The Beothuk, speakers of a proto-Algonkian language, had lived in the area now known as Newfoundland and southern Labrador, Canada, for more than two thousand years before John Cabot's landing in 1647. Nomadic, they followed the coastlines, taking advantage of the rich migratory fisheries, shorebirds, and land and sea mammals. In winter they supplemented their diets with inland caribou, herded through specially constructed fences.

Estimates of the Beothuk population in 1500 vary widely, ranging from seven hundred to five thousand individuals, organized into bands of seven to ten families, comprising thirty-five to fifty people. Egalitarian in social organization with decision making by consensus, each band bestowed leadership positions on those men and women respected for their wisdom and experience. They called themselves Beothuk (red people) in reference to the red ochre paint mixed with fish oil or animal grease that coated...