Created by Sharon Laflamme, FNMI
and Cheryl Urbanowski
First Nation Peoples before European contact.
First Nation Peoples had an oral tradition.
First Nation teachings were holistic.
Europeans arrived and began to settle on the land.
First Nations agreed to share the land.
The Europeans brought written textbooks with them.
The churches wanted to change the heathens.
First Nations were never asked to share their teachings about Worldview and Spirituality.
First Nations had types of communication.
First Nations entered
Treaty negotiations
with the crown.
Indian Agent
Residential Schools
First Nation
cultural
ceremonies
were
forbidden
to be
practised.
First Nation Peoples were made to be silent people.
Early settlers wanted to own the land.
First Nation Peoples were moved from tipi
dwellings to stationary homes.
First Nation cultural regalia was inappropriate for the
early settlers.
Early literature was written from a European perspective.
1. Hipster headdress: From Ke$ha's stage garb to
the designs of I am Howling Wolf, one really needs
to know the difference between expression and
appropriation.
2. Halloween native: Nothing says cultural
insensitivity like dressing your kids as adorable little
Indians -- yikes! Or even worse, how about some
bedroom role-play living out your favourite fur trader
fantasy?
3. Knock off mukluks: They are everywhere these
days and usually produced cheaply in China. Buy
these instead and support an Aboriginal owned
company that works with the Centre for Aboriginal
Human Resource Development (CAHRD).
4. Russian figure skating outfits: Who knows what
Russian figure skating champions Oksana Domnina
and Maxim Shabalin where thinking when they
delivered this performance based upon so-called
Australian indigenous designs.
5. Navajo line at Urban Outfitters: Sasha Houston Brown, a contributor to the the
blog Racialicious and a memeber of the Santee Sioux Nation was so incensed by
Urban Outfitter's "Navajo" line last year that she posted this letter to the hip clothing
company, which was later picked up by the Huffington Post. Two of the main items
in question were the "Navajo Print Fabric Wrapped Flask" and "Navajo Hipster
Panty" -- seriously, we couldn't make this stuff up -- the names of which were soon
changed after multiple media outlets picked up on the controversy.
6. OutKast at the
Grammys: It doesn't take a
degree in cultural studies to
see what is wrong with this
performance...
7. Rip-off Cowichan sweaters: Members of the Cowichan First Nation on
Vancouver Island felt ripped off when Hudson's Bay Company came out with
some of the designs for Canada's recent Olympic uniforms.
8. Dreamcatchers: Knock-off dreamcatchers are a
dime a dozen. To be truly authentic they should be
Ojibway made.
9. Miss Canada: During the Miss Universe Pageant
of 2011, Chelsae Durocher, Miss Canada,
swung for the cultural appropriation fences and hit a
homer with this outfit. To be fair, the competition had
a national costume component. Apparently
lumberjack flannel or a hockey jersey just wouldn't
do.
10. Too Native hockey
jerseys? When team Canada's
hockey jerseys were unveiled
for the Vancouver Olympics
some media outlets felt the
logo, designed by by
Musqueam artist Debra
Sparrow (with help from Nike)
was "too native." Comedian
Ryan McMahon had this to say
in response.
http://www.cbc.ca/trailbreakers/main-blog/2012/01/19/top-ten-fashion-faux-pas/
First Nation Peoples became educated. They read and researched history.
First Nation Peoples
began to voice their
concerns.
History, stories, and literature began to have an Aboriginal voice and perspective.
Demographics
Manitoba
Population
Saskatchewan
Population
(percentage of
population)
(percentage of
population)
2001
159,400 (13.8%)
138,300 (13.8%)
167,900 (5.5%)
2017
221,100 (18.4%)
202,800 (20.8%)
232,600 (6.3%)
Year
Alberta Population
(percentage of
population)
Moving beyond teaching about the Aboriginal Peoples in a segregated event
or subject area.
We are all a part of Canada and we exist in a modern perspective.
An Elder is NOT an older person.
Honoring storytelling:
Legends when there is snow on the ground.
Powwow trail and stories in the spring and summer.
"The Earth is My Store" by Jordyn Espenant
Grade 5 student, Stewart Hawke Elementary School
Hudson Bay, SK
Together we can heal the teachings.
"Go My Son" from SEASONS - BYU Living Legends
Let’s share a global teaching honoring the circle we all belong in!
Thank you for listening and learning. Now go and teach others!