Who were primarily hunter-gatherers among the Aboriginal peoples?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: The Huron-Wendat of the Great Lakes region, like the Iroquois, were farmers and hunters. The Cree and Dene of the Northwest were hunter-gatherers. The Sioux were nomadic, following the bison (buffalo) herd. The Inuit lived off Arctic wildlife. The Aboriginal group the test wants is therefore the Cree and Dene of the Northwest.

The various Aboriginal groups had different lifestyles. Discover Canada distinguishes Aboriginal peoples by their primary subsistence pattern. The Huron-Wendat and Iroquois of the Great Lakes region were "farmers and hunters" — they grew crops as well as hunting. The Cree and Dene of the Northwest were specifically "hunter-gatherers" — relying on hunting wild game and gathering wild plants without farming. The Sioux were "nomadic, following the bison (buffalo) herd." The Inuit "lived off Arctic wildlife."

Geography shaped subsistence. Discover Canada's account ties each Aboriginal group to a specific region of Canada. The Cree and Dene lived in the Northwest — meaning today's Canadian sub-Arctic regions, including parts of the Prairie Provinces and the Northwest Territories. This terrain was less suited to farming than the Great Lakes region, so the Cree and Dene developed a hunter-gatherer way of life adapted to the boreal forest, lakes, and rivers of the country's northwest.

Hunter-gathering is one of four subsistence patterns named in the guide. Discover Canada lists four Aboriginal subsistence patterns: farming and hunting (Huron-Wendat, Iroquois — Great Lakes), hunter-gathering (Cree and Dene — Northwest), nomadic bison-following (Sioux), and Arctic-wildlife dependence (Inuit). So Aboriginal Canadian peoples were not a single uniform culture — different groups had different economies, geographies, and ways of life. The Cree and Dene specifically practiced hunter-gathering.

The question is testing whether new citizens know which Aboriginal group Discover Canada identifies as primarily hunter-gatherers. The guide commits to one group: the Cree and Dene of the Northwest. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different Aboriginal group with a different subsistence pattern. The Inuit "lived off Arctic wildlife." The Huron-Wendat were "farmers and hunters," not hunter-gatherers. The Iroquois were also "farmers and hunters." Only the Cree and Dene are named specifically as hunter-gatherers.