Confederacy in present-day Alberta and neighbouring Montana originally consisted of three dialect groups of the same language (Peigan, Kainai, and Siksika) but they were later joined the completely unrelated Sarcee people. The Iron Confederacy of present-day Alberta and Saskatchewan consisted of numerous bands of mixed Plains Cree, Assiniboine, and Saulteaux people. The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and peoples of the Northwest Plateau developed highly structured cultures from relatively dense populations. Some cultures in this region were very similar and share certain elements, such as the importance of fishing to their communities. Arctic cultural area – (Eskimo–Aleut languages) Subarctic culture area – (Na-Dene languages and Algic languages) Eastern Woodlands (Northeast) cultural area – (Algic languages and Iroquoian languages) Plains cultural area – (Algic languages, Na-Dene languages, Siouan–Catawban languages) Northwest Plateau cultural area – (Salishan languages and Kutenai language) Northwest Coast cultural area – (Penutian languages, Tsimshianic languages and Wakashan languages) European colonization Norse settlement While the Norse colonies in Greenland lasted for almost 500 years, the continental North American settlements were small and did not develop into permanent colonies. Vinland, Markland and Helluland are the names given to three lands, possibly in Canada, discovered by Norsemen as described in the Eiríks saga rauða and Grœnlendinga saga. L'Anse aux Meadows – settlement (carbon dating estimate 990–1050) Portuguese claims Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas the Portuguese Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the Atlantic waters visited by explorer John Cabot in 1497 and 1498. In 1498 to 1500, the Portuguese mariner João Fernandes Lavrador visited the north Atlantic coast, accounting for the appearance of the name "Labrador" on topographical maps of the period. In 1501 and 1502, Miguel and Gaspar Corte-Real explored present day Newfoundland, claiming the land in the name of Portuguese Empire. The extent and nature of Portuguese activity on the Canadian mainland during the 16th century remains unclear and controversial, but it is generally accepted that explorer Joao Álvarez Fagundes attempted to establish a seasonal fishing colony. It is not known exactly where and for how long the fishing post existed, Nevertheless both the Portuguese and Spanish fishing industry in the area was destroyed in 1585 by an English expedition led by Bernard Drake, and never recovered. New France In 1534, Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula and claimed the land in the name of Francis I of France. In 1600, a