200 dollars – First Nations
Series: Canada – Early Canadian History
The story of Canada spans millennia, and this coin takes you back in time to First Peoples that have made Canada the amazing place it is today. Long before the Europeans arrived, North America was home to an astounding diversity of people, each community adapting to the ever-changing environment, climate and wildlife that exists across the continent. Over time, they developed extensive trading networks, and by the mid 1300s, the majority belonged to Algonquian or Iroquoian-speaking tribes.
The Algonquian people lived in perfect harmony with nature and the seasons, moving inland to access new food sources and to avoid the treacherous weather that would settle over the Great Lakes in winter. They built their wigwams with birch bark that could be rolled and easily relocated to new hunting grounds if game became scarce. Every animal they caught was a precious gift of food and materials to make tools and clothing; some of which could be traded with other tribes the following spring.
Canadian artist Alan Daniel has created a stunning visual narrative of an Algonquian hunter returning to his winter camp with a rabbit and an otter. His community greets him with enthusiasm as these animals will provide precious food and materials to make clothing and tools, some of which they will be able to trade with other indigenous peoples the following spring. If game became scarce, the community could easily re-locate to new hunting grounds by dismantling their wigwams and rolling the birch bark covering for easy transport. Also incorporated into this design are two depictions of daily Algonquian life—two men ice fishing, and a woman preparing an animal hide.
The Algonquian people lived in perfect harmony with nature and the seasons, moving inland to access new food sources and to avoid the treacherous weather that would settle over the Great Lakes in winter. They built their wigwams with birch bark that could be rolled and easily relocated to new hunting grounds if game became scarce. Every animal they caught was a precious gift of food and materials to make tools and clothing; some of which could be traded with other tribes the following spring.
Canadian artist Alan Daniel has created a stunning visual narrative of an Algonquian hunter returning to his winter camp with a rabbit and an otter. His community greets him with enthusiasm as these animals will provide precious food and materials to make clothing and tools, some of which they will be able to trade with other indigenous peoples the following spring. If game became scarce, the community could easily re-locate to new hunting grounds by dismantling their wigwams and rolling the birch bark covering for easy transport. Also incorporated into this design are two depictions of daily Algonquian life—two men ice fishing, and a woman preparing an animal hide.
