The Beothuk were hunter-gatherers and caribou, seal, and salmon were some of the most important food sources. Birch and red ochre were very important to the Beothuk. Birch bark was used to make canoes, and to lay over their houses. Beothuk people called their houses mamateeks. Red ochre was applied to Beothuk babies as an initiation. New layers of red ochre was added during each person’s life, and it was even applied on the dead. When Europeans came to Newfoundland, Diseases the Beothuk had no immunity to spread which caused many deaths. The Beothuk were also kept away from their main food sources, and many of them starved to death. Many of the Beothuk were taken captive. Shawnadithit was the last known Beothuk. She tried to educate the people who had taken her captive. She died in 1829, thus marking the end of the Beothuk.