CHC2D Aboriginal Canadians – Historical Perspectives on the Indian Act and Idle No More
2 class periods (leading up to unit culminating activity)
Resources
Day 1
8th Fire – At the Crossroads: DVD (see Risa) or website:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/Doc+Zone/8th+Fire/ID/2196907845/
HTC package (students and teachers have it)
Indian Act Performance Art (worksheet, 1 per student)
Vocabulary Matching (worksheet or make PPT slide)
Terms Used by the Indian Act Terminology 1876 and 1985 (1 per group)
Changing Perspectives on the Indian Act (worksheet, 1 per student)
Day 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ul4KmHlzMc Wab Kinew Heroes
http://www.idlenomore.ca/graphics_images (Idle No More website section on images and graphics)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/9-questions-about-idle-no-more-1.1301843 (cbc: 9 Questions to Ask About Idle No More)
Paragraph Outline Structure and Sample Topic Sentences (worksheet, 1 per student)
Sample Paragraph (1 per group)
Curriculum Expectations:
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A1.5 use the concepts of historical thinking when analyzing, evaluating evidence about, and formulating conclusions
and/or judgments regarding historical issues, events, and/or developments in Canada since 1914
A2.3 apply the knowledge and skills developed in the study of Canadian history when analyzing current social,
economic, and/or political issues, in order to enhance their understanding of these events and their role as informed
citizen
Canada, 1945-1982
D2.1 describe some significant instances of social conflict and/or inequality in Canada during this period (e.g.,
Aboriginal title and land claims) and analyze them from multiple perspectives
Canada, 1982-present
E1.4 describe some key political developments and/or government policies in Canada since 1982 (e.g., Bill C-31
amending Indian Act [1985] and assess their significance for different people in Canada
E2.1 describe some significant ways in which Canadians have cooperated and/or come into conflict with each other
since 1982 (e.g., the Idle No More movement, continuing legal conflict and/or political protests over Aboriginal title
and land claims)
E2.3 identify some key developments and issues that have affected the relationship between the federal/provincial
governments and First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples since 1982 (e.g., Bill C31 [1985], Idle No More movement)
E3.1 describe contributions of various individuals, groups, and/or organizations to Canadian society and politics since
1982 (e.g., Wab Kinew)
Turn the page
Day 1 Lesson:
1. Intro/Hook – show intro to At the Crossroads episode of 8th Fire hosted by Wab Kinew. Outlines aspects
of the Indian Act and shows five artists’ interpretations of them. While students are watching they will
fill out the worksheet (Indian Act Performance Art). This is meant to give students an introduction to
Aboriginal perspectives on the Indian Act and how irritating, repressive and/or absurd aspects of it are.
Stop the DVD as necessary or wait until the end, depending on how much you think students are
understanding. Approximately 10 minutes .
2. Brief Introduction of today’s historical thinking concept – historical perspectives. See HTC package –
Hist. Perspective: guidepost 5 – multiple perspectives.
There are many different historical perspectives on events in the past held by different historical actors,
depending on their position.
o Students need to recognize these and analyze these.
Debrief of video:
What are the two main perspectives that you saw represented in the video?
 gov’t – they wrote the Indian Act
 AND Aboriginal – different views on how irritating, repressive and/or absurd aspects of
the act are to them
3. Do Vocabulary Matching worksheet with students to give them a sense of some of the vocabulary used
in the Indian Act, a document used to control multiple aspects of Aboriginals’ lives.
paternalistic, assimilation – multiple perspectives on it (e.g., gov’t in 1876 thought the act was
protective, while Aboriginals thought it was paternal – treating them like children)
4. Introduction to Indian Act. It is a document created by the government of Canada that establishes
government control over many aspects of Aboriginal life. It has changed many times. It is very
controversial and some people want to get rid of it entirely. Instead of giving it to students as a primary
source document (it is gigantic) they are going to see a list of terms used in it (two versions of it).
