The Beaver Nation are also known as the Dunne-za or the Tsattine, or "dwellers
among the beavers." As cousins to the Slavey, Chipewyan and Sarcee,
who all speak similar, Athapaskan-rooted languages, the Beavers originally
inhabited a vast territory between the present-day Alberta-Saskatchewan border and the Peace River. However, when the Cree Nation
drove them west, aided by the firearms that the Europeans brought to the
New World, the Beaver peoples began to hunt game (moose being a dietary
staple) throughout the Peace River country, extending as far as the Rocky
Mountains. They were known as exceptional hunters and, although they had a
reputation as being a peaceful people, were not lacking in skill when war
became necessary. Like other Athapaskan tribes, the Beaver did not
have any strong tribal identity. They dwelled in relatively small
family groups for most of the year, coming together with relatives each
summer for singing and dancing. At the time of contact, there were
approximately four bands, consisting of around 1,000 people, but by the
late 1800s their numbers had decreased to less than half that due to
diseases such as smallpox, measles and influenza.
The Beaver peoples, their numbers wracked by disease and
starvation, were the last band to sign Treaty 8 in May, 1900. |