Canadian First Nations

1
Canadian First Nations

• An Introduction to the Indigenous People of Canada

2
Canadian Culture

• Canada is a pluralistic society. This means that
  our society is made up of many groups of people,
  each with its own unique identities, ideas,
  perspectives, and culture.
• The resulting society has a sense of respect for
  all cultures.

3
Focus on Culture

• Culture is a way of life or a way of being that
  is shared by a group of people. Culture includes
  knowledge, experience, and values that a group
  shares and shape the way its members see the
  world.
• Governments, relationships, languages, and
  beliefs are all aspects of a groups cultural
  identity.

4
Culture of the First Nations

• The First Nations peoples have lived in all parts
  of the land that we now call Canada. They lived
  in the frozen lands of the artic, the mountains
  of the west, the prairie grasslands, eastern
  woodlands, and on the islands from the north to
  the south.
• Each First Nation developed a unique culture
  suited to its surroundings in the natural world.
  Their cultures became as diverse as the Canadian
  landscape.
• When studying the First Nation peoples we tend to
  lump these diverse groups together for ease of
  use and many groups do have similar worldviews
  based on shared past experiences. However,
  remember that each group has distinct histories,
  traditions, language, and beliefs.

5
Whats in a Name?

• Why do we call them First Nations? Long story
  short- Europeans tended to be ethnocentric This
  means that they judged other cultures and ideas
  according to their values and standards.
  Generally, they did not respect perspectives that
  differed from their own.
• For example, when Christopher Columbus arrived on
  the shores of the Americas, he was actually
  looking for a trade route to India. When he saw
  the Natives, he assumed he land in India and they
  were therefore, Indians. Instead of asking them
  what they called themselves, even after he
  realized his mistake, the name Indian stuck,
  along with many other incorrect names for Native
  tribes.
• Today we realize our mistake and, along with the
  input of the First Nation peoples, have
  officially replaced the European names with the
  original names of the First Nations.

6
Worldviews

• Some Fist Nation cultures share core values
  relating to their relationships with the Creator,
  the natural world, other people, and themselves.
• These beliefs were passed from generation to
  generation through traditional teachings. These
  teachings helped explain the relationships among
  plants, animals, land, people, and the spirit
  world.

7
The Passing on of Traditions

• The elders of the First Nation peoples were held
  in high regard. They were the keepers of
  knowledge, and passed on their knowledge,
  histories and traditions to the youth through
  oral storytelling.
• The information was memorized and passed on
  orally from one generation to the next. It did
  not need to be written down. In this way, the
  First Nations developed a rich oral culture.

8
Our Study

• For this unit we will focus on three First Nation
  peoples The Mikkmaq, Haudenosaunee, and the
  Anishinabe.
• We will explore their worldviews and traditional
  ways of life.

9
Mikmaq

• The Mikmaq lived, and continue to live in
  Eastern Canada
• They were hunters, fishers, and gathers relying
  on small game animals and cod.
• They had strong spiritual beliefs centered on
  nature and the interconnectedness of all
  creatures of the Creator. Ass all were believed
  to be equal, they treated all of nature with
  respect.

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• Their political structure was a hierarchy. They
  had members of a Grand Council, elected from
  District Chiefs (there were 7 districts), the
  remaining chiefs made up the council of elders.
  
• Members of districts lived in family clans, with
  a local leader called Sagamaw. They solved local
  disputes.
• All members of council had to be good hunters
  and/or fishers.
• All decisions were made with the consensus of the
  council members with input from interested
  citizens.

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• Men held the highest positions in the councils.
  They were also responsible for hunting and
  fishing in order to provide for the clan.
• Women held important roles in their communities.
  They were in charge in distributing the food and
  goods among the clan. They gathered and prepared
  food, raised the children and took care of the
  home.
• Women were also allowed and encouraged to voice
  concerns to council. There were many female
  elders who gave advice and guidance to council
  and clans.

