Mi'kmaq Series Part 6: The Winter Encampment answers 6R
1. What did the Mi'kmaq use when they went into the woods to hunt moose, beaver, bear, and other game in the snow?
-snow shoes and toboggans
2. What was the temporary shelter made of?
-poles and green boughs
3. Who had to bring the belongings to the encampment and set up the encampment?
-the women
4. What happened to their dogs the previous winter?
-died from disease
5. What did the women put around the base of the wigwam to keep out the cold?
-evergreen boughs
6. What parts of the moose did the Mi'kmaq find useful?
The hide for clothing, covering for the smokehouse, wigwam doorway covering; strands of it for canoe seats, showshoe webbing, draw strings, etc.
Meat for food
Sinews used as thread to sew things together
Bones would provide moose butter, and be used as needles, knife handles, and tools to fashion stone tools, etc.
7. What else did they carry if they needed "extra" help in finding a moose?
-a magical pouch or bag containing moose hair and medicine. (When they blew the moose hair from their hands, it would tell them the direction from which to approach the moose they were hunting, down wind.)
8. Why would the Mi'kmaq need to take food along when hunting moose?
-the hunt might last for days
9. What advantage did the Mi'kmaq have over the moose in the snow?
snow shoes allowed them to travel over the deep snow that the moose sank into and had a more difficult time moving.
10. Which would be better to kill - a bull or a cow moose? Why?
-a cow because its calf would stay with it and they could get both.
11. Why would they have to approach their prey from downwind?
-so the prey would not pick up their scent and run off.
12. Who rough-gutted the moose?
-the men (hunters)
13. Who had to butcher the moose and take it back to camp?
-the women
14. How did the women know where to find the moose?
-the hunters would mark the trees along the way with a bloody hatchet or knife and would draw a rough map on birch bark with charcoal to mark out the route.
15. What parts did the men take back to camp with them?
-the heart and liver
16. Why would the women have to hurry to get back to the kill?
-to keep it from scavengers
17. How many trips did they have to make to bring back the complete moose?
-three trips
18. What was moose butter made of?
-the marrow of the bone which congealed after boiling
19. What three things was the sweat lodge designed for?
-religious purposes, healing purposes, the cleansing of the body (sweat then run out and roll in the snow)
20. What did they do with the moose meat that they could not eat right away?
-they would smoke the meat to preserve it unless it was very cold and then they would leave it exposed, after cutting, to let it freeze
21. How did the Mi'kmaq treat the hide of the moose to preserve it?
-they would stretch it on a large wooden frame and then scrape it to clear away the excess fat, etc. which may still be attached. They would then treat it with raw liver. They curried the moose hair with a shoulder blade from a moose to make it more supple.
22. In winter, how was the meat preserved?
- in the cold leave it exposed to freeze.
23. The bones not used would not be thrown away, but would be kept and put up a tree. Why?
-to show respect for the animal's spirit. They believed by doing this the spirit would then be able to pass on to another animal, and other animals would see this and be pleased.
24. Before they left the bones in a tree, what would they do?
-bless them or wish them well
25. The Sagamore, head chief of the region, did what so that the new, larger family would have enough food available to eat?
-he adjusted the hunting territories so that a new, larger family would have enough food available to eat.
26. What was hung high on the walls of the wigwam to cure in the smoke?
-moose sinew for sewing, meat and sausages to cure in the smoke
27. What was the purpose of the rawhide cords hanging from the top of the wigwam?
-to suspend the meat over the fire to cook
28. During the long winter evenings, what did the women do to pass the time?
-sewing clothing, weaving, instructing the younger females of the household
29. During the long winter evenings, what did the men do to pass the time?
-told stories, smoked the pipe, played waltes
30. "Hunt the Ring" was a common game for the Mi'kmaq children to play. Explain how to play this game.
-a piece of bone in the shape of a ring was placed into the fire and its embers. The first child able to retrieve it from the fire with a stick won the game.
31. At the end of the Mi'kmaq series, there was mention of Ketkwi'tew's spirit helper. What animal spirit would he pray to or call upon for help?
-the moose