P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet
the first Brave were never afraid Living in the central region the Beothuks and their ancestors can be traced back more than 1 000 years During the sum mer they lived on the coast where fish were plentiful As winter approached they travelled inland following the Exploits River to the hunting grounds The Beothuks were Algonkian speaking and they called themselves Red Indians They painted their faces and bodies with a mixture of red ocre and grease This was their mark of tribal identity and the very first coat was applied to their new born babies Described as trustworthy and proud the Beothuks became extinct in 1829 The last known Beothuk was a young woman named Shanawdithit There are still several groups or bands of aboriginal people of Mi kmaq origin scattered throughout western and central Newfoundland In 1972 the Federation of Newfoundland Indians was officially formed Known along the Northern Peninsula as Florence Nightingale of the North Myra Bennett also begins with B For 50 years she was the sole health provider for the entire isolated coast Besides nursing she practiced midwifery dentistry and
B stands for Beothuks first people of the land Brave hunters and gatherers who afraid to take stand a
Capelin is considered the main bait fish of the Arctic Seas They move inshore to spawn or lay their eggs on the pebbly beaches They attract and provide food for many seabirds eagles seals and different species of whales during the summer In Newfoundland the age old tradition of scooping them up as they wash ashore is known as the capelin scull or capelin roll During capelin season people of all ages gather at the shorelines with dip nets and buckets As the waves crash upon the beach thousands of capelin are washed ashore You have to be quick to fill your bucket before the waves pull them back in Capelin are dried and salted and also enjoyed roasted over a campfire Yum Confederation also begins with C At midnight on March 31 1949 Newfoundland and Labrador became the 10th province to join Canada with Joseph R Smallwood leading the cam paign Prior to this date Newfoundland and Labrador was a British Colony
Get your dip nets and buckets The fish are rolling ashore C stands for Capelin Let's go back and get more some
