Akilasie'wa'kik

Akilasiewakik lies in the forested interior of northeastern Newfoundland, between the shores of Notre Dame Bay and the Gander River country. This was the homeland of the Beothuk, who moved with the seasons between the coast and the interior. In summer they fished, hunted seals and gathered seabirds and eggs along the bays and islands. In autumn and winter they travelled up rivers such as the Exploits to the inland lakes and woods, where caribou crossing the rivers were their most important game.

The country is a mosaic of boreal forest, bogs, ponds and slow rivers, cold and wet through most of the year, with fog and storms along the shore. The Beothuk built large caribou fences and storage houses, lived in conical dwellings covered with bark and hides, and were known for coating their bodies and belongings with red ochre. Sheltered coves and river mouths gave access to both the sea and the interior.

From the early sixteenth century European fishing fleets, English, French, Basque and Portuguese, worked the coastal waters and occupied summer stations along the shore. The Beothuk lost access to many of their coastal resources, withdrew toward the interior and suffered from disease and violence. Mi'kmaq hunters also began to use the island. The death of Shanawdithit in 1829 is taken as the end of the Beothuk as a people.