Hunting season

American beaver was typically hunted in winter, though some cultures also hunted them in fall or spring [159, 162, 165]. Cultures that hunted beaver in spring included Koyukon [10], Kaska [11], Alaskan Kutchin (Gwich’in) [7], Malecite (Maliseet) of New Brunswick [12], Micmac (Mi'kmaq) [13]and Dogrib [10]. Cultures reported to have hunted beaver in fall and winter include Eastern Abenaki [14]and Cree [9, 15].

Hunting techniques

Principal hunting methods reported include deadfalls, snares, nets, bows and arrows, spears and clubs [157, 159, 165, 174].

Deadfalls were comprised of baited tree logs. When the beaver approached, a log fell on the animal, killing it. This method was mostly used during warm months when there was little snow. Cultures reported to have used this method include Stalo [4]and Anishinabek [16].

The Beaver culture in British Columbia and Alberta erected a pole fence beside the beaver lodge entry so the animal could not escape and then bore a hole in the ice on top of its house so that when it came out through the hole, the hunter would kill it with a spear [159]. The Tahltan of Stikine Plateau placed snares loaded with stone weights in shallow water close to beaver dams or shores and coated them with castoreum as bait. They also used babiche nets to trap them; these were placed in water or under the ice near the beaver house or feeding spots. If placed under ice, holes were placed in a straight line and the net was set underwater. The sides of the net were attached to poles, one of which had a rattle made of dried caribou or moose hooves. These made a noise when a beaver was trapped. The hunter usually set up a temporary camp on shore in wait for it. Its carcass was taken back to camp for skinning and butchering [157].

Yukon Indigenous Peoples used spears or nets to it under the ice. In early spring, the hunter would make holes near the beaver lodge and place poplar or willow branches over the hole as bait and return later on to see if the beaver had eaten it. If so, he would hide under a blanket and wait for it to come back to eat. He would then spear the beaver, drag it onto the ice and slaughter it using a club. It was important to kill it quickly because “it was bad luck if the beaver urinated on the ice.” Trappers often left adults untrapped for breeding purposes [165].

Net and snare was also used.  A“babiche”, made of semi-tanned skin twisted together, was used near the beaver’s lodge or dam. A snare was also used: a looped rope attached to a tree or branch with a bait to lure the beaver. Once lured, the animal would be entangled in the loop [11]. Yukon Ingalik used a tether snare [10]. It was also common for cultures to disturb a beaver lodge and place a net over the opening in the ice to catch the animal.

In winter, when snow was high, hunters would break down a lodge and use bow and arrow, club or spear as the beavers tried to escape. The Malecite of New Brunswick used canoes to raid beaver lodges in spring [12]. Bow and arrow was reportedly used by the Yukon Ingalik [10]. Bows of wood, and mountain sheep horn were reported to be used by the Kutenai (Kootenai) [17].

In winter, when the Cree began to hunt beaver, lodges were linked by a trap line along which a hunter would walk over a period of days to inspect for trapped beaver [15].

Kaska families separated to their designated beaver creeks where men and women shared the task of trapping beaver [11]. It was customary for Chandalar Kutchin to enter into a partnership with someone from his own band. If an animal was killed, it was the partner (the sitca) who had control of the catch [18].

In earlier times, the Tutchone, Tagish and Tlingit used nets and spears to catch beaver [175]. This practice became illegal and was replaced with trapping and shooting the animal. This new technique was not embraced by some cultures because it is considered less ecologically viable: the hunter could not easily selectively hunt the older beavers and leave the younger ones to reproduce. Earlier spearheads were made of antler or bone, later ones were barbed points formed from old files. The hunters speared the beavers in the water using poplars or willows as bait to lure them, and then they were clubbed to death. In May, they were tracked in a lake and shot with a gun. The hunter would set a trap smeared with sand and castor in the lake. He would use a dry tree as a toggle and position it in the lake well away from the shore because if the beaver was caught on shore, the beaver would chew its hand off. The nets used in netting were sinew or babiche rectangular nets which had been immersed in a solution of boiled cotton wood ashes or soaked for four or five hours in alder bark and water to get rid of human scent [175, 176]. The net was placed in front of the entry to beaver burrows and tied to a pole located on the shore to which moose-hoof “bells” had been fastened. When the hunter heard them, it meant that a beaver had been trapped. He would then run into the water and shape the net into a purse to hold the beaver, which he then clubbed to death. Later, the net was reset until all the large beavers, typically the older ones in the lodge, had been caught. The inland Tlingit also used dogs to locate and chase beavers out of their dens and employed deadfalls. Some Teslin lured beavers by making a mewing sound of a baby beaver and then shot them with bow and arrow, and later with guns [175].

Some cultures used previously slaughtered beaver parts as bait in the hunt of other beaver. The Alaskan Kutchin [7]and the Carrier [19]used the beaver’s castor gland, the Chipewyan used beaver intestines or fish heads [20]. The beaver castor scent was also used by the Carrier to lure other animals [19].

