The Boethuk organized bands for hunting and gathering. The bands consisted of 35-50 people. Families had 7-10 people in them. The bands had leaders that gained that role through earning other band members' respect by resolving an issue. The men, women, and children were responsible for collecting salmon, small animals, and berries during the spring months. In addition, the men were responsible for hunting big game like caribou and seals that came by in August and April (Pastore).

The Beothuk tried to avoid the Europeans when they arrived in the late 15th century by moving inland. Throughout the next few centuries the Beothuk began to trade with Europaens. However, these interactions were deleterious to them when the Europaens began to encroach on there land, slaugher, and spread disease among the Beothuk .  According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, "European disease — namely tuberculosis— may have contributed the reduction in their population ... the establishment of permanent European settlements in the 1700s significantly altered the Beothuk way of life." The combination of these factors lead to there extinction in 1829, when the last Beothuk died to terberculosis.