Thousands of years ago, Asia and North America were connected via a land bridge in the Bering Strait region, the area that now separates the United States from the Soviet Union.
It was here that snowshoes first found their way onto the North American continent and made occupation and settlement a possibility.
Archaeologists have found snowshoe like devices in Central Asia dating back to about 4000 BC.
The ancestors of Native American people originally came from this region of Asia and when the great northern migrations began, they brought their tools with them enabling their descendents to colonize and explore what is now Canada and the northern United States.
Without snowshoes, Native Americans could not have travelled over the snowy winter land for hunting, trapping, defending their territories and homes, socializing and settling in new areas.
Aboriginal people perfected snowshoe designs and had different configurations for each type of snow or weather condition.
The French colonists learned quickly from Native Americans and began to use snowshoes in the 1600s. This enabled them to be very successful in trapping, hunting and living in the northern regions of North America.
The Algonquin tribes of the Ottawa region modelled snowshoes after 'bearpaws' and extended the designs from there.
In 1758, there was a battle fought near Lake George called 'The Battle on Snowshoes' and it was at that point that the English Colonies, which would eventually become the United States, began to realize how important snowshoes were as winter gear in military manouvers.
To this day, the best and least expensive snowshoes are made by Native Americans.
The snowshoe will always be remembered as one of the most important tools used by our forefathers in the settling of Ontario and other northern regions of Canada and the United States.
©2010JoSmith
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Jo-Anne Smith, the author of this article, is a REALTOR® with Brekland Realty Group, Oakville, Ontario and welcomes your real estate inquiries. To contact her, visit www.oakville-burlingtonhomes.com |
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Jo-Anne Smith, the author of this article, is a REALTOR® with Your Choice Realty , Mississauga, Ontario and welcomes your real estate inquiries. To contact her, visit www.oakville-burlingtonhomes.com |
Very interesting post - probably ranks pretty high in Localism for your area :)
Jo I am very glad I live in the South. Don't want anything to do with those things.
Susan,
Without snowshoes much of the northern hemisphere never would have been settled.
Jo
John,
You mean you've never skiied? What about ice skating?
Jo
Jo,
This is a great post. There is an Indian Village at a conservation site in north Burlington. Right now, the name is not coming to me. But, it would be a good feature for you. Very local etc.
However, you've probably already done it.
Brian
Hi Brian,
thanks! Yes, I wrote a post about the Crawford Lake settlement awhile back....it's such a beautiful spot and so rich in history.
Jo
Jo,
Obviously, you're quite right. I had forgotten the name. You might get some mileage out of that post if it went to the local schools etc.
Brian