Examining the relationship between the settlement of Europeans on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the extinction of the Beothuk people was very interesting. The documents we read gave insight into the the negative impact that settlers could have on indigenous peoples. When looking at a situation such as that surrounding the extinction of the Beothuk people it is very important to remember the biases of the written information that we have, and in this case oral histories are not very accessible due to the extinction of the people. Archaeological evidence and extrapolation regarding the reasons for their extinction are therefore very important, and for this reason the Beothuk have stuck in my mind as a very interesting topic in pre-confederation Canada.

Reading Log: The Beothuk