When we hear the phrase "First Contact", we think of a one time occurence. Historians believe that what we may consider "first contact" happened over a period of nearly one thousand years. In fact, there were many incidences of first contact, between many different people groups on different parts of the continent. The journey began with European explorers looking for a trade route to Asia. Expeditions of explorers would come to Canada in search of wealth, gold, silver and land to conquer and own. Europeans would come across the ocean by ship and come to shore on the eastern coast. It was sometimes in the far north where they would meet Inuit people. European explorers also came to shore in what is today, Newfoundland and Labrador, and all along the St. Lawrence Sea Way meeting Aboriginal people such as Miq'mak, Iroquois and Huron. First Contact is best described not as a singular occurence as many people think, but many occurences of first time meetings in different parts of the continent with different peoples.
The Norse explored the New World (present day northern Canada). In Norse folklore, there are stories that tell of thin, small, withered people. Called Skraelings, these folkloric creatures were reported to be eager to trade and used the teeth and bones of whales for tools. Historians and archaeologists now believe these creatures were actually the Dorset or Thule, early relatives of the Inuit.