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Mikmaq Political Structure
Grand Council Grand Council Leader Seven District
Chiefs (1 from each district)
Council of Elders
Local Chiefs
Villages of Bands
13
Haudenosaunee

• The Haudenosaunee are a group that includes six
  different First Nations
  Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and
  Tuscarora.
• They lived North to South of the St. Laurence
  River.
• They shared a similar language (Algonquin) and
  similar core values. However each group has a
  distinct culture

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• The Haudenosaunee depended on hunting, fishing
  and gathering. They are accredited as being
  Canadas first farming peoples. Their main
  crops, the Three Sisters were corn, beans, and
  squash. They believed the crops came from the
  Spirit World.
• The Haudenosaunee had similar beliefs surrounding
  the importance of Nature and the
  interconnectedness of human, animal, and spirit
  world.

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• The Haudenosaunee government system relied on
  alliances, or agreements between the different
  tribes to woek together. According to oral
  history, a peacemaker arrived in the land of the
  Haudenosaunee who were at the time, at war with
  each other. The peacemaker created the Law of
  Peace a set of laws that explain how the
  government would work and how people should
  behave. This is not unlike how the constitution
  works within the Canadian and US government.

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• In the Haudenosaunee community, men were expected
  to hunt and fish. They also were the leaders.
  However, it was a matrilineal society- headed by
  women.
• Families were organized in Longhouses, similar to
  Mikmaq clans. Women were the head of longhouses
  and called Clan Mother. Male leaders were elected
  by the women.
• They tended the crops, raised the children, and
  were responsible for distributing food and other
  goods. The first to receive resources were
  children, then Elders, women, then finally the
  men.

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• Women were well respected for their ability to
  create life. They were the decision makers and
  controlled many aspects of Haudenosaunee daily
  life including
• Location of villages
• What crops to plant and where
• Whether men should go to war or make peace
• Taught the children
• Preformed ceremonies and rituals

18
Anishinabe

• The Anishinabe lived in the wooded country of
  Northern Ontario, central Ontario, and Sothern
  Manitoba. Later they moved Westward onto the
  Plains where they live today.

• The Anishinabe lived according to seven main
  principles
• Wisdom
• Love
• Respect
• Bravery
• Honesty
• Humility
• Truth

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• The Anishinabe were hunters and gathers.
  However, they had an additional food source that
  set them apart from other First nations wild
  rice.
• They focused on the seasons and created a life
  cycle based on when to grow, when to harvest,
  when to hunt and when to fish.
• Nature dictated their lives, therefore they too
  showed respect to Mother Nature.

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• Like the Mikmaq and the Haudenosaunee, the
  Anishinabe created a clan system to resolve local
  issues and organize education, medicine, food and
  goods, etc.
• Each clan was named after an animal, and each
  clan had duties to carry out for the good of the
  entire nation.
• Each clan had a leader who was chosen based on
  their courage, skills, and character.
• The clans worked together to create a balanced
  government.

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Anishinabe The governing system
Bird Spiritual leaders Responsible for
well-being and spiritual development of the
community.
Deer Poets, pacificists Responsible for
creating And maintaining shelter
Anishinabe Clan System
Marten Hunters, food gathers, and warriors
Bear Strong and steady responsible for
patrolling and policing the community
Fish Teachers and scholars Responsible for
teaching young people and solving disputes
Loon and Crane Leadership Clans responsible
for providing governance
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• The Anishinabe believed in equality and balance.
  Men and Women were equal partners and preformed
  specific roles.
• Men hunted, fished, and held leadership roles in
  the clan system.
• Women raised children and looked after the home.
  They also did some hunting. They were primarily
  responsible for planting and harvesting. They
  too divided the food and other goods among the
  clans.

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Economies of First Nations

• An important part of every culture is the
  economy. This is the way people meet their basic
  needs.
• The First Nations were based on food supply.
  Growing, gathering, hunting, and fishing. They
  needed to gain as much in the summer and preserve
  as much in the winter.
• The people had to have an excellent knowledge of
  the land, climate, and cycles of nature in order
  for this economy to work.

24
Trading Networks

• The First Nations traded goods with one another
  long before European traders arrived.
• For example, the Haudenosaunee traded corn and
  other crops in return for copper from the
  Anishinabe, and seashells from the Mikmaq.
• All across North America, First Nations traded
  with eachother for goods they did not have. When
  the Europeans arrived, they joined their trading
  network.