Asian Migration Theories, Indigenous Territories, Social Structures

"According to the Asian migration hypothesis ... thousands of years ago, when the climate facilitated access to northwestern America, peoples from Asia tracking game crossed land bridges freed from ice to reach the central and southern parts of the continent.  (QEP, page 19).  Various waves of migration have been documented, and exact dates for the earliest migrations range from 10,000 B.C. to as much as 30,000 years, as new archeological sites are studied, as information about what routes were open at the time are revised, and even as alternative migration theories using other access points are postulated.

But why would people have migrated towards the south and east in the first place?  Why leave what are now northern Asia and the Beringia areas at all? One idea stems from the idea that the ice sheets were constantly changing, and the weather was slowly becoming colder or hotter.  Over time people moved to more habitable climates, gradually changing position around the globe. 

Similarly, these changes might have also influenced wildlife: herds of caribou, bison, and in those times even groups of large woolly mammoths or saber-toothed wildcats. All of these animals might have moved slowly from one region to another, because of their changing environment and landscape.  And one idea is that just as slowly people may have followed these groups of animals into their new territories.  A related idea suggests that humans themselves contributed the animals' movement, through overhunting. Indeed, many of the larger species just mentioned went extinct during these time periods. As animal numbers dwindled in one area, people might have had to move on to another area to find food.

It should be noted that many Indigenous cultures do not require the inclusion of this migration theory from the northwest to explain their existence in what is now Canada.  Even while recognizing notions of shifting hunting grounds and of changing of territory, for food or other reasons, “Indigenous people throughout the Western Hemisphere talk [instead] of their origins in oral histories, stories, and myths that link them [more] intimately to the places they inhabit. The land, the stories commonly assert, was made for “the people,” and they [the people] were made to inhabit the land. Every group has an origin story […] And these stories are invoked by Aboriginal peoples as sufficient to their needs as regards history.”  (Source)

Another related consideration might be to wonder why non-Indigenous people tend not to include their own migration experiences, from Africa to Europe let's say, as part of their own historical records. While the "expansion of modern human population is thought to have begun 45,000 years ago, and it may have actually taken 15,000–20,000 years for Europe to be colonized."  (Source)

Once the ice age ended in this area, was the terrain and climate inviting?  

Most of the northeastern areas of what is today Quebec and Canada are covered by exposed rock and shallow soils.  So, these areas might appear less welcoming than areas further to the south, but they still provided resources for those who eventually settled here.  "Most of the Algonquian speaking peoples lived in the region known as the Canadian Shield. Farming was difficult in this region because it was covered with rock and forests. So the Algonquian people ate game animals, which means the animals they hunted, animals such as hare or partridge which is a kind of bird.  These they could easily find in the forest.  They also ate the fish which filled the many lakes and rivers.... the Algonquian-speaking peoples who were further south lived in a humid continental climate where the winters are shorter.  Those who lived a little further north had a subarctic climate where the winters are much longer and colder."  (More information at The Algonquian territory, A. Lanoix, via RECITUS-LEARN)  

South of the shield area the lowlands around the great lakes and along the St. Lawrence river area were warmer, and they also provided a terrain more suited to a stationary way of life, and eventually even to growing ones own food.  "The Iroquoian territory was fertile because it was located in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowlands, and the humid continental climate was good for farming. The Iroquoians mainly grew corn, squash and beans, which they call the three sisters.... There were many rivers on the territory. Getting around by canoe was very convenient. What’s more, these rivers were full of fish and turtles. ... They were home to several species of animals such as beavers, deer, bears and wolves. (More information at A territory rich in natural resources, RECITUS) 

"The Iroquoian nations were sedentary, meaning they mostly stayed in one place; unlike the Algonquian people who were constantly moving. The Iroquoian people lived in villages and farmed their food. They stayed in the same place for 10, 15 or even 20 years, as long as the land continued to produce enough food. When the soil became depleted, the entire village had to move to another location on their territory where the soil was fertile. The village also had to be near a source of drinking water and close to a forest for wood supplies."  (More information at A sedentary way of life , RECITUS)

What are the different Indigenous groups in the present-day territory of Quebec?  

Looking beyond local borders, Canada consisted of "several distinct forest regions. Adaptability is the essential component for survival within these demanding environments."   (Source).  Each group would use their region's resources differently, finding different ways to survive and even thrive.

One way of looking at the different groups that peopled our lands is to examine different languages spoken, and in particular to outline how languages are related, i.e. so-called language groups.  "Linguists have linked language diversity to length of human occupation. For example, Canada's Pacific Coast has the greatest number of languages. Because of this diversity, linguists have concluded that the Pacific Coast peoples have occupied their region longer than other First Nations groups have occupied their own regions. First Nations languages within what is now Canada are classified into twelve separate groups of approximately fifty languages." (Source)

The Inuit, another nomadic people, lived further north.  Migrating to our continent later than the other groups, the Inuit peoples and their ancestors travelled through and lived in all northern areas of the globe. That being said, the Inuit have lived in what is now northern Canada, the United States, and Greenland for over 4000 years, making theirs one of the oldest cultures in the world. 

"The Inuit had different methods of travel depending on the season. In the winter they traveled across the frozen Arctic either by foot or dog sled. During the summer they took advantage of the open water and traveled by boat." (Source)  "They used a sled called A qamutiik, a sled designed to travel on snow and ice, built using traditional Inuit design techniques. Adapted to the Arctic sea ice environment, such sleds are still widely used in the 21st century for travel in Arctic regions." (Source, and see also our page on Dogsleds to Snowmobiles)

As hunters, the Inuit required different tools.  They made various kinds of knives, including the ‘women's knife’ known as the ulu, with its distinctive form.  Originally, the blades were made from slate, but after contact with Europeans the Inuit began making the blades from iron files or pieces of steel.  (Visit mccord.qc.ca).  Early Inuit were already accomplished whalers when they began moving into Arctic Canada about 1,000 years ago. Like Inuit today, early Inuit depended on a variety of animals for food, including seals, caribou, fish, walrus, and other sea mammals.