Aboriginal Includes all first nations, Inuit, and

Metis People

First Nation a distinct group of Aboriginal

Peoples who share the same culture and history.
Term started in 1970s, and today may
Aboriginals refer to themselves as First Nation.

Inuit - the people- Aboriginal people who live

in the artic regions = 5%

Metis descendants of European fur traders and

Aboriginal people 30%
 http://fnpim-cippn.inac-ainc.gc.ca/index-eng.asp
 http://www.newcreditfirstnation.com/

http://docs.
ontario.ca/d
ocuments/2
637-
firstnations
andtreaties-
en-
may202014
.html#docu
ment/p1
 ManyAboriginal people were hunters and
gathers.

All Aboriginals depended on the land

All
lived in societies with a form of
government, spiritual beliefs, and a set of
agreed upon values.
 Everything in the world, living and non-
living, is connected
Unseen spiritual powers exist and affect all
things
Everything in the world constantly changes
in recurring cycles
Humans need to be in harmony with each
other and with nature
(i.e., Aboriginals are not separate from
Nature. They do not have a special or
dominant place in it. In other words, humans
occupy a place of equality and respect. )
 http://circletrail.com/2012/2012-pow-wow-schedule-2

Manitoulin Island Anishinaabe Pow Wow

 http://www.northernontario.travel/directionontario/travel-adventures/38-general/422-liez-votre-vacance-a-un-festival

Manitoulin Island
 Treaty signed agreement between the
federal government and First Nations where
the First Nations gave up their land rights
except for reserves and accept treaty money
and other kinds of government assistance.

Copy
The Government of Canada wanted treaties
to:
(1) allow for settlement of Canadas west and

prevent