Introduction to Beothuk People

Outcome: 5.4.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the diverse societies of First Nations and Inuit, in what
later became Canada
Supplies:
(Enough for x partner groups) 51 plain sticks, 3 fletching sticks, 1 king stick, 6 waltes dice (5 marked,1
plain), paper plates (Waltes plate), Waltes instruction paper, Wolastiyik Mikmaq and Beothuk answer game
papers for x students
Refer to PowerPoint Introduction to Beothuk on USB
Introduction:
Introduce Mikmaq game: Waltes
Explain Waltes, rules up on PowerPoint
Actual rules, http://www.cbu.ca/mrc/waltes
Simplified rules,
http://umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum/education/curriculum/waltes-game/
(Slides and Game Slips based on simplified rules)
Special Considerations:
Do any students need extra
help understanding the
rules?
Main Lesson:
Introduce Beothuk (Be-o-thik) people, p. 80 in Exploring the Past
Get loose leaf and pencil to answer power point questions
If these people no longer exist how do we know these things about them?
Introduce Shanawdithit
She was one of the last of the Beothuk people, died in 1829 185 years ago, she
was a maid for an Englishman that came to Canada and she shared the little
information we have about the Beothuk people with him, she did some drawings
that I will show you
What do you think this is a picture of? MAMATEEK houses birch bark, moss,
animal skins, what kind of house does this look like we have learned about
before?
What can this picture tell us? Full length spears for hunting deer or seals, made
of wood and sharpened bone, storehouse or drying house, beaver skin clothing,
deer skin robe and leggings with bone ornaments, birch bark dishes, cutlery
and buckets, skilled with sharp tools of CHERT, AMINA long spear for
caribou, short spear for fish, WEIRS to guide fish into a pool
What is migration? Why did Beothuk people migrate? What do you think they
ate? What else could they use animal skins and certain plants for? An
understanding of the environment, migrated between coastal areas and inland
depending on season, plants and berries stored for winter, birds, caribou, seals,
fish hunted and stored, their canoes had a KEELSON which helped keep them
stable, canoes were made of caribou skin, snowshoes

A video about Shawnadithit and the Beothuk people
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBHC-IGLgUg Canada a peoples history,
episode 1
6:00 9:30, 50:30 53:50
Why is it important to keep cultures alive?
Closing:
Compare to Mikmaq, Beothuk and Wolastoqiyik communities
3 cards each with a name of one of the three First Nations community that we
have been learning about
Ask questions and students are to hold up the card with the name of the
people(s) with the best answer
Who lived in wigwams? (Can anyone tell me what the wigwams were
made of?) Who travelled using birch bark canoes? Which people no
longer exist? Who lived in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Gaspe
Peninsula? Who used eel skin for medicine? Who lived in
Newfoundland? Who build dwellings with birch bark? Who used this to
travel? (Show canoe) Who lived in this part of the country? (Show map
with circle on Maritimes) Who used these to travel? (Show picture of
snow shoes) Who is from India? Who ate this? (Show picture of
luskinikn)
Extensions:
What similarities do the Beothuk people have with the Mikmaq and
Wolastiqiyik people?

WALTES
Each turn begins with the dice flat/decorated side facing down
Each player takes three turns dropping the dice
Players raises and lowers the plate quickly to flip the dice
For each die that lands with its decorated side up, the player is awarded a
wooden counting stick
After a player has completed his or her three throws, the dice are passed to
the next player
If all four tabbed sticks are claimed by a single player, that player receives
four additional round counting sticks as a bonus
The game continues until all the wooden counters are claimed
Each player counts his or her sticks; Each plain stick counts as 1; the plain
tabbed sticks count as 5; and the green, sparkly tabbed stick counts as 6; the
player with the highest score wins

If 1 dice with decorated side up = 1 plain stick/1 point
If 2 dice with decorated side up = 2 plain sticks/2 points
If 3 = 3 plain sticks/points
If 4 = 4 plain sticks/4 points
If 5 = 1 stick with tab
If 6 = stick with green, sparkly tab

Beothuk (Be-o-thik)
Wolastoqiyik
(w-lahs-t-gwee-eeg)
Mikmaq(meeg-em-ach)