The Athapaskans are a very challenging Aboriginal Tribe to cover. Because they lived in the harsh, cold environment, literally all evidence has almost been eliminated over past years.
Nonetheless, the Athapaskan speaking individuals resided throughout the northern regions of the four Prairie provinces, as well as across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
It is imperative to fully understand how such a society lived in the unforgiving Northern climate to comprehend the survival skills this tribe had.
Athapaskan Life
To live off of such a harmful environment, the Athapaskans had to rely on hunting local resources. Though these resources may seem limited to some, it was actually quite the opposite. With experience, the Athapaskan people were able to hunt, gather, and catch food simply. They ate a variety of foods including:
- Fish
- Trees
- Berries
- Caribou
- Small game animals
Many of these same foods were hunted or gathered by the Tsimshian tribe to the south west. It is important to take note that extensive co-operation was needed amongst the Athapaskan people to survive such conditions.
Though the Aboriginal Tribe lived in groups of twenty to thirty related individuals, these groups co-operated with each other to ensure each had enough food and shelter to survive.
For instance, if a group was experiencing food shortages, they could count on another group with a surplus of food to allow them to hunt in their area.
Additionally, work within the groups had to be fully co-operational. While tasks were sex-segregated, both men and women appreciated the work done by the other gender.
Women focused on catching small game animals and making clothing for the families. They also had primary responsibility for raising children.
Men on the other hand, were responsible for hunting large animals and ensuring adequate shelter was available at all times.
Athapaskan Spiritual Beliefs
The Athapaskan of the North also had distinctively different ideas about religion and spirituality from the other tribes. These individuals had a vast amount of respect for the animals of the world, much like the Iroquois did.
The Athapaskan tribe believed that animals, like the Crow or Bear, once had the ability to think and act as humans did. They could walk like humans, observe social events and provide insight on them, and survive the harsh climate surrounding them.
There is a theory of this belief, and a mythology to describe it, that was passed down from one generation to the next. The main essence of this story was that humans should try their hardest to understand the animals of the world.
They should learn how to treat them, how to care for them, and how to live amongst them. It is for this reason that the Athapaskan people had an astronomical amount of respect for the animals of the world.
Thriving First Nations: The Northern and Pacific Coast Athapaskan Tribe
The Athapaskans knew that the only way they would be able to survive the harsh winter is through co-operative measures. They worked together to form strong shelters, and could always count on each other in the event food shortages occurred. The key note about this Aboriginal Tribe is the fact that it had advanced survival and co-operative skills unmatched by the others.
Source:
Conrad, Margaret and Alvin Finkel. History of the Canadian Peoples: Volume 1: Beginnings to 1867. Toronto: Pearson Longman, 2009.
Curtis Nash - Curtis has been writing for over three years, but only professionally for one. He started with various Freelance websites and slowly ...
