How Did the Montagnais Depend on the Environment to Survive?

How did the Montagnais depend on the environment to survive?  The Montagnais depended on the environment for every aspect of their survival from food to clothing to shelter.

Prior to the first white settlers in North America, the land was populated by many different tribes of Native Americans. These Native American tribes stretched as far south as Mexico and as far north as Canada. One of these early day tribes were known as the Montagnais, French for “Mountaineers.”

The Montagnais populated the northern regions of North America and settled primarily in Quebec, Canada. Many of the current tribe of this group of Indians still exist and live in the same area today. It is commonly believed that the name of Quebec actually came for one of the names given the tribe, Kebik. So, how did the Montagnais use the environment for survival?

The area that the Montagnais tribe occupied was not ideal for growing crops like most Native Americans could on their land. Therefore, this tribe was forced to find other ways to depend on the environment in order to survive. The Montagnais tribe depended on the environment to save in a number of ways including for their:

• Food
• Clothing
• Shelter
• Transportation

Food

The Montagnais tribe were nomadic and moved according to the changing of the seasons. In the spring the tribe moved and lived along the shores of St. Labrador to take advantage of fishing. Salmon and eel were their main sources of food during this time.

As the weather grew colder, the people of the tribe packed up and headed inward to the forests for the winter. Here they depended on the hunting of both small and large game, such as porcupine, caribou, moose, and elk, to get them through the winter months. Although the tribe was known for hunting and gathering, they did more hunting because not much in the way of food sources could be gathered where food that grows from the ground is scarce.

Clothing

The Montagnais tribe also depended on the environment for clothing. The animals that were used for meat to sustain the people, were also used to make warm clothing. It was typical to see clothing made of buckskin or some other type of material.

Shelter

The Montagnais also depended on the environment for their shelters. The people lived in wigwams and covered the wigwams in the bark from trees to make them more secure. This was necessary due to the type of environment they lived in.

The wigwams themselves were constructed from elements of the environment as well either from the skins of the animals that were killed for food or from reeds or mats. The shape and size of the wigwam was consistent to that of a tepee, but slightly larger.

Transportation

In spring months, the Montagnais relied on canoes as a means of transportation which were crafted from the strong trees that grew in the woodland areas. However, in the winter when they were forced to follow the migration of caribou as their main food source, the Montagnais also had to construct snow shoes in the same fashion from the components of the environment to make travel smoother.

Environment Was Key

Thus, there are many answers to how the Montagnais depended on the environment to survive, since the environment provided them with everything they needed for their daily lives.