Note: The quote below is an example of how Indigenous spirituality influences people’s daily behaviour. Note: there was and still is a large diversity in terms of Indigenous spiritual beliefs.

Excerpt:

“[…] before the beaver was completely dead, they told me [the Montagnais], that its soul went around the hut of the man who killed it, and took a good look at how his bones were being used: that if we gave them to the dogs, the other beavers would be warned: this was why they would become difficult to catch, but they were pleased when their bones were thrown into the fire or into the river […]

The Savages never give their dogs the bones of the beaver or the female porcupine, at least not certain bones: in short, they are very careful that the dogs do not eat any bones from birds and other animals taken from the lakes, otherwise they will only be able to catch these animals with incredible difficulty in the future.”

 

Source:
Relations des Jésuites, (1633-1634). Cited in Alain BEAULIEU, Convertir les fils de Caïn : Jésuites et Amérindiens nomades en Nouvelle-France, 1632-1642, Nuit Blanche, Editor, 1990, Québec, p. 33.