Late-18th- and Early-19th-Century Inuit and Europeans in Southern Labrador

Abstract

The Inuit presence, except at Red Bay, is not archaeologically visible until the end of the 18th century, despite the written accounts that document their presence in the Strait of Belle Isle from as early as the 16th century. It appears that they were attracted by the increased European fishing activities in the area. The European presence consisted of fishermen (planter fishermen) posted at the best fishing locations in the Strait of Belle Isle. They adopted a housing style borrowed from the Labrador Inuit, and that trait is notable for the period between the last decade of the 18th century into the middle of the 19th century. The similarities observed between the two ethnic groups demonstrate how complex it is to differentiate them, as a result of cross-acculturation. The Inuit living in close proximity to European stations replaced their traditional material culture with European-made goods in a very short time period, while the European settlers were building sod houses identical to what we know of the 19th-century Labrador Inuit.

“They have gone back to their country”: French landscapes and Inuit encounters in 18th century southern Labrador

“…Since the publication of the special volume of Études/Inuit/Studies on southern Labrador (Martijn and Clermont 1980), our understanding of the extent and dispersal of Inuit populations in southern Labrador has grown tremendously (e.g., Auger 1993;Dumas and Poirier 1994;Rankin 2014;Rankin et al 2012;Stopp 2002). Inuit were certainly present in the area by the early 16th century, and their habitation sites are plentiful, particularly in those areas now well-investigated by CURA researchers Lisa Rankin (Sandwich Bay) and Marianne Stopp (St. Michael's Bay) (e.g., Rankin 2010Rankin , 2013Rankin et al 2012;Stopp 2012, this volume;Stopp and Wolfe 2011).…”

Historical Archaeologies of Capitalism

“…Indigenous displacement by European settlement is a more familiar story, especially in North America, although a lot of archaeological work has focused on cultural interactions between Europeans and the Beothuk of Newfoundland for example (Turgeon 1998;Holly et al 2010;Martijn et al 2003) as well as the relations between the Inuit and Moravian Missionaries in Labrador (e.g. Augur 1993;Cabak and Loring 2000;Demarée et al 2010;Loring and Arendt 2010; also see papers in Pope and Lewis-Simpson 2013).…”

The Inuit archaeology of the Quebec Lower North Shore

“…Furthermore, European operators were confronted with an Inuit cat-and-mouse strategy of trading and raiding: Inuit would trade when outnumbered and raid if they sensed vulnerability. As anticipated by Martijn in 1980, with little archival documentation and no known Inuit oral history, the task of developing a southern Inuit history has fallen largely to archaeology (Auger 1993;Dumais and Poirier 1994;Fitzhugh 2006, Fitzhugh et al 2011Lévesque 1968Lévesque , 1972Martijn 1980aMartijn , 1980bRankin 2012;Stopp 1997Stopp , 2012. Contrary to the seasonal or sporadic raiding occupation theory (Taylor 1980), our research shows region-wide, year-round-but not necessarily continuous-Inuit occupations of the QLNS between ca.…”