Aboriginal Spirituality

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Aboriginal Spirituality

• By Rafi, Richard, Karolyn

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Native Adherents

• New data from the 2001 census shows the
  aboriginals share in Canadas rising population.
• Census count of people registered under the
  Indian Act was about 558,000

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Aboriginal Influences

• Late 20th century
• The Oka Crisis was a land dispute between the
  Mohawk nation and the town of Oka, Quebec which
  began on March 11, 1990, and lasted until
  September 26, 1990. It resulted in three deaths,
  and would be the first of a number of
  well-publicized violent conflicts between
  Indigenous people and the Canadian Government in
  the late 20th century.
• The Ipperwash Crisis was an Indigenous land
  dispute that occurred in Ipperwash Provincial
  Park, Ontario in 1995. Several members of the
  Stoney Point Ojibway band occupied the park in
  order to assert their claim to the land. This led
  to a violent confrontation between protestors and
  the Ontario Provincial Police, who killed
  protestor Dudley George. The ensuing controversy
  was a major event in Canadian politics, and a
  provincial inquiry investigating the events
  continues today.

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Aboriginal Influences CNTD.

• Early 21st century
• Many First Nations, along with their peers the
  Métis and the Inuit, claim to receive inadequate
  funding for education, and allege that their
  rights have been overlooked in many instances.
  Recently James K. Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor
  of Ontario, listed the encouragement of
  indigenous young people as one of his key
  priorities, and during his term (which began in
  2002) has launched several initiatives to promote
  literacy and bridge building.
• Interaction with European-Canadians
• As far back as the late 18th century, First
  Nations believe they have been targeted for
  assimilation into what they call
  European/Canadian culture.

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Important Facts/Timeframe

• Quotations "The culture, values and traditions
  of native people amount to more than crafts and
  carvings. Their respect for the wisdom of their
  elders, their concept of family responsibilities
  extending beyond the nuclear family to embrace a
  whole village, their respect for the environment,
  their willingness to share - all of these values
  persist within their own culture even though they
  have been under unremitting pressure to abandon
  them." Mr. Justice Thomas Berger, Mackenzie
  Valley Pipeline Inquiry, (aka the Berger
  Inquiry). Timeframe The Aboriginals were in
  Canada approximately 35,000 years ago.
• Interesting FactsThe aboriginal peoples of
  Canada came into contact with Europeans around
  900 years ago for the Inuit and over 400 years
  ago for the peoples of the north Atlantic coast.
  Some did not meet Europeans until the early 20th
  century. Earliest contact with the Europeans were
  with the Norse in Newfoundland around 1000 AD.

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Place Of Origin

• Important Facts
• The origins of Canada's Aboriginal peoples are
  largely shrouded in mystery, others think that
  they came by crossing an ice bridge in The
  Bearing Strait from east (Asia) to the west
  (North, and South America). The Aboriginals had
  twelve major language families and over fifty
  languages evolved many different types of
  ecological environments.
• Archaeologists have found native artefacts
  dating back beyond 10,000 years

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Beliefs

• Animism all human and non-human withhold a soul
  and after death, live on.
• Aboriginal is more polytheistic (believing in
  more than one god) rather than monotheistic
  (believing in one god).
• They believe in reincarnation, or rebirth.

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Practices, Rituals, Ceremonies

• The Sweat Lodge It is a ceremony common among
  the Great Plains nations and cleanses both the
  physical and spiritual body.
• The Morning Dance Occurs every spring, the
  Ojibwa of southern Ontario perform this dance. It
  pays homage to the tree of the universe
• The Shaking Tent Its a ritual where one
  communicates with its spirits.
• The Sun Dance A summer festival that takes place
  over a period of eight to sixteen days. This
  festival was so powerful that the government
  banned it in the late 1880s.
• The Potlatch Ceremony Feasting, distributing
  wealth, and sharing songs and dances are all part
  of a Potlatch. This was another ceremony that the
  government made illegal in 1884.

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Other interesting facts

• The definition of Aboriginal is of native
  ancestry inhabiting or existing in a land from
  the earliest times and before colonists.
• The leader of the group is called a Sachem.
• Aboriginals have many interesting stories about
  genesis/origins.
• These stories hold a great deal of spiritual
  powers.
• Not only are they located in North and South
  America, but they are also located around the
  world.
• All over Canada, there are specific pieces for
  natives only. One is located in Orillia.
• Aboriginals have many traditions and rituals,
  some are the morning dance, and the sun dance.

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