Challenges Faced by Aboriginal

People in the 20th Century

How is resiliency evident in First Nations responses to challenges they faced

throughout the 20th Century?

How is one’s identity interwoven with one’s history?

Where do our understandings / images come from of others

come from?

Represented Images of First Nations People

As you watch the following video,

1. Write down images you see that connect to what you think about First Nations culture.

2. Write down images of First Nations culture that might surprise you.

3. Capture any questions or wonderings you have.

See, Wonder, Think

After you watch the video,

1. Write down any new understandings or thoughts you have about the representation of First Nations culture.

2. Quick write: How were the images of First Nations in the video similar or different to your ideas before watching the video?

See, Wonder, Think

Go to video at this link…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3Y1PRB3S1k

After you watch the view,

1. Write down any new understandings or thoughts you have about the representation of First Nations culture.

2. Quick write: How were the images of First Nations in the video similar or different to your ideas before watching the video?

See, Wonder, Think

After you watch the view,

1. Something that surprised me in the video was…

2. I didn’t realize…3. The video made me think…

4. Quick write: How were the images of First Nations in the video similar or different to your ideas before watching the video?

See, Wonder, Think

How does one recover from historical injustices?

Impacts of Colonization & Assimilation

Colonization

Placemat: On your placemat write down words, phrases or ideas that help you understand what colonization is and the effect it had on Aboriginal life.

Assimilation

Placemat: On your placemat write down words, phrases or ideas that help you understand what assimilation is and the effect it had on Aboriginal life.

I want to get rid of the Indian problem.... Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill.- Duncan Campbell Scott, Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 1920 famous quote about policy to make attendance mandatory to attend residential schools in Canada for Indian children ages 7 - 15 yrs. old ;

Assimilation

Placemat: On your placemat write down words, phrases or ideas that help you understand what assimilation is and the effect it had on Aboriginal life.

Two primary objectives of the residential schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture.

These objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal.

Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, "to kill the Indian in the child.”

Stephen Harper, PM

Quick Write and Share:

1. How are colonization and assimilation connected?

2. What were the implications of assimilation and colonization on Aboriginal people and their culture?

Cultural Implications

I can demonstrate knowledge of the

challenges faced by Aboriginal people in Canada during the 20th century and their responses, with reference to

− residential schools − reserves − self-government − treaty negotiations

Learning Intention

Identify up to five words that

can be used to describe each of the policies, events and government actions faced by aboriginal people in the 20th century.

Word Wall

For each of the policies, events and

government actions faced by aboriginal people in the 20th century, create a news headline that clearly shows your understanding of:

The struggle faced by aboriginal peoples.and/or

The aboriginal people’s response and their resiliency.

Headlines

Capture Their Thinking Sheets

The Canadian Government, on behalf of the

Canadian people, has apologize for their policy of assimilation.

What is the responsibility of those in the present to right the injustices of the past?

or How does speaking with / interacting with our

histories transform the relationship of injustice?

Ticket Out / In the Door

Who exactly went to these schools?

• Every Aboriginal child between the ages of 5 to 15 years old.

• Over the decades, thousands of Aboriginal children across Canada [First Nation, Métis and Inuit] passed through these schools.

What did these children do there?

They learned “useful”skills such as farming, carpentry and

domestic skills.

The purpose?

To “teach” them white British skills instead of hunting and gathering.

Impact

When the children were taken from their homes the community was left in a state of shock and despair.

Some turned to alcohol. Native children were deprived of normal family

life and did not learn how to be parents. Children were taken from their home, culture,

land, community…Their identity was torn from them.

Many children who went to Residential schools never returned because they died from disease, beatings, suicide, or failed escapes.

Official Apology

Google search the Apology video

In groups try to agree on a definition of

reconciliation? What are some characteristics of

reconciliation? What are some examples of

reconciliation? Is there a power balance in

reconciliation?

Reconciliation

There is an emerging and compelling desire to

put the events of the past behind us so that we can work towards a stronger and healthier future. The truth telling and reconciliation process as part of an overall holistic and comprehensive response to the Indian Residential School legacy is a sincere indication and acknowledgement of the injustices and harms experienced by Aboriginal people and the need for continued healing.

Truth and Reconciliation

This is a profound commitment to establishing

new relationships embedded in mutual recognition and respect that will forge a brighter future. The truth of our common experiences will help set our spirits free and pave the way to reconciliation.

Truth and Reconciliation

“Canada is a test case for a grand notion — the notion

that dissimilar peoples can share lands, resources, power and dreams while respecting and sustaining their differences. The story of Canada is the story of many such peoples, trying and failing and trying again, to live together in peace and harmony. But there cannot be peace or harmony unless there is justice. It was to help restore justice to the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada, and to propose practical solutions to stubborn problems, that the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was established.” — page ix, A Word From Commissioners

Royal Commission on Aboriginal People

Resiliency

How does education

help reconciliation with Aboriginal

people?

Education

How is resiliency evident in

First Nations responses to challenges they faced

throughout the 20th Century?

Provincial Exam Preparation