PEOPLES OF THE SUBARCTIC The Subarctic region is the traditional homeland of many American Indian nations This map shows the areas where some of them lived before Europeans arrived in the region Deg Hit’an Deg Hit’an Tanaina Central Central Tanaina Alaskan Alaskan Yupik Yupik Athabascan Athabascan Tahltan Tahltan Beaver Beaver Chipewyan Chipewyan Cree Cree CULTURAL AREAS Arctic Northwest Coast Plateau Plains Northeast Subarctic Cultural area border International border State province border Other Innu Innu Ojibwa Ojibwe Cree Cree Innu Innu Cree Cree snow on the ground two hundred days a year Thousands of native peoples call the Subarctic home Native peoples who live in Canada are called First Nations peoples Subarctic peoples in Alaska are known as Alaska Natives These native peoples speak several different languages that come from a few main language groups First Nations peoples who live east of the Churchill River in northern Manitoba Canada speak languages from the Algonquian al-GAHN-kwee-an language group These nations include the Ojibwe oh-JIB-way several groups of Cree KREE and the Innu IN-yoo Nations west of the Churchill 66
speak Athabascan also spelled Athapaskan or Athabaskan languages These nations include the Chipewyan chip-uh-WY an Beaver Tahltan TAHL-ten Tanaina ta-nay-EYE-na and Deg Hit’an degg-HEET-an The Central Alaskan Yup’ik YOO puhk who live in the Subarctic regions of western central and southwestern Alaska speak a language from the Eskimo-Aleut ES-kih-moh-AH-lee-yoot language group The Yup’ik are culturally distinct from other Subarctic nations They are related to Inuit and are often considered to be an Arctic nation But many Yup’ik practices are also similar to those of other Subarctic peoples The Subarctic region covers much of Alaska and Canada below the Arctic Circle 7
Black bears were one of many kinds of animals hunted across the Subarctic Hunting and Fishing The native peoples of the Subarctic have depended on nature for centuries Those who lived near the ocean hunted seals walruses and whales Nations that lived in the forest hunted black bears lynx caribou beavers gray wolves red foxes river otters and snowshoe hare Subarctic peoples also depended on the fish and waterfowl found in the many lakes rivers and ponds The Modern Subarctic Most Subarctic peoples live like other North Americans They drive cars snowmobiles and motorboats They live in heated homes watch television and use the Internet But many native peoples continue to practice their cultural traditions They might 88
NATIONS LANGUAGES AND REGIONS SUBARCTIC NATION OTHER NAMES OR RELATED NATIONS LANGUAGE GROUP REGION Beaver Dane-zaa Athabascan Peace River Alberta Chipewyan Dene Denesuline Athabascan Manitoba Alberta and Saskatchewan Manitoba Alberta and Saskatchewan Cree Ojibwe Innu Plains Cree Woods Cree Ojibway Ojibwa Anishinaabe Chippewa Algonquian Algonquian Ontario and Manitoba Tahltan Tagish Tlingit Athabascan Telegraph Creek British Columbia Yup’ik Central Alaskan Yup’ik Eskimo-Aleut Alaska shop in grocery stores but they also hunt and fish as their ancestors did As long as the snow cold and wind have ruled the northern forests the native peoples of the Subarctic have thrived Different nations speak different languages live in different areas and have different practices But the native peoples of the Subarctic also share a common history and way of life 9