5. Give each group a copy of Terms Used by the Indian Act (1876 and 1985) and each student should get a
copy of the worksheet Changing Perspectives on the Indian Act. They are to fill in the worksheet as they
read through the list of terms noting aspects of Aboriginal life being regulated by the government and
use of terminology that we might find surprising today. This will probably take the rest of the period.
6. Homework: finish worksheet (Changing Perspectives on the Indian Act).
CHC2D Changing Perspectives on the Indian Act
Comparing the Indian Acts of 1876 and 1985
In the introductory sections of these two acts, important terms that appear in the text of the
law are defined. Read over these sections and comment on the following questions:
1. Why are these terms considered important?
2. Do any of the definitions reveal a bias (a view that is favoured or disliked by the
authors)? How?
3. Think about the terms and issues that show up in these sections. What do they tell you
about the perspective of the government, when they consider these to be important
matters?
4. What evidence is there of government regulation over Aboriginal people’s lives?
CHC2D Terms used by Indian Act of 1876
Band.
1. The term "band" means any tribe, band or body of Indians who own or are interested in a
reserve or in Indian lands in common, of which the legal title is vested in the Crown (the
monarch and his/her government), or who share alike in the distribution of any annuities or
interest moneys for which the Government of Canada is responsible ; the term "the band"
means the band to which the context relates ; and the term "band," when action is being taken
by the band as such, means the band in council.
Indians.
3. The term "Indian" means
First. Any male person of Indian blood reputed to belong to a particular band ;
Secondly. Any child of such person ;
Thirdly. Any woman who is or was lawfully married to such person :
As to illegitimates.
(a) Provided that any illegitimate child, unless having shared with the consent of the
band in the distribution moneys of such band for a period exceeding two years, may, at
any time, be excluded from the membership thereof by the band, if such proceeding be
sanctioned by the Superintendent-General :
Woman marrying other than an Indian.
(c) Provided that any Indian woman marrying any other than an Indian or a non-treaty
Indian shall cease to be an Indian in any respect within the meaning of this Act, except
that she shall be entitled to share equally with the members of the band to which she
formerly belonged, in the annual or semi-annual distribution of their annuities, interest
moneys and rents ; but this income may be commuted to her at any time at ten years'
purchase with the consent of the band :
Marrying non-treaty Indians.
(d) Provided that any Indian woman marrying an Indian of any other band, or a nontreaty Indian shall cease to be a member of the band to which she formerly belonged,
and become a member of the band or irregular band of which her husband is a member
:
As to half-breeds.
(e) Provided also that no half-breed in Manitoba who has shared in the distribution of
half-breed lands shall be accounted an Indian ; and that no half-breed head of a family
(except the widow of an Indian, or a half-breed who has already been admitted into a
treaty), shall, unless under very special circumstances, to be determined by the
Superintendent-General or his agent, be accounted an Indian, or entitled to be admitted
into any Indian treaty.
Non- treaty Indian.
4. The term "non-treaty Indian" means any person of Indian blood who is reputed to belong to
an irregular band, or who follows the Indian mode of life, even though such person be only a
temporary resident in Canada.
Enfranchised Indian.
5. The term "enfranchised Indian" means any Indian, his wife or minor unmarried child, who
has received letters patent granting him in fee simple any portion of the reserve which may
have been allotted to him, his wife and minor children, by the band to which he belongs, or any
unmarried Indian who may have received letters patent for an allotment of the reserve.
Reserve.
6. The term "reserve" means any tract or tracts of land set apart by treaty or otherwise for the
use or benefit of or granted to a particular band of Indians, of which the legal title is in the
Crown, but which is unsurrendered, and includes all the trees, wood, timber, soil, stone,
minerals, metals, or other valuables thereon or therein.
Indian lands.
8. The term "Indian lands" means any reserve or portion of a reserve which has been
surrendered to the Crown.
Intoxicants.
