We are pleased to provide the latest report by Laurie McLean, Consulting Archaeologist for the Beothuk Institute. Tracing Shanawdithit: Badger Bay as the Focal Point for Late Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Beothuk.
McLean provides an overview of the Beothuk preference for the Exploits Valley area and records of their various routes to the Bay of Exploits from 1650 onward. By 1812 many of these routes had been abandoned by the Beothuk in favour of using the Badger Bay watershed to access the coastline immediately west from the Bay of Exploits.
Excerpt:
“Historic data imply that the Badger Bay region was the base of operations for Beothuk expeditions implemented up to 90 kilometers away on Fogo Island. It is important to clearly understand Beothuk activities in the Badger Bay vicinity to help or refute this claim. Finally, the success of the 2022 Badger Bay field season implies that further well-planned archaeological inquiry will identify some of the 40 Beothuk wigwams, in addition to associated features that are listed in historical documents but have eluded discovery so far…”
Laurie McLean
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