INDG 1220

• Indigenous studies courses


  Help students better understand indigenous issues of public interest discussed at the local, regional, and national level
• Understanding of indigenous people's history, cultures, world views, and contributions in Canada


  Develop the skills necessary to discuss these issues
• Indigenous studies


  A practice of storytelling
• Story is the very basis of the discipline of indigenous studies
• Indigenous studies


  Has been given the responsibility to share the lived experiences of indigenous populations through both quantitative and qualitative research
• Story


  Builds community, expresses value, and demonstrates indigenous research's relational and reflexive nature while adhering to protocol
• Indigenous peoples in Canada

  • First Nations
  • Inuit
  • Metis
• First Nations


  • Appear on the Indian register (Indian Act) in Ottawa
  • Each person whose name appears on the Indian register is registered Indian who has been assigned a registration number and is considered a Status Indian under the Indian Act
  • They may or may not belong to a band
  • Those who belong to a band have their name and number on a band list
  • The India Act applies only to these people
  • If registered Indian parents adopt a non-aboriginal child, the child legally becomes an Indian
  • Since 1985, if one of the parents is not a status Indian, the child has 6(2) status (a reduction from 6(1) status granted to those with two Status Indian parents)
  • People with 6(2) status cannot pass on Indian status if their child has one non-status parent
  • Those who are not registered in Ottawa under the Indian Act are considered to be non-status Indians
• Inuit


  • Are recognized as indigenous people and are registered in Ottawa
  • But the Indian Act does not apply to the Inuit
  • The Inuit do not have reserves
  • They have received indigenous titles to the lands in the north that are recognized as belonging to them by the federal and territorial governments
  • There are 53 communities across the northern regions of Canada in Inuit Nunangat, meaning "the place where Inuit live"
  • Comprised of 4 regions : Inuvialuit (Northwest Territories and Yukon), Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (Labrador), Nunavut
• Metis


  • Are 1 of 3 recognized Indigenous peoples in Canada, Along with First Nations and Inuit
  • The Manitoba Metis federation governs the Red River Metis, and citizens can be found throughout the Metis homeland
  • The Metis national council represents four other governing bodies also recognized by the Canadian government: Metic nation Saskatchewan, Metis nation Ontario, Metis nation British Columbia, Metis of Alberta
  • The Metis are recognized in the 1982 Canadian constitution
• Terminology and writing guide

  • Indigenous (the umbrella term used in Canada refers to first Nations, Metis, and Inuit individuals)
  • First Nations (the term refers to an indigenous person distinct from Metis or Inuit, originates in the 1970s and refers to those who are legally considered "Indians" in the constitution act 1982, section 35)
  • Metis (the terms refers to an Indigenous person who self-identifies as Metis, is of the historic Metis nation ancestry, is distinct from other aboriginal peoples, and is accepted by Metis nation)
  • Inuk (refers to an indigenous person whose roots stem from unit nunangat, also known as the Canadian Arctic)
  • Native American (refers to an indigenous person whose roots stem from the United States of America and cannot be used to refer to indigenous peoples in what is now known as Canada)
• Culturally Safe Writing Tips

  • Always capitalize Indigenous
  • Pluralize 'people' as there is no one homogenous group of Indigenous
  • Use active language, avoiding passive voice
  • Avoid past-tense Indigenous peoples are here in the present
  • Avoid possessive terms
  • Use Indigenous names and spelling for Indigenous peoples (I.e., nehiyaw for colonially known Cree, Anishinaabe for colonially known Ojibwa)
• Terms to Avoid


  • Indian (the term used by the Canadian Nation-State in government policy, rooted in colonialism and racism)
  • Native (the term is outdated and considered in the community as derogatory)
  • Our Native People/ Native Canadian/ Indigenous Canadian (these terms imply that indigenous people are the property of Canada or belong to Canada)
  • Aboriginal (the Canadian constitution act of 1982 uses the term to describe the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit whose rights are recognized and affirmed within the document, avoid using this term)
  • Aborigines (a derogatory term refers to an Indigenous person whose roots stem from the land currently known as Australia and cannot be used to refer to Indigenous Peoples in what is now known as Canada)
• Indigenous Peoples and Communities in Canada and Manitoba

  • Plateau (Ktunaxa)
  • Plains (Niitsitapi, or Siksikaitsitapi, nehiyawak)
  • Sub-Arctic (Dene Suline, Maskekowak)
  • Eastern Woodlands (Anishinaabe, Mik'maqc)
  • Arctic (Inuit)
  • In Manitoba, First Nation peoples belong to the following Nations: Dakhota Oyate, Anishinaabe, Nehiyaw, Anishinini, Dene Suline
  • Other Indigenous Peoples of Manitoba: Metis, Inuit
• Indigenous Organizations


  • The assembly of first nations (representing status Indian peoples)
  • The congress of aboriginal peoples (representing non-status Indian peoples)
  • The Inuit tapiriit kanatami (representing Inuit)
  • The Metis national council (representing Metis peoples in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, does not represent the Manitoba Metis Foundation)
  • The Native Women's Association of Canada (Representing Indigenous women from across Canada)
• Indigenous population before Europeans

  • Estimated to be slightly more than 2 million, with estimates ranging from 200,000 to 500,000
  • Decreased dramatically after the arrival of the Europeans
• Cultural Areas of Indigenous Peoples in Canada

  • Arctic Cultures
  • Subarctic cultures
  • Northwest coast cultures
  • Plateau Cultures
  • Plains Cultures
  • Eastern Woodlands Cultures
• First Nation Peoples


  • Inhabited five different cultural areas throughout the regions known today as Canada
  • Each region offered different natural resources and a variety of climates to the people who lived there
  • Different first nations within each culture area adopted similar ways of life- similar cultures- because they lived within similar conditions
  • The many different First Nations peoples spoke more than 50 languages and lived diverse lifestyles shaped by their particular environment
  • First nations languages within a culture area were part of a language family (a group of languages that have all developed from one common language in the past)
• Unifying Factors contributing to First Nations Culture

  • Oral History
  • Spirituality
  • Ceremony
• Oral History


  • All First Nations told stories orally to preserve their people's knowledge, experiences, and beliefs
  • Stories are still told today and make up each nation's oral history
  • Storytellers tell stories about actual events in the history of a nation and teach lessons about everyday life
  • Oral histories also enabled First Nation to pass down religious and spiritual knowledge through the generations for hundreds, if not thousands, of years
• Spirituality and Ceremony


  • Shamans were the guardians of religious knowledge, the mythologies and ceremonies
  • Religious and spiritual ceremonies were rich and diverse among First Nations
  • Shaman often presided over these ceremonies, examples were the Sundance of Plains nations, winter ceremonies of northwest coast nations and shaking tent ceremonies of subarctic nations
  • Vision quest - before or at puberty, a young person would go alone to a wilderness area to fast and mediate to gain a guardian spirit power to support and protect them through life
  • Many creation stories describe the Great Spirit diving into the ancient water to dig up mud, from which he made the Earth
  • Other creation stories might involve a changeling of transformer (Nanabooshoo in Anishinaabe or Wesakechak in Nehiyaw) who takes light, fire, water, food, animals, and people
  • All living and non-living things the Creator made are interrelated in a great circle of life
  • Each thing on Earth has a spirit, which should be respected and cared for
• Inuit


  • The Indigenous peoples who lived in the Arctic for thousands of years before Europeans arrived
  • The Arctic is a vast region that I north of the Arctic Circle
  • The Inuit developed ways of life that are highly adapted to the harsh Arctic environment
  • The Inuit can be subdivided into eight distinct cultural groups: Labrador, Ungava, Baffin Island, Iglulik, Caribou, Netsilik, Mackenzie, and Copper Inuit peoples, based on geographic location
  • Although all Inuit people at this time spoke the same language - Inuktitut - each group spoke a different dialect
  • Most of these Inuit groups still exist today, and many Inuit still live in the traditional Arctic areas in which their ancestors lived
• Unifying Factors contributing to Inuit Culture

  • Cooperation
  • Resourcefulness
  • Oral history
• Inuit Environment and Adaptation

  • Arctic winters are long and extremely cold, with few hours of daylight. Summers are relatively short but have many hours of daylight and moderate temperatures
  • No trees grows in the Arctic, but there are low, shrubby plants, many of which produce edible berries
  • The Inuit lived in small bands comprised of two to five families
  • Close cooperation and sharing among families was critical in Inuit life because it was necessary for survival in such a harsh climate
  • Hunting was often a collaborative active, where many men would work together to catch larger game, and the catch would be distributed evenly throughout the band
  • If one family were in difficulty, either more resources would be given to them, or children would be re-distributed to other band members until difficulties were overcome
  • If an elder felt they could no longer contribute to the band, they would wander away from the group to die on the land rather than consume the hard-won resources of the group
  • Because of scarcity of resources, nothing could be wasted, and everything available in the environment was used
• Inuit Shelters and Clothing

  • Igloo - the snow-house style of igloo was made for blocks of packed snow (not ice) and built into a dome, might hold up to 20 people, with long tunnel entrances providing storage space
  • Some Inuit lined the walls with caribou skins for insulation, and some had a window set in the roof made of clear lake ice
  • In summer, or when there was too little snow or ice to build a snow house, Inuit lived in tents made of skins, weighted down around the edges by rocks
  • The skins of seals or caribou were used for everything from the construction of boats (umiaks and kayaks) to shoes (mukluks or kakis), trousers, and parkas
• Inuit Food and Storage


  • The Inuit depended on hunting and fishing; meat and fish caught in summer were stored in shallow pits dug down to permafrost and covered with stones to keep out hungry animals
  • Because there was little wood in the Arctic to make fires, meat, and fish were often eaten raw
• Inuit Art and Spirituality

  • Carving - an ancient art still practiced today, used to record and share stories
  • Inuit carved tools, weapons, and objects of art using bone, ivory, wood, and soapstone (soft stone)
  • In western areas of the Arctic, masks were carved of wood, painted, and decorated with feathers and animal skins
  • Inuit had a close spiritual relationship with the natural world around them, passed down through oral tradition
  • There were no gods, but the cosmos were filled with souls of humans, animals, spirits, and inanimate objects
  • Angakoks, or shamans, were thought to be able to travel in trances and dreams to other worlds and communicate with souls
  • Stories told shamans visiting these worlds, transforming into animals, and visiting Sedna - the half-woman, half-fish goddess of all sea creatures
  • Each new hunting season, pieces of the liver of the first killed sea mammal were returned to the water to honour Sedna
• Inuit carved tools, weapons, and objects of art
• Materials used for Inuit carvings

  • Bone, ivory, wood, and soapstone (soft stone)
• Tools were carefully carved to fit the hand of the user
• In western areas of the Arctic, masks were carved of wood, painted, and decorated with feathers and animal skins
• Inuit spiritual beliefs


  • No gods, but the cosmos were filled with souls of humans, animals, spirits, and inanimate objects
  • Believed in other worlds beneath the sea, inside the Earth, and the sky
• Angakoks (shamans)


  Thought to be able to travel in trances and dreams to these other worlds and communicate with souls
• Stories told shamans visiting these worlds, transforming into animals, and visiting Sedna - the half-woman, half-fish goddess of all sea creatures
• Each new hunting season, pieces of the liver of the first killed sea mammal were returned to the water to please Sedna to give up her sea creatures to the hunters so that the people would have food
• The Arctic


  • Unique and extreme environment
  • Vast territory spreading over 6000 km through six time zones
  • Temperatures in the coldest months range from minus 30-40 degrees celsius in the central and eastern ranges to a high of minus 10-20 in the westerns parts
  • Average temperatures in the warmest months range from 2 to 15 degrees
  • Ground remains frozen throughout the year
  • Annual snowfall rates are relatively light
  • Ice can cover much of the ocean and lakes throughout the year
  • Vegetation comprises small plants that grow relatively close to the ground forming tundra
• Inuit physiological and biochemical adaptations

  • Protect against heat loss
  • Ability to digest high amounts of animal protein and fat
  • Metabolism produces more body heat than most people
• Subarctic region


  • Cold, wet region of forests, mountains ranges, and tundra
  • Immense numbers of rivers, lakes, swamps, and muskeg (waterlogged land)
  • Temperatures could dip to -40 Celsius in winter and rise to 30 celsius in summer
• First Nations in the subarctic culture

  • Nehiyaw (Cree)
  • Beothuk
  • Inn (Montagnais-Naskapi)
  • Thcho (Dogrib)
• Language families of the Subarctic

  • Athapaskan speakers (western regions)
  • Algonquian speakers (eastern regions)