BEOTHUK

extinct American Indian tribe of hunters and gatherers that resided on the island of Newfoundland; their language, Beothukan, may be related to Algonkian, but some authorities believe it to have been an independent language. When discovered by John Cabot in 1497 the tribe probably numbered no more than 500 persons; in the succeeding centuries the Beothuk were decimated by Europeans and by Micmac hunters crossing from Nova Scotia. A few survivors may have escaped to Labrador to intermarry with the Montagnais, but the last known Beothuk, Nancy Shawanahdit, died in 1829. Little is known of Beothuk culture. The people were apparently divided into small bands of a few related families, each band having its own leader. Their skill as canoeists was noted by many early writers; they speared seals with primitive harpoons and fished for salmon and shellfish. Equally at home in the woods, they tracked deer with bow and arrow. Birch bark was used to make cooking vessels and wigwams. They smeared red ochre on their skin, apparently for both religious reasons and protection against insects; this habit is thought to be the source of the European reference to Red Indians.