Some areas have suffered fluctuations in beaver availability. In the 1930s, beavers were over-trapped and near extinction in the Red Earth Cree region. In the 1940s, they were re-introduced and once again became important to the livelihood of the Cree [21]. In the 1980s, in the Whitefish Lake community of northern Manitoba, some people blamed hydroelectric projects for delocalizing access to traditional food such as the beaver [22]. Beaver seemed to be less accessible in the Vanta Kutchin region over time: according to one report, 146 beaver pelts were exported in the 1940s compared to 46 in the 1960s [23].

Conservation of animals was important for cultures living off the land. For example, in the Cree region, hunting sections were supervised by a steward who would take note of the status of the beaver and size of colonies and litters. These statistics (which were believed to be communications from animals) would be discussed with hunters, elders, etc. Stewards regulated who was able to hunt, where and how much [24]. A practice of rotational hunting has been used to preserve traditional food sources [25]. In fact, beaver has been reported to be a very important energy source for the Cree and hence, they were careful not to deplete this resource [26]. Other cultures reported to have been careful not to deplete the beaver resource include the Gitksan (Gitxsan) and Wet'suwet'en who trapped adult beavers, leaving the younger beavers [27].

The Abitibi performed several rituals to predict success in hunting beaver. For example, a hunter would take a haunch in his left hand and raise it over his head. If his right index finger touched the hole in the haunch he would find a beaver pond. Also, if scraped and fried beaver knees jumped around, the hunter would kill a beaver [28].

To improve success in beaver hunting, the Montagnais (Innu) practiced shamanism and scapulimacy; the hunter also hung beaver-chewed sticks near his head [5].

Preparation

North American beaver was reported to be a prized food of some cultures including the Malecite of New Brunswick [12]and the Bush Cree who primarily ate beaver prior to contact with whites [29]. Many cultures considered the beaver tail a delicacy [157, 161, 164, 165], such as the Carrier [19], Micmac [13]and Kutenai [17]. Beaver flesh was widely consumed. One of the Ojibwa chiefs of the Temagami band described the beaver as the “Indian’s pork” [49]. The Tutchone, Tagish and Tlingit ate beaver flesh, but did not particularly like it, because it had a strong willow taste; however, they all considered the tail a delicacy [175]. The Tagish prepared the intestines by cleaning and braiding them before drying and storing them. When needed, the dried intestines were boiled for consumption [175].

Skinning a beaver took the Stikine Plateau Tahltan about one hour. The backbone and other large bones were removed and the stomach flesh left unharmed. The flesh would then be hung out straight on small sticks above a smoky fire [157]. The Alaskan Kutchin took great care in skinning beaver: limbs and tail were removed before a slit was made through the stomach; the skin was removed from limbs and body using a knife and a sharp piece of bone [7].

The most common method of preparing beaver was to boil it; the meat and the remaining broth were both consumed. Birch bark basins heated with hot stones were used. Also used were earth ovens, which were lined pits in the ground heated with hot stones. The oven pits were often lined with animal skin [11]. The Malecite of New Brunswick would use a birch bark container filled with water and hot stones to boil the meat, however in the early 1800s, they adopted the white man’s kettle [12]. Attawapiskat Cree removed the beaver head first, and consumed everything after boiling including the heart and the kidneys [30]. Some cultures boiled the beaver inside of intestines or other parts of an animal body [10]. The Yukon Indigenous Peoples roasted, boiled and dried the flesh, but typically roasted its tail [165]. The Dene baked, dried and smoked the flesh in addition to eating it raw. They ate its baked liver and feet, and its raw liver [161, 166].

North American beaver was also preserved by some cultures. Important methods included drying, smoking and storing underground in pits or above ground suspended in trees or rock cabinets. Meat was also frozen whole in winter months. Pemmican was a product similar among tribes that is made with meat, grease and crushed berries inside of viscera and stored in caches (small log cabins above or below ground) or birch bark caskets [11, 31]. The Gitksan and Wet'suwet'en dried beaver meat and distributed it at pot latches; distributing meat in this way was thought to be a validation to the rights of the land [27].

Beaver liver was often consumed by the Alaskan Kutchin [7].

Attawapiskat enjoyed sharing the beaver catch with the whole community and preserved little, as they preferred fresh meat [30].

Uses other than food

Many cultures participated in the selling and trading of North American beaver fur. These included Dogrib and Yukon Ingalik [10], among others. The Alaskan Kutchin took great care in skinning beaver and very good hide cleaners (those who did not pierce the skin) were compensated well. Beaver skins were stretched and nailed to long boards for drying [7]. The Conne River Micmac were actively engaged in the fur trade in the 1920s. Beaver sales dropped in subsequent decades due to World War 2 and fashion changes [32]. Similarly, the selling of beaver pelts was a lucrative business for the Chipewyan; however, starting in the 1950s it became difficult to make a living trapping and selling pelts [33]. In the 1970s, trapping in some regions was restricted to Indigenous Peoples and trappers’ associations [34].

Some cultures traded goods so they could obtain beaver. The Carrier traded iron weapons for beaver skins [10]. Algonquin offered foodstuffs to the Huron and in return they received beaver meat [35].

