Geography
The Subarctic culture region spans across an area of parts of 7 provinces and 2 territories of Canada, taking up most of the Alaskan and Canadian interior. It extends from the Cook Inlet on the Pacific Coast in the west to Newfoundland in the east. Its northern boundaries are set at the tree line just beneath the Arctic Circle and stretch to southern Canada in the south. Its summers are short but sunny, and life is abundant in the season. The winters, however, are long and cold, and the climate and
environment create harsh conditions to live in.
The land is mostly rocky soil. In the winter, the ground is covered with snow, and permafrost also exists on the earth. Any kind of agricultural development is next to impossible in such conditions, and only naturally growing trees and plants can provide the people living there with some food to gather. The regions and their features are different and diverse throughout the Subarctic area, as it does cover a considerable amount of land over most of Canada. The east is generally more flat and rolling landscape, while the western half contains hills and even steep mountains in the Rocky Mountains. Animals in the areas continued migrating over the year, which allowed the people to follow them by season, to rivers in the spring and back in the fall.
environment create harsh conditions to live in.
The land is mostly rocky soil. In the winter, the ground is covered with snow, and permafrost also exists on the earth. Any kind of agricultural development is next to impossible in such conditions, and only naturally growing trees and plants can provide the people living there with some food to gather. The regions and their features are different and diverse throughout the Subarctic area, as it does cover a considerable amount of land over most of Canada. The east is generally more flat and rolling landscape, while the western half contains hills and even steep mountains in the Rocky Mountains. Animals in the areas continued migrating over the year, which allowed the people to follow them by season, to rivers in the spring and back in the fall.
Travel
Wooden toboggans, originally used by the Innu.
Due to the geography of the area, the people of the Subarctic chose unique ways of travel to get through the difficult features of the land. They utilized special tools and equipment to continue in their lifestyle of pursuing animals and their prey throughout their patterns of migration. The snow-covered ground was traversed on using snowshoes, which were wide, flat, but light shoes of bent spruce or pine frames that allowed wearers to walk above the snow. When carrying loads and baggage, such as during a moving of camps, the items and tools were carried on a toboggan, which was a Subarctic sled. The regular sled was not used because the sled runner would keep sinking into the snow.
Snowshoes prevented travellers from sinking under the snow.
Toboggans were often pulled by dogs for maximum speed. They could carry almost anything, from food and supplies to the old and sick. The pack was supported by forehead tumplines, and people would keep talking to them to keep them steadily going. In areas where food was scarce and feeding dogs was a problem, people personally pushed or pulled toboggans. Both men and women were capable of doing this job.
Sledges were used for more heavy-duty tasks, such as carrying household items and tents for houses. When crossing a river in the spring seasons, canoes were suitable, as they were watertight but maneuverable over rough seas, lakes, or white-water rapids. Made of saplings or bent wood frames, with caribou hides or birchbark as covers, these canoes were lightweight so that they could be carried over land in between water bodies without any problem. Men carried spruce gum and bark around when they were in the middle of transportation because they could be used to mend and repair damage done to the canoes, and many afternoons were spent fixing the boats.
Sledges were used for more heavy-duty tasks, such as carrying household items and tents for houses. When crossing a river in the spring seasons, canoes were suitable, as they were watertight but maneuverable over rough seas, lakes, or white-water rapids. Made of saplings or bent wood frames, with caribou hides or birchbark as covers, these canoes were lightweight so that they could be carried over land in between water bodies without any problem. Men carried spruce gum and bark around when they were in the middle of transportation because they could be used to mend and repair damage done to the canoes, and many afternoons were spent fixing the boats.
Innu people crafting canoes.
Natives that travelled left tools or food behind in caches, or storages. That way, people who came after them or even themselves when they returned had emergency supplies. The storages were placed high up in the trees, on man-made platforms, or even underground.