Overview of the Subarctic

The phrase Subarctic People refers to those native peoples living in the Subarctic Culture Area. The Subarctic Culture Area is territory stretching across northern latitudes from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It covers a vast region, including most of Alaska's and Canada's interior.

What is termed the Northern Forest, filled mostly with evergreen trees - pine, spruce and fir, with some birch, aspen and willow as well - grows in the Subarctic. This kind of northern forest is called taiga. Since there is relatively little topsoil for deep root systems, the trees of the taiga are generally scraggy and short. The northern edge of the taiga borders the treeless tundra of the Far North.

The Northern Forest is broken up by a network of inland waterways. Some of the largest lakes are the Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake and Lake Winnipeg. Some of the largest rivers are the Yukon, Mackenzie, Peace, Saskatchewan, Red River of the North and La Grande. There are thousands of smaller lakes and rivers, plus many ponds, streams and swamps. In the western part of the Subarctic, the rolling taiga and swamplands give way to highlands - the northern part of the Rocky Mountain chain, the Yukon Plateau, and the British Columbia Plateau.

The Subarctic is home to abundant wildlife. Large mammals include caribou, moose, musk oxen, bear, and deer. Small mammals include beaver, mink, otter, porcupine, rabbits and squirrels. Moreover, there are many species of birds, especially waterfowl and fish.

The People of the Subarctic were nomadic hunters-gatherers who traveled in small bands. The most common type of house was a small cone-shaped tent covered with animal hides. Lean-tos of brush and leaves were also fairly common, especially in the western part.

There were two main groups of native peoples in the Subarctic, the Athapascan-speaking peoples to the west and the Algonquian-speaking peoples to the east. The Churchill River, flowing northeastward into Hudson Bay, divided the peoples of these two different language families. Among the Athapascans are the Carrier, Chipewyan, and Kutchin; among the Algonquians are the Cree, Montagnais and Naskapi. Some of the Algonquians speaking Chippewa bands are considered as part of the Subarctic Culture Areas; others are classified within the Northeast Culture Area. The only tribe of the Subarctic Culture Area whose people did not speak either dialect was the Beothuk tribe of Newfoundland. They spoke a unique language called Beothukan.