The Alaskan Kutchin took great care in skinning beaver: limbs and tail were removed before a slit was made through the stomach; the skin was removed from limbs and body using a knife and a sharp piece of bone. Very good hide cleaners (those who did not pierce the skin) were compensated well. Beaver skins were stretched and nailed to long boards for drying [7].

Yukon and Northwest Territory cultures used beaver parts in a variety of ways. For example, beaver teeth attached to a piece of wood made a knife and beaver bags were used to cradle children [36]. Other cultures also used beaver parts. The Tahltan of Stikine Plateau fashioned the sharp beaver teeth into knives [157]. Dogrib used beaver pelts to trim parkas, slippers, moccasins and mukluks and they used beaver teeth as tools [37]. The castor gland (that which surrounds the anus) was used for medicinal purposes by the Carrier [19]. The Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw) of British Columbia used beaver hides to make clothes for nobles and dancers [38]. Puget Sound Indigenous Peoples used beaver for garments and the teeth were used to make dice [39]. Anishnabeg (Anishinabek) used beaver to make robes [16]. The Ahtna practiced scapulimacy, whereby beaver bones were rubbed against a tree in order to assist the hunt [10].

Beliefs and taboos

North American beavers were deemed influential animal spirits and treated with great respect by the Tutchone, Tagish and Tlingit [175]. For instance, in earlier times, camps would be thoroughly washed, and new spruce branches laid out before any beaver was carried back to camp. Beavers also held the mythical position of “Smart Man”. There were various taboos associated with beavers. Its head was never consumed and its head and leg bones had to be taken back to the water. When skinning it, one had to be careful not to break its “kneecaps”. It was also taboo if a captured beaver urinated prior to being pulled from a net. As a result, strong young men usually performed the arduous task of pulling the beaver out to ensure the task was done as efficiently and quickly as possible. In the Tutchone, Tagish and Tlingit tradition, the beaver shares a special friendship with the porcupine and as a result they did not slaughter porcupines near a beaver dam or mention the real name of the porcupine while hunting beavers [175]. Instead they used the pseudonym “Sharp Quills” Also, beaver and porcupine could not be prepared together in the same pot. They considered beavers as powerful spirit animals and used its skin to make spells to permanently have warm hands in winter. Beaver head or tooth were “sent into” a witches victim or used in duels between shamans [175].

The “blood liver” (i.e. the “spleen”) was considered extremely powerful and could not be given to dogs [175]. The “blood liver” was used to tell hunting fortunes and to foretell bad luck. The hipbone was also used to tell hunting fortunes. One way of doing so is described in [175]as: “It is cleaned and placed in a fire and then hung outside camp. The following day, the hunting leader glances at the bone to see what type of animal hair is clinging to it. This animal is the animal that the hunters will find”. In particular, the Teslin used the beaver scapulae to foretell if they would be successful in hunting and in which direction to go. After the fortune was told, it was burned in a fire so that it would not be contaminated by “unclean people”. To ensure hunting success, the Tlingit would burn a dog’s whisker “until you can hear it sing” and then place it in a beaver tunnel together with the “workings” of a blowfly so that the dog would be good at hunting beaver in the water. All three groups used various spells to try to make the margins of the shore freeze quickly as the dog team may have had to swim long distances from the principal ice on the lake to the shore because the margins had melted during the hunt [175].

Beaver is the most significant crest animal of the Crow group (sib) of the Inland Tlingit and the Tagish. All three cultures sometimes used beavers as pets, but some Inland Tlingit considered it taboo to make a beaver a pet if the crest animal was a beaver [175].

Kutenai requested forgiveness from the slaughtered animal: they believed the beaver’s soul and spirit continued to live after it was killed. The slaughtered animal’s eyes were closed before cleaning so that the animal could not see what was being done to its body [17].

The Micmac considered consuming the flesh of female beavers bearing young taboo because they thought that this meat would make them ill. Beaver bones were restricted to dogs as it was believed that if humans ate them they would never catch a beaver again [13]. An old Micmac tale, “the man who married the beaver”, tells the story of a young orphan boy who, while beaver hunting, meets a young beaver woman who lives in a beaver dam with her beaver family. The boy marries her and provides for the beavers and his family until one day a group of trappers break down the lodge and pull out all inhabitants. The boy is spared his life, but his wife is thrown onto the snow and killed [40].

The Naskapi (Innu) believed that the beaver is very wise and has miraculous powers, disappearing quickly either by floating or changing into another animal [41].

An ancient Cree tale of “the child who had lice in his hair” tells the story of an abandoned boy whom a giant adopted. The giant Mistapew ate pieces from the beaver’s throat, (which relates to the sacrifice of the beaver throat). The front limbs of the beaver were served only to men, and the hind legs only to women. Front limbs were believed to contain strength, while the hind legs were given to women because they “stay behind”. Feasts were communal, with the beaver head symbolizing honor and served to the males. The first beaver feast required burning of the fur prior to feasting [42].

Cree and Chipewyan men of Wood Buffalo National Park were reported to believe more in the nutritional value of beaver than did women [43].

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