Predicting and Controlling Caribou: Historic Indigenous Groups and Their Knowledge of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Herds in Northern Canada

Caribou herds in northern Canada historically supported Indigenous populations inhabiting the area, including the Copper Inuit, Caribou Inuit, and Dene/Chipewyan Caribou-Eater peoples. The ability of Indigenous groups to utilize caribou depended on comprehensive knowledge of caribou biology and behaviour. This paper examines two historic traditions of caribou hunting in northern Canada: herd-following by the Dene/Chipewyan Caribou-Eaters, and herd-driving by the Caribou Inuit and Copper Inuit. Intergenerational knowledge of migration routes and caribou behaviour enabled a degree of predictability for these hunter groups, and herds were temporarily controlled through such strategies as caribou drives. Embedded within a broader ecological framework, this information may have provided enough data for these groups to have developed a conservation ethic that both met their physical needs and contributed to caribou herd sustainability.