This unit explores various aspects of the history and cultures of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada from pre-contact with Europeans to today. The unit is designed to help students understand the traditional cultures of Aboriginal peoples, and to appreciate that they have cultural roots and traditions that extend back through centuries. As well, the unit addresses some of the contemporary political, social and cultural issues concerning Aboriginal peoples as a result of European contact and governance.
The following chart provides an outline of Unit Four:
Major Concept
culture (First Nations roots)
Related Concepts
Aboriginal peoples (Indian, Inuit, Métis), Aboriginal spirituality, enfranchisement, self-determination, treaty rights, self-government
Topics
Topic One: Introduction
Topic Two: Aboriginal Peoples of Canada - Indian, Métis and Inuit
Topic Three: Origin of Aboriginal Peoples - Two Worldviews
Topic Four: Aboriginal Spirituality
Topic Five: Relationships with the Environment
Topic Six: Treaties and Land Claims
Topic Seven: Social and Economic Life - Past and Present
Topic Eight: One Contemporary Economic Structure - Aboriginal Cooperative Organizations
Topic Nine: Contemporary Canadian Aboriginal Social and Economic Issues
Topic Ten: Aboriginal Self-Determination and Self-Government
Glossary of Terms
The following definitions are as much for the teacher as they are for students. It is up to individual teachers to decide which of the following terms to present to students. Teachers should base this decision upon students' prior knowledge about the concepts and content of the topic.
Aboriginal peoples |
Aboriginal peoples are those people who have existed in a land since time immemorial and before the arrival of the colonists. In Canada, the term Aboriginal refers to the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples. (See also Indigenous peoples.) |
Aboriginal right |
An inherent and original right possessed individually by an Aboriginal person or collectively by an Aboriginal people according to their status as Aboriginal people in their own land. |
Elder |
The title given to a respected individual from the Aboriginal community who is a keeper of tradition and worldview; age may be a factor, but is not always a prerequisite. |
Enfranchisement |
Indian peoples were not considered citizens of Canada and did not have the right to vote in provincial or federal elections until the mid-1900s. Canadian citizenship was granted to Indian peoples in 1952 and the franchise (right to vote) was granted in 1960. Under The Indian Act, a status Indian person could choose to become enfranchised by giving up his/her status or treaty rights, meeting certain "responsible" citizen requirements, and filling out the appropriate forms. Many were enfranchised without their full knowledge and consent, by Indian Agents of the Crown. Enfranchisement was ended in 1985 with the passage of Bill C-31. |
Bill C-31 amended The Indian Act so that an Indian woman did not lose her status if she married a non-Indian. A strict blood content rule applies now under the Act. An Indian or Inuit person, in order to be registered, must be of at least one quarter Indian or Inuit descent. In other words, at least one grandparent must have been legally recognized as Indian or Inuit under the Act. | |
First Nations |
This term is preferred by many Indian peoples and the Assembly of First Nations to refer to the various governments of the Indian peoples of Canada. First Nations is preferred over the terms Indians, Tribes and Bands, which are used extensively by the federal, provincial and territorial governments. An individual government or a group of individual governing bodies is termed a First Nation. The term First Nations is used as a noun-adjunct, as in First Nations education. |
Indian |
According to The Indian Act, an Indian person is "a person who, pursuant to the Act, is registered as an Indian or is entitled to be registered as an Indian." This is a highly selective legal definition, subject to historical events, political decisions, bureaucratic processes and legislative amendment. The term Indian supposedly resulted from a case of mistaken identity on the part of Columbus, who believed that he was just south of China when he sailed into the islands around Cuba. Upon seeing dark-skinned people, he called them "Indians", believing them to be the Indigenous peoples of India. Another theory states that Columbus was so taken by the beauty, both physical and spiritual, of the inhabitants he first met (the now extinct Taino people) that he believed they must have been made in the image of God-"du corpus in Deo" (from the body of God). From "in Deo" comes the name "Indian." The term Indian now applies to the inhabitants of India, the East Indies and the West Indies and to the Aboriginal inhabitants and their descendants in North and South America. |
Indigenous Peoples |
Indigenous peoples are peoples who are born in and naturally inhabit a region. All Aboriginal peoples are indigenous to their countries of origin; however, the term refers to these peoples from a global perspective, as part of an international collective. |
Inuit |
The Inuit are excluded from The Indian Act, but the Supreme Court held that they are "Indians" within the meaning of Section 91 (24) of The British North America Act. For this reason, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs has created a special branch to deal with Inuit affairs. |
Jurisdiction |
Jurisdiction refers to the inherent right to exercise authority, develop policies and laws, and control financial and other resources for citizens of the area. Certain areas of jurisdiction include justice, citizenship and naturalization, taxation, economic development, land, health, housing, education, policing, corrections, culture, religions, language, collective rights, resources, agriculture, census and statistics, public borrowing and debt, property and civil rights, and any other matter of interest under Indian self-government. The only limits of jurisdiction are the international treaties. |
Land Base |
Aboriginal, traditional or ceded land upon which a First Nation exists and develops. Sufficient land to provide a subsistent lifestyle and/or legal identity, political identity, economic development. |
Legislation |
Written or unwritten laws and practices/customs of a nation. |
Métis |
The Métis are excluded from registration in The Indian Act. They were allotted money scrip or land. During the major western treaty negotiations period, there were two sets of Commissioners, one to negotiate treaties with the Indian peoples and the other to settle the Aboriginal claims of the Métis. During these transactions, many Métis who lived with Indian peoples and followed their ways were given the opportunity to take treaty. Those who took treaty were registered and were deemed to be Indian people by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. |
Nation |
A group of people with a common history, language and culture, that occupies a particular territory. |
Self-determination |
Self-determination is a concept or idea, accepted in the international community of nations, stating that a people has the right to decide its own future, freely without outside interference. A people, like the First Nations of Canada, can decide to set up and organize its own governments or freely decide to associate or integrate into another governing system such as Canada. |
Self-government |
Self-government refers to First Nations exercising their inherent right to govern and make decisions affecting their own lives, lands and resources with all of the duties and responsibilities of governing bodies. First Nations have never relinquished their inherent right to exercise self-government although the practice of First nations self-government has been greatly disrupted by the action of federal, provincial and territorial policies and laws. |
Sovereignty |
Possessing supreme authority; a nation that is sovereign is independent and free with right to territory of its own. |
Status Indian |
A "status" or "registered" Indian is a person who is registered as an Indian under the terms of The Indian Act. The criteria for registration in an Indian register kept by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) are historical and legal rather than racial. The Act excludes: Métis who chose scrip or lands rather than treaty rights, enfranchised Indians and Inuit. Thus the definition of "Indian" is narrower in The Indian Act, than in Section 91(24) of The British North America Act, which includes Inuit and all Indigenous peoples who can claim Indian heritage either racially or culturally. |
Treaty |
A solemn agreement negotiated between sovereign nations. |
Treaty Rights |
Rights owing to First Nations as a result of treaties negotiated between themselves as sovereign nations or tribes, bands and clans and the British Crown or Government of Canada. |
Values |
One's principles, standards or judgements about what is valuable or important in life. |
Worldview |
A distinctive way of looking at reality that creates a context for living. |
Resources
All units are resource-based; teachers and students are encouraged to use a variety of resources and sources throughout. The accompanying bibliography contains annotations of current, useful resources including print, video, Internet sites, and other media selections. Teachers are encouraged to assess their current resource collection, identifying those that are still useful, and to acquire small quantities of each title, rather than class sets, in order to provide students with a broad range of perspectives and information. The bibliography that accompanies this curriculum guide includes detailed annotations that will assist in making resource selections appropriate to the abilities and needs of the students.
The following list of resource titles provides a starting point for developing a Unit Four resource collection that is current and relevant, and that addresses students' various learning styles and abilities.
Print Resources
Aboriginal peoples: Building for the Future
Beginnings
Canada's People: The Métis
Cree People
Legacies Series
Native Soldiers: Foreign Battlefields
Pathways: Civilizations Through Time
Roots of Society (previously listed resource that continues to be useful)
Spiritual Life - Native American Culture Series
World Civilizations: A Comparative Study
The following print resources are listed for Middle Level English Language Arts (grades 6-9) and offer opportunities for interdisciplinary instruction.
And They Told Us Their Stories: A Book of Indian Stories
Becoming Brave: The Path to Native American Manhood
Bones in the Basket: Native Stories of the Origin of People
The Boy Who Lived With the Bears and Other Iroquois Stories
Courageous Spirits: Aboriginal Heroes of Our Children
The Dream Carvers
Flower Beadwork People
The Gift of Changing Woman
How We Saw the World: Nine Native Stories of the Way Things Began
In Honour of Our Grandmothers: Imprints of Cultural Survival
An Inuk Boy Becomes a Hunter
"Just Talking About Ourselves": Voices of Our Youth - Volume I
The Life and Death of Crazy Horse
Louis, Son of the Prairies
Melanie Bluelake's Dream
My Name is Seepeetza
Native Voices - The Issues Collection
Old Wive's Lake
Race With the Buffalo
Soldier Boys
Speak to the Earth
Tikta'liktak
A Very Small Rebellion
Voices of My Grandmother
Voices Under One Sky: A Contemporary Native Literature
Non-print Resources
Connecting Canada - A Resource for Canadian Students
For Angela (video)
Justice From the Inside Out (video)
Native Reflections (video)
Nobody's Born a Racist (video)
"Only Yesterday" by Chief Dan George (audio recording in We Are Canadians kit)
Roots of Society (kit - previously listed resource that remains useful)
Who We Are: A Celebration of Native Youth - (video in We Are Canadians kit)
Internet Sites
Teachers are advised to check the bibliography for Internet site addresses that support this unit. As well, many general interest sites are listed in Social Studies: An Information Bulletin for the Renewed Middle Level Curricula (Grades 7-9), March 1999, pp. 19-20. Due to the unstable nature of Internet sites, teachers are advised to access Saskatchewan Education's Web site at http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/curr_inst/social/socialsciences.html.
See pages 378-381 in this curriculum guide for information about locating and evaluating Internet sites.
Incorporating Current Events
Incorporating current events enhances students' understanding of the concepts under study and extends their learning experiences by relating the events to real life and making them relevant. Sources for current event stories include newspapers, news magazines, daily and weekly television and radio newscasts and documentaries, and the Internet. Many Canadian daily newspapers are available on-line and are a reliable source of current events. Select articles and news items to support the objectives and concepts as often as possible, and encourage students to contribute also. See pages 346-350 in this curriculum guide for some current event activities.
Interdisciplinary Opportunities
This unit may be adapted for interdisciplinary study. See page 336 of this curriculum guide for information about developing interdisciplinary units of study. The following are some suggestions for connecting this unit to other subject areas:
Note: Teachers are advised to refer to pages 12-13 of this curriculum guide for information about Aboriginal content, perspectives and resources.