As you travel north from Winnipeg, the flatness of the prairie begins to give way. And the northern forests begin to take over, forests of spruce and pine and poplar and birch. The northern rivers and northern rapids, the waterfalls, the eskers, the northern lakes-thousand of them-with their innumerable islands encircled by golden-sand beaches and flat limestone surfaces that slide gracefully into water. As you travel further north, the trees themselves begin to diminish in height and size. And get smaller until, finally, you reach the barren lands. It is from these reaches that herds of caribou in the thousands come thundering down each winter. It is here that you find trout and pickerel and pike and whitefish in profusion. If you're here in August, your eyes will be glutted with a sudden explosion of colour seldom seen in any southern Canadian landscape: fields of wild raspberries, cloudberries, blueberries, cranberries, stands of wild flowers you never believed such remote northern terrain was capable of nurturing. And the water is still so clean you can dip your hand over the side of your canoe and you can drink it. In winter, you can eat the snow, without fear. In both winter and summer, you can breathe, this is your land, your home.
Here, you can begin to remember that you are a human being. And if you take the time to listen-really listen-you can begin to hear the Earth breathe. And whisper things simple men, who never suspected they were mad, can hear. Madmen who speak Cree, for one can in fact understand the language this land speaks, in certain circles. Which would make madmen who speak Cree a privileged lot.
Then you seat yourself down on a carpet of reindeer moss and you watch the movements of the sky, filled with stars and galaxies of stars by night, streaked by endlessly shifting cloud formations by day. You watch the movements of the lake which, within one hour, can change from a surface of glass to one of waves so massive in their fury they can-and have-killed many a man. And you begin to understand that men and women can, within maybe not one hour but one day, change from a mood of reflective serenity and self-control to one of depression and despair so deep they can-and have-killed many a man.
You begin to understand that this Earth we live on-once thought insensate, inanimate, dead by scientists, theologians and such-has an emotional, psychological and spiritual life every bit as complex as that of the most complex, sensitive and intelligent of individuals.
And it's ours. Or is it?
A certain ancient Aboriginal visionary of this country once said: "We have not inherited this land, we have merely borrowed it from our children."
If that's the case, what a loan!
Eh?
Source: Highway, Tomson. A Portrait of Canada, Bank of Montreal, 1992, p.10.
Canada and Saskatchewan include a rich and diverse First Nations and Métis population.
Environmental and Linguistic Groups
Aboriginal peoples of Canada can be loosely grouped based on environmental and linguistic affiliations. Although there is great variation from one group to the next, the First Nations and Métis people who live together in environmental areas share certain cultural traits shaped by interaction with their environment. There are six generally accepted environmental groups found in Canada. The environmental groups and nations specific to Saskatchewan are:
Groupings |
First Nations and Métis People of Saskatchewan |
Subarctic |
Dene, Woodlands Cree, Swampy Cree, Métis |
Plains |
Plains Cree, Nakota, Lakota, Dakota, Saulteaux, Métis |
The languages spoken by such neighbours as the Dene and Woodlands Cree, and Lakota and Saulteaux are different. There are ten generally accepted Indian language families represented in Canada, with each language family containing many different languages and dialects. The Indian language families, distinct languages within these families, and regional dialects found in Saskatchewan are:
Language Family |
Language |
Dialect |
Algonkian |
Cree, Saulteaux |
Y, n, th |
Siouxan |
Nakota, Dakota, Lakota |
|
Athapaskan |
Dene |
T, k |
In addition, there are the Mitchif languages (languages blending, most frequently, Cree and French) spoken by the Métis peoples.
Currently, the prairie provinces are home to the highest per capita ratio of people reporting Aboriginal origins. Statistics Canada, 1991, reported that:
· 4% (1,002,675) of Canada's population reported Aboriginal origins
· 10% (96,580) of the Saskatchewan population reported Aboriginal origins
· 37% of people reporting Aboriginal ancestry are under the age of 15, as compared to 21% for the total Canadian population.
Legal Identities
The children of First Nations and Métis peoples of Saskatchewan have had their ability to define themselves, individually and collectively, severely burdened with a legacy of colonization and legal entanglements. The political and legal identity of First Nations people has been largely created by acts of government which has resulted in a complex, categorized system that is often hard to understand. This dilemma began in 1867 with Canadian confederacy when the British Crown gave legislative control of Indian nations to the Canadian government. Métis and non-status peoples fell outside this legal definition and responsibility was relegated to the provinces. Government legislation has, over the years, created several categories of "Indians" that have divided
people from the same family into different groups. Prior to 1985 the categories of Indians were status/registered Indians which were further sub-divided into treaty and non-treaty Indians. The introduction of Bill C-31 in 1985, which was intended to remedy this, has in many cases just added further confusion to the issues and further subdivided the people.
Source: Native Studies : A Curriculum Guide for Grade 11. Saskatchewan Education, 1992.