9. The term "intoxicants" means and includes all spirits, strong waters, spirituous liquors, wines,
or fermented or compounded liquors or intoxicating drink of any kind whatsoever, and any
intoxicating liquor or fluid, as also opium and any preparation thereof, whether liquid or solid,
and any other intoxicating drug or substance, and tobacco or tea mixed or compounded or
impregnated with opium or with other intoxicating drugs, spirits or substances, and whether
the same or any of them be liquid or solid
Superintendent General.
10. The term "Superintendent-General" means the Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs.
Agent.
11. The term "agent" means a commissioner, superintendent, agent, or other officer acting
under the instructions of the Superintendent-General.
CHC2D Terms used by Indian Act of 1985
2. (1) In this Act,
“band”
“band” means a body of Indians
(a) for whose use and benefit in common, lands, the legal title to which is vested in Her
Majesty, have been set apart before, on or after September 4, 1951,
(b) for whose use and benefit in common, moneys are held by Her Majesty, or
(c) declared by the Governor in Council to be a band for the purposes of this Act;
“child”
“child” includes a legally adopted child and a child adopted in accordance with Indian custom;
“council of the band”
“council of the band” means
(a) in the case of a band to which section 74 applies, the council established pursuant to that
section,
(b) in the case of a band to which section 74 does not apply, the council chosen according to
the custom of the band, or, where there is no council, the chief of the band chosen according to
the custom of the band;
“designated lands”
“designated lands” means a tract of land or any interest therein the legal title to which remains
vested in Her Majesty and in which the band for whose use and benefit it was set apart as a
reserve has, otherwise than absolutely, released or surrendered its rights or interests, whether
before or after the coming into force of this definition;
“Indian”
“Indian” means a person who pursuant to this Act is registered as an Indian or is entitled to be
registered as an Indian;
“Indian moneys”
“Indian moneys” means all moneys collected, received or held by Her Majesty for the use and
benefit of Indians or bands;
“Indian Register”
“Indian Register” means the register of persons that is maintained under section 5;
“intoxicant”
“intoxicant” includes alcohol, alcoholic, spirituous, vinous, fermented malt or other intoxicating
liquor or combination of liquors and mixed liquor a part of which is spirituous, vinous,
fermented or otherwise intoxicating and all drinks, drinkable liquids, preparations or mixtures
capable of human consumption that are intoxicating;
“member of a band”
“member of a band” means a person whose name appears on a Band List or who is entitled to
have his name appear on a Band List;
“mentally incompetent Indian”
“mentally incompetent Indian” means an Indian who, pursuant to the laws of the province in
which he resides, has been found to be mentally defective or incompetent for the purposes of
any laws of that province providing for the administration of estates of mentally defective or
incompetent persons;
“registered”
“registered” means registered as an Indian in the Indian Register;
“Registrar”
“Registrar” means the officer in the Department who is in charge of the Indian Register and the
Band Lists maintained in the Department;
“reserve”
(a) means a tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set
apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band, and
(b) except in subsection 18(2), sections 20 to 25, 28, 36 to 38, 42, 44, 46, 48 to 51, 58 to 60 and
the regulations made under any of those provisions, includes designated lands;
“superintendent”
« surintendant »
“superintendent” includes a commissioner, regional supervisor, Indian superintendent,
assistant Indian superintendent and any other person declared by the Minister to be a
superintendent for the purposes of this Act, and with reference to a band or a reserve, means
the superintendent for that band or reserve;
“surrendered lands”
“surrendered lands” means a reserve or part of a reserve or any interest therein, the legal title
to which remains vested in Her Majesty, that has been released or surrendered by the band for
whose use and benefit it was set apart;
“survivor”
“survivor”, in relation to a deceased individual, means their surviving spouse or common-law
partner.
CHC2D Indian Act Vocabulary Matching
Match the word on the left with the definition on the right.
___
Assimilation
a
Treating like children.
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Paternalistic
b
Coming together and making peace.
___
Regulate
c
Special recognition that a person is eligible to
receive benefits from the Indian Act.
___
Status
d
Blending in with the majority.
___
Reconciliation
e
Controlling and directing how things are done.
CHC2D The 8th Fire: At the Crossroads - Indian Act Performance Art
Complete the chart as you watch these artists perform or comment on the Indian Act. For each
one circle whether the artist thought it was irritating, repressive and/or absurd.
Michel Savard
Description of Art
Viewpoint on this aspect of the Indian Act: Irritating, Repressive, Absurd
France Gros-Louis
Morin
Description of Art
Viewpoint on this aspect of the Indian Act: Irritating, Repressive, Absurd
Angela Sterritt
Description of Art
Viewpoint on this aspect of the Indian Act: Irritating, Repressive, Absurd
Michele Taina
Audette
Description of Art
Viewpoint on this aspect of the Indian Act: Irritating, Repressive, Absurd
Ron Scott
Description of Art
Viewpoint on this aspect of the Indian Act: Irritating, Repressive, Absurd
1.
Day 2 Lesson:
Hook/Intro: Show Wab Kinew Heroes video on You Tube (3:55 minutes).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ul4KmHlzMc
Follow it up with questions such as: have you heard of any of the heroes shown on the video?
What is Wab Kinew’s perspective on Aboriginal heroes? (there are many Aboriginal heroes; they
just don’t get mentioned in non-Aboriginal textbooks very much). 5 minutes.
If students are struggling with the idea of perspectives, have them refresh their memories by
reading the description of historical perspectives in the HTC booklet, especially guidepost 5 on
multiple perspectives.
2. Now introduce a more recent movement that affected many Aboriginal Canadians: Idle No More. It
began in late 2012, in part, out of criticism of certain aspects of the Indian Act that the government
wanted to change. Show this introductory video: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/9-questions-aboutidle-no-more-1.1301843 (cbc: 9 Questions to Ask About Idle No More) - stop at the beginning of the
panel discussion. Approximately 5 minutes.
3. Idle No More was a controversial movement, therefore there were multiple perspectives on it. Show
students the following five headlines (could put them on a PPT slide) and have them try to identify
which perspective is reflected in each. [Note: not just whose perspective, such as government, but what
was that perspective, such as protests were dangerous, inconvenient). You could facilitate this by
drawing a spectrum on the board and having them place the headline on the appropriate place on the
spectrum. Make sure to draw a conclusion at the end that draws out the idea, once more, that different
people had different views on Idle No More. Should take about 10 minutes including discussion and
take-up.
Spectrum
1 – worthwhile movement to gain rights, 2 - inconvenient, 3 - dangerous
Canada’s spy agency kept close watch on rapidly growing First Nations protest
movement: documents. (National Post, Nov. 8, 2013)
CN Rail extremely frustrated by Ottawa’s handling of Idle No More blockade in
Sarnia, documents show. (National Post, Oct. 4, 2013).
The decent fix for aboriginal rights (Maclean’s, Feb. 1, 2013)
Idle No More protesters, opposition MPs keep First Nations issues on agenda
(Toronto Star, Jan. 28, 2013).
Idle threats aren’t the answer (Toronto Sun, Jan. 16, 2013).
4. Optional, depending on how successfully students got the idea of different perspectives on Idle No
More. Put up a copy of an Idle No More poster on and some statistics showing polling on Idle No More
on PPT slides to compare different perspectives on it. Draw conclusions again on multiple perspectives.
When showing the poster you may have to help students understand what sovereignty means. Some
students may not know that indigenous is a synonym of Aboriginal.
http://www.idlenomore.ca/graphics_images (scroll down to “Proclaim Poster English”). Our Land, Our
Water, Our Bodies, Our Stories, Our Future, Indigenous Sovereignty
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/21/almost-half-of-canadians-do-not-supportidle-no-more-movement-poll/
5. Culmination of Lesson: students have to apply what they have learned about Idle No More, the Indian
Act and historical perspectives. They will also learn how to write an argumentative paragraph and they
will have time to write an outline of a paragraph. This will prepare them for the unit culminating activity
in which they have to write a paragraph individually on one of the historical thinking concepts they have
learned about it in this introductory unit.
In groups, students will write an outline argumentative paragraph on how they would address
(handle) the two or more historical perspectives on the issue of Idle No More in an updated
textbook that incorporates historical thinking.
a. Teach hamburger structure of paragraph. Use outline/scaffold worksheet to do this.
b. Teach topic sentence format and show samples. Have the students identify which would be the best
and worst.
Topic Sentence = main argument + sub-topics described
Sample TS: - variety from good (level 3 or 4) to bad
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A new textbook on Canadian history should look at both sides of the story of the Idle
No More protests.
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An updated Canadian history textbook should include multiple perspectives on the
Idle No More protests, including the view of the Aboriginal people who don’t want to
be patient anymore and others who are critical of such impatience.
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New textbooks should include Idle No More.
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New Canadian history textbooks should include information about the Idle No More
protests in light of the long history of Aboriginal Canadians and the Indian Act.
c. Have students look at the sample paragraph (it is on a different topic but still related to Aboriginals)
and try to get them to identify the different parts of the structure (topic sentence, examples,
arguments, concluding sentence).
d. Have each group sketch out the outline of their paragraph in the time remaining in class.
Homework : Finish outline. Next class students will begin their unit culminating activity.
CHC2D HTC Unit Sample Paragraph
Topic: Relationship between Aboriginal people and the land
Aboriginal peoples have long had a crucial relationship with land and nature as
seen through the way they live their lives intertwined with nature, the way they
refer to the land, and their beliefs about the importance of the land. Historically,
Aboriginal peoples depended on land for everything to sustain their lives in their
specific surroundings; this involved familiarity with nature, including knowledge
of animals and their habitat not only for hunting, but also for things used in daily
life such as healing herbs like sage. In their cultures and families they passed
down this traditional ecological knowledge from one generation to the next.
Aboriginal people thus came to practice responsible land use rather than land
ownership. Additionally, even the way land is referred to is significant; in
multiple languages different Aboriginal peoples refer to their territories in terms
that mean “our land” - Nitassinan for the Innu, Eeyou Istchee for James Bay
Cree, Haida Gwaii for Haida of BC, Nunavut for the Inuit. This use of language
demonstrates the central role of land in their lives as language is a foundation of
culture. As well, there is a strong spiritual connection to the land in which, at
least for some Aboriginal peoples, the world is referred to as Mother Earth, “giver
of life”. In this view humans are not above animals; humans interconnect with
animals in an ecosystem beneficial for all. Thus humans have the responsibility to
use the earth wisely and respectfully. These beliefs support the view that the land
is the foundation of Aboriginal thinking. Overall, Aboriginal peoples’
relationship with nature has deep relevance to their daily lives, their terminology
and their spiritual beliefs.
Works Cited: (MLA Format)
Reed, Kevin, et al. Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Toronto: Pearson, 2011.
Reed, Kevin. Aboriginal Peoples: Building for the Future. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Structures to Note:
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Topic sentence is first and it is one sentence. The word that indicates strong position of the author
is ‘crucial’.
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Some examples begin with a transition word to signal that a new example is coming up:
“Additionally; as well.”
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Arguments are distinguished from examples. Arguments are not proof; they are explanations of
how the examples support the topic sentence.
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Concluding sentence is last and repeats the same idea of the topic sentence without using the
exact same words. It is one sentence.
CHC2D Argumentative Paragraph Outline
Names:
How would you address (handle) the two or more historical perspectives on the issue of Idle No
More in an updated textbook that incorporates historical thinking?
Topic Sentence
(introduce topic, give your
position/opinion on it,
describe sub-topics)
Example 1
Supporting details
Argument (explain how
example 1 proves the TS)
Example 2
Supporting details
Argument (explain how
example 2 proves the TS)
Example 3
Supporting details
Argument (explain how
example 3 proves the TS)
Concluding Sentence
(similar to TS but in
different words)