About My Family

Otaktay means, “the one who kills many.” I live in a mamateeks (mamateeks were cone-shaped wooden houses covered in birch bark. It looks like a teepee). I am married to Wuti (which means woman); I have a son named Honiahaka (which means little wolf), and a daughter named Ominotago (which means beautiful voice).



The Beothuk Indians became extinct in the year of 1829. The last one standing was a teenage girl named Shawnadithit. They became extinct because of violence, starvation, disease, and isolation from the Europeans. The Beothuk tribe is one of the only Native American regions with no known survivors. Some who escaped went to the Innu and Micmac tribes.

They are located in Newfoundland, Canada.Or raiding Micmac or Mohawk warriors, who often adopted prisoners-of-war as family members, may have captured some Beothuks. But any Beothuk refugees or adoptees were quickly absorbed into the larger nations that took them in. Unlike other eastern Canadian tribes, no one still practices the unique culture the Beothuks once had.

Info About The Beothuk Indians

1. They paint their faces, bodies, and hair red with insect repellant. Also, they considered red as the sacred color and wore it al yearlong.

2. They are located in the island of Newfoundland.

3. They live in a house called a mamateek. It is mad out of birch bark and looks like a teepee. There was rectangular Beothuk Indian houses that were for storing and drying foods like meat from buffalo.

4. The girls wore skirts, poncho-like cloaks made out of animal skins, peaked caps, wraparound mantles, and a hood for the babies. The boys wore breechclout shorts, poncho-like cloaks made out of animal skins, and peaked caps.

5. They traveled in humpbacked canoes over water, and snowshoes for winter.

6. They used spears for hunting caribou and seals. They also gathered eggs and plants for foods too.

7. They used spears, harpoons, bow and arrows, and stone knives for hunting. Most of them were made from stone, wood, and bones from animals.

8. The Beothuk Indians spoke Beothuk isolate language. The unique language relates to the Algonquin dialect spoken by the Naskapi and Montagnais people in Quebec and Labrador.

9. There are many different kinds of Beothuk cultures. They’re Burial Practices, their use of Red Ochre, and their Beliefs.

Journal by Otaktay

Hi, my name is Otaktay. I come from the Beothuk Indian tribe. Today, I went hunting for Caribou. I killed one with my spear. We used the tail for a fly swatter. We ate the meat for dinner. My daughter Ominotago helped me carry wood to make a cozy fire. My wife, Wuti, was taking care of my son, Honiahaka. After dinner we all slept in a Mamateek. But then a wild Caribou rammed our tent when we were sleeping.

The first one to wake up was Ominotago. She yelled to wake up in Beothuk isolate language. We all woke up and started to scurry away. I pulled out my stone knife and threw it. It hit but the Caribou was still alive. We got to the top of the mountain and I pulled out my bow and arrow but I missed. We were at a cliff and I shot my harpoon. It hit the Caribou’s leg and started limping. Lastly, I went up to it and stabbed it with my spear. It was the last thing I had to kill the Caribou. If it would not die we would run as rapid as we can away.

The spear hit it in the head. It took two steps and fell down. We were all relieved. We walked back to our Mamateek and went back to sleep because we were so tired from running away. When we woke up we all had the Caribou for breakfast. After that night we knew a Caribou would maybe still be alive after one throw or shot. After breakfast we all put on our snowshoes and went hunting.