and played the hand game, a guessing competition between teams of men. Most food came from hunting large game animals: bison in the prairie country near the Peace River, moose in the muskeg and forests, caribou near the mountains, and bears. Before they obtained firearms from fur traders, hunting was often done by groups of people who surrounded animals. These communal hunts were led by religious leaders or prophets known as "Dreamers."

Beaver children were sent into the bush on vision quests to gain supernatural power from the animals. The introduction of rifles made individual hunters more efficient and led to a decline in game populations, particularly bison, which became extinct in the area by 1900. The Dreamers tried to help their people understand and anticipate the changes brought about by white people. Although most Beaver were once Roman Catholic and many now accept evangelical Protestantism, most also retain their traditional beliefs.

Treaties
The Beaver signed Treaty No 8 in 1899, 1900 and 1910, formalizing their right to live by hunting and trapping (see INDIAN TREATIES). They now live on INDIAN RESERVES in BC and Alberta. Much of their former land is developed for farming and petroleum production, but hunting and trapping are still possible in the northern part of their territory. These activities are important sources of food and income, and help to maintain a sense of identity.

See also NATIVE PEOPLE: SUBARCTIC and general articles under NATIVE PEOPLE.

Author ROBIN RIDINGTON

Suggested Reading
P. Goddard, The Beaver Indians (1917); J. Helm, ed, Handbook of North American Indians, vol 6: Subarctic (1981); R. Ridington, Trail to Heaven: Knowledge and Narrative in a Northern Native Community (1988), Little Bit Know Something: Stories in a Language of Anthropology (1990).

Links to Other Sites
Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples
The website for the "Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples." Click on the links for feature articles about Canada's many multicultural communities, access to their extensive digital archives collection, learning modules, and much more. From "Multicultural Canada."

Languages of Canada
A comprehensive online database of languages currently in use in Canada. Also provides details about extinct languages. Check out the "language maps" for more information. Based on "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition." From SIL International, a US website.