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ABOUT USAMINA A-mina is a Beothuk word. The
Beothuk were the aboriginal inhabitants of Newfoundland first encountered
by European explorers and fisherman who visited the island. Unfortunately
for the Beothuk, exposure to new diseases, competition for resources,
and hostile interaction with the Europeans eventually led to their
disappearance. Shanawdithit, the last Beothuk, died in 1829. In the winter of 1829, Shanawdithit resided
in St. John's with the explorer William Epps Cormack who was
also president of the Beothuk Institute, a society he founded in 1827
for the purpose of 'opening a communication with, and promoting
the civilization of the Red Indians of Newfoundland’ (Royal Gazette
1827). While staying with Cormack, Shanawdithit drew ten diagrams
each of which represented aspects of Beothuk life such as re-enactments
of encounters with Europeans, smoke houses, cooking utensils, and mamateeks.
On one of these diagrams was the a-mina or ‘deer’ spear.
Today we know these ‘deer’ as caribou, an animal integral
to livelihood of numerous circumpolar and sub-Arctic peoples. The attributes
of the a-mina are described by Howley (1915) as having a long wooden
shaft with a permanently attached iron point. The point, or blade,
is triangular in shape but has a broad base possessing obtuse angles,
which is attached to the shaft by a long narrow stem (see Shanawdithit’s
diagram). Unlike a number of precontact and extant aboriginal groups in the Arctic and sub-Arctic, the Beothuk have no known living descendants. Therefore, the selection of this name is a tribute to them and to Cormack who made an effort to prevent Beothuk annihilation and to improve aboriginal-European relations. In a similar manner, Amina Anthropological Resources Association aims to pursue academic research and to make First Nations research relevant to the public. By doing this, we hope to promote and preserve aboriginal traditions and cultures thereby playing a small part in ensuring the case of the Beothuk is not repeated.
Also see Bios and Photo Gallery |
Above: Drawing by Beothuk woman, Shanawdithit (Howley, 1915) Top Left: Beothuk and English
Trading (Howley 1915) Top Right: A Sketch of the River Exploits, 1768 (Marshall 1996) |