From 1690 to 1763 there were some radical changes in the distribution of Indian nations. Before 1670 the Cree and Nakota were drawn eastward as trappers into the French-Ottawa trading system. After 1670 they moved rapidly in a northwesterly direction as they became involved in the Hudson's Bay Company trade. They quickly assumed the role of middlemen in the evolving fur trade networks and expanded their trading network with force. Access to arms and other trade goods solidified their position. By 1720 the bulk of expansion was complete and a peaceful period of fur trading patterns among Indian nations became well established.
There were many changes in population distribution between 1763 and 1821. The Cree and Nakota migrated to the southwest. By 1784, the effects of the smallpox epidemic had forced the Cree to withdraw from Dene territory. Migration southward began and the Cree fought a battle for territory with the Gros Ventre in 1793.
As the Cree withdrew from the southeastern and south central portion of Manitoba, the Anishinabeg rapidly replaced them. There is some debate as to the reasons the Anishinabeg were able to move peacefully into Cree territory. A possible explanation is the differing economic orientation of the two nations in light of the changing nature of the fur trade.
As noted earlier, the Cree, prior to 1763, became middlemen in the trade. After 1763 they were bypassed by European traders moving inland who established direct contact with the trapping bands. By this time the Cree had two choices, either to trap their own furs as they had done earlier, or find another commodity to be exchanged at the posts. They chose the latter. The other commodity was pemmican, which was in demand as the fur trade expanded.
As a result many of the Cree and Nakota began to move south where the buffalo were plentiful. With the introduction of the horse from the southern United States and Mexico in the late 18th century, the Cree and Nakota soon became skilful buffalo hunters. The Anishinabeg moved into territory vacated by the Cree. With differing economic orientations, the two groups did not come into serious conflict.
Migration continued unabated after 1821. The Nakota moved southward and began supplying American posts because they were closer. The Nakota were also devastated by a smallpox epidemic coming from the south. It is estimated that two thirds of the population died.
The Cree population growth during this period contrasts sharply with the Nakota. The majority of the Cree did not suffer the smallpox epidemic because of the vaccine provided by the Hudson's Bay Company personnel. Because of this and the steady migration of the Cree into the grasslands from the woodlands, the Cree became one of the most numerous nations living on the prairies. It is estimated that by 1860 the Cree population may have been as much as three to five times as large as it had been in 1800.
It is not important that students remember all the details of the migration of Aboriginal nations from 1765 to 1860. The main concept to develop is that the Aboriginal nations were always moving to find new resources and economic opportunities, and were constantly interacting with each other. Secondly, the movements of the different nations were accelerated with the activities of the Hudson's Bay Company and Northwest Trading Company.
After 1860 there were only a few minor movements that altered the present day position of the Indian nations. By the 1880s most of the Siksika nation was in the area of what is now Alberta. The Anishinabeg moved into what is now the Yorkton/Kamsack area.
Source: Native Studies: A Curriculum Guide for Grade 10. Saskatchewan Education, 1991.
(Excerpt from a speech by Chief Seattle, 1854.)
How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?
Every part of this Earth is sacred to my people....We are part of the Earth and it is part of us....
This shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors....
The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirsts. The rivers carry our canoes and feed our children....We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of the land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The Earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on....The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man....
There is no quiet place in the white man's cities.... The clatter only seems to insult the ears.... The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of a pond, and the smell of the wind itself, cleaned by a midday rain, or scented with the pinon pine....
The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath-the beast, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathe.... But if we sell our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports....
So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will make one condition. The white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers.... I do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be more important than the buffalo that we will only kill to stay alive. What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of the spirit....
You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the Earth is rich with the lives of our kin.... The Earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the Earth. This we know .... All things are connected.... Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand on it.... Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
Source: Connecting Canada: A Resource for Canadian Students. Canadian Education Association: Toronto, ON, 1992, p. 61. Reprinted with permission of the Toronto District School Board.
Why are cooperatives formed?
· People feel they have no power in the market place.
· No person or existing organization is providing a service that is needed.
· People's jobs or communities would disappear if the people did not join together to save them.
· There is a desire to keep the control and profits of business in the community.
What is a cooperative?
· A cooperative is an organized group of people working together for the good of the whole group.
· People join together to meet their own needs.
· The co-op members own the organization and benefit from its successes. The community also benefits because the wealth of the co-op stays in the community.
What are the different types of cooperatives?
· Producer or marketing cooperatives-frequently owned by farmers to market agricultural products.
· Consumer/retail-called consumer co-ops because they are owned by consumers (people who consume or buy things).
· Worker/Employment-in these co-ops the workers also own the business.
· Housing-people jointly own and live in these co-ops, including houses, townhouses, mobile homes and apartments.
· Service-these co-ops are built to provide the members with a special service, such as a health clinic or daycare.
· Financial-a credit union is a financial cooperative and it provides services similar to a bank, but it is owned by the members.
Source: International Cooperative Alliance Web site at
http://www.coop.org/welcome.htm
