First Nations Territories of British Columbia and the Lower Mainland:
Words to Know:
SovereignNation:is a nation that has one centralized government that has the power to govern a specific geographic area.
Treaty:a formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries.
Indigenous:originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.
Aboriginal:inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times or from before the arrival of colonists
Inuit:a member of an indigenous people of northern Canada and parts of Greenland and Alaska.
Métis:(especially in western Canada) a person of mixed indigenous and Euro-American ancestry, in particular one of a group of such people who in the 19th century constituted the so-called Métis nation in the areas around the Red and Saskatchewan rivers.
Cultural Assimilation:is the process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group.
Unceded: Aboriginal Title has neither been surrendered nor acquired by the Crown (government).
Colonialism: the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. Settler:a person who moves with a group of others to live in a new country or area.
Wab Kinew on the Stereotypes of Natives in Canada:
Canadian First Nations Residential Schools
Why are we talking about this?
Residential schools are thought of by many to be one of the worst things that Canada has ever done but many people in Canada don’t know about the full extent of what happened
Schools were a part of this dark thing, and therefore schools have a responsibility to try to address it and make sure it never happens again
Context of residential schools on families and communities
If First Nations parents did not give their children up to residential schools, they could be put in jail
Many children did not make it home, and their parents were not informed that they had died until weeks or months later
Even people who came home often were never the same again
Children who were forced to go to residential schools are often called “survivors of residential schools”; why do we call them that?
Of the 150,000 children AT LEAST 4000 died of things like tuberculosis, malnutrition, accidents, drowning, exposure, or suicide. Some estimates put it up to 6000.
The federal government stopped recording the deaths around 1920 after the chief medical officer at Indian Affairs suggested children were dying at an alarming rate.
Schools were often crowded, poorly ventilated and unsanitary. Children died from smallpox, measles, influenza and tuberculosis. Some were buried in unmarked graves in school cemeteries, while others were listed as "missing" or "discharged." In some cases, parents never found out what happened.
There was rampant physical and sexual abuse of First Nations students in the residential school system
Documents released in 2013 revealed that the federal government conducted nutritional and medical experiments on thousands of children who attended residential schools
Many today call the residential schools a cultural genocide
Canadian Residential School Propaganda Video 1955:
Context of residential schools on families and communities
If First Nations parents did not give their children up to residential schools, they could be put in jail
Many children did not make it home, and their parents were not informed that they had died until weeks or months later
Even people who came home often were never the same again
Of the 150,000 children AT LEAST 4000 died of things like tuberculosis, malnutrition, accidents, drowning, exposure, or suicide. Some estimates put it up to 6000
The federal government stopped recording the deaths around 1920 after the chief medical officer at Indian Affairs suggested children were dying at an alarming rate.
Schools were often crowded, poorly ventilated and unsanitary. Children died from smallpox, measles, influenza and tuberculosis. Some were buried in unmarked graves in school cemeteries, while others were listed as "missing" or "discharged." In some cases, parents never found out what happened.
There was rampant physical and sexual abuse of First Nations students in the residential school system
Documents released in 2013 revealed that the federal government conducted nutritional and medical experiments on thousands of children who attended residential schools
Many today call the residential schools a cultural genocide
What is #Idlenomore?
The largest Indigenous mass movement in Canadian history
Started in Canada in December 2012 as a response to a Canadian Omnibus Legislative bill and treaty abuses
Started as round dances in public places and civil disobedience to pipelines and resource development projects
Need to Know:
Assembly of First Nations (AFN): is an assembly, modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, of First Nations (Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. The aims of the organization are to protect and advance the aboriginal and treaty rights and interests of First Nations in Canada, including health, education, culture and language.
Omnibus Bill C-45
Bill C-45 which drastically impacts First Nations rights through the proposed changes to the Indian Act, Fisheries Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and the Navigable Water Protection Act. The existing amendments to the Indian Act are clearly designed to give the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs access over First Nations' lands and permit the Minister to exercise undue influence over vulnerable communities...The key amendment to the Act provides the government with the authority to determine the surrender of any portion of any First Nation territory at any given time. This clause directly contravenes the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which calls for the "free, prior and informed consent" of all Indigenous peoples exercising their right of self-determination. http://www.onwa.ca/upload/documents/fact-sheet-idle-no-more-pdf.pdf
Dakota Access Pipeline Protests Turn Violent
Discuss: How does this video make you feel? What are you first thoughts and feelings. There are no wrong answers to this.
Do you identify more with the protesters or the oil company/security people, or neither? Why or why not? (there are no wrong answers). Would you feel differently if you had a different identity?
Here's what you need to know about the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests
Dakota Access Pipeline Company Attacks Native American Protesters with Dogs & Pepper Spray
Discuss: How does this video make you feel? What are you first thoughts and feelings. There are no wrong answers to this.
Do you identify more with the protestors or the oil company/security people, or neither? Why or why not? (there are no wrong answers). Would you feel differently if you had a different identity?
Amy Goodman – Arrest issued for her for covering/shooting video
Is this lawful? Why or why not?
Why might some people not want journalism like this?
FIRST NATIONS, SETTLERS, and CANADA VLOG ASSIGNMENT
Create a VLog (Video blog). This is meant to demonstrate your learning and understanding of what we have explored over the last two weeks or so looking at Indigenous issues, colonialism, and how we relate to them as a country and as inidividuals.
In the Video Blog, you must answer/explore the following questions:
What who are you, and where you are from (E.g. My name Ms. Grainger. I am from St. Johns Academy or My name is Ryan. I was born in Calgary, but now I live in Port Coquitlam, etc.)
Why are you making this video (E.g. This video is the unit project for the First Nations issues section of my Social Justice 12 class)
Out of the things we have explored and discussed over the last few weeks (re: Indigenous and Settler topics, perspectives, and stories) what things have left the biggest impression, or had the biggest impact on you? Why?
What is your relationship to colonialism and Indigenous people in Canada?
What do you think we need to do to start us on the road to reconciliation with and justice for Indigenous peoples in Canada. Explain your answer.
Stage 1: Preplan your VLog with some outline notes. You will hand this draft into your teacher as a part of your assignment, and it will make up 25% of your grade. This can be emailed in a digital form, or given to Ms. Grainger on paper.
Stage 2: Record your VLog. This can be done with a web camera, or a cell phone. Your VLog must:
Be 1-2 minutes in length. If you want to be longer, that is okay.
Stage 3: Email your VLog to your teacher at [email protected], (this can be either in a movie file, or via a link to a youtube upload) or give it to her on a USB drive.
Due date:This assignment is to Ms. Grainger by the end of class on Wednesday, February 5, 2020.