Learning Activity: Stateless Nations of the
U.S. and Canada
by Donald P. Albert, Sam Houston State University
(use in conjunction with GITN #620, One Land, Two Cultures:
http://www.maps101.com/Application/GITN/View.aspx?articleId=582)
Introduction
While the plight of the Palestinians is of global significance, there are more than
two hundred other nations without a state. Surprisingly, eleven of these stateless
nations exist within the United States and Canada. This learning activity brings
the issue of contemporary national movements “home” with an analysis of the
relative location, area, and population size of the stateless nations within the
United States and Canada. Students will also identify claims and issues spurring
these various peoples toward recognition, self-determination, or sovereignty.
Grade Level: 9-12
Time Required: several class periods over the course of one weekʼs time
Objective
Students will label the location of eleven stateless nations on an outline map, and
assess the geographic extent (area and population) of this phenomenon using
addition and division. Finally, students will explore the important issues
surrounding these various national movements.
National Geography Standard
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Standard 13. How forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence
the division and control of Earthʼs surface.
Terms
Nation and state, together with their permutations, are often used imprecisely or
incorrectly; therefore, it is important to have a grasp of appropriate usage. Getis,
Getis, and Fellmann (2002) provide the following definitions:
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•
•
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Nation – A culturally distinctive group of people occupying a particular region
and bound together by a sense of unity arising from shared ethnicity, beliefs,
and customs.
State – An independent political unit occupying a defined, permanently
populated territory and having full sovereign control over its internal and
foreign affairs.
Nation-State – A state whose territory is identical to that occupied by a
particular nation.
Stateless Nation – [A] people without a state.
Resources
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Espenshade, E. 1995. Rand McNally Goodeʼs World Atlas, 19th edition
[“World Political Information Table,” pages 245-249].
Getis, A., J. Getis, and J. Fellmann. 2002. Introduction to Geography, 8th ed.
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Minahan, J. 1996. Nations Without States: A Historical Dictionary of
Contemporary National Movements. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood
Press [available at over 700 university and college libraries in the U.S.,
Canada, and other countries].
Maps101 Outline Maps:
http://www.maps101.com/Application/Catalog/Category.aspx?cid=62 (outline
maps suitable for customizing, printing and copying).
Getting Started
1. Print outline maps for Canada and the United States from National
Geographic Societyʼs Xpeditions Atlas.
2. On the outline maps locate and label each stateless nation using the
description provided in the table [see columns named “stateless nation” and
“relative location”].
3. Calculate the combined area and population of the stateless nations [area
total = 2,177,779 square miles; population total = 10,623,850 people].
4. Ask students to find the area and population of the United States and Canada
using Rand McNally Goodeʼs World Atlas, 19th edition. If you use another
atlas or source, be sure that population estimates are from the mid-1990s so
data are comparable to the population estimates used in the table below
[answers: U.S. = 3,787,425 square miles and Canada = 3,849,674 square
miles; U.S. = 259,390,000 people and Canada 27,950,000 people].
5. Next, ask students to calculate the approximate percent of the U.S. and
Canadaʼs area that is “claimed” by stateless nations. Potentially, what
percent of the United States and Canadaʼs combined population is comprised
of by stateless nations? Round answers to the nearest percent [answers:
29% area and 4% population].
6. Have each student prepare a five-minute oral report on a stateless nationʼs
struggle for recognition. Pick from among the stateless nations listed in the
table, or expand investigation to other stateless nations around the world.
Students might refer to Nations Without States (Minahan 1996),
encyclopedias, or other reference materials to learn more about these
national movements.
Stateless
Nation
Dinetah
Haida Gwaii
Relative Location
Area
(sq. mi.)
northeastern Arizona and adjacent
26,862
parts of Utah and New Mexico
northwestern North America – Queen
Charlotte Islands in Canada; southern
5,093
district of Prince of Wales Island in
U.S.
Haudenosaunee
scattered reserve lands in New York
(Iroquois
State, Ontario, and Quebec Provinces
Confederation)
straddling the Topic of Cancer in the
Hawaiian Nation
north-central Pacific
South Dakota west of the Missouri
Lakota
River
Newfoundland
Newfoundland
Ungava Peninsula, northeastern
Nistassin
Canada
northern Canada, includes Baffin
Nunavut
Island
Puerto Rico
northern Caribbean
Quebec
eastern Canada
thirty-five counties of eastern
Sequoyah
Oklahoma
Totals
First published June 2002
Population
(1995 estimates)
186,240
7,040
509
64,000
6,471
242,000
41,288
102,200
169,339
562,560
308,841
17,700
777,000
17,020
3,515
524,861
3,565,720
5,730,320
31,4000
129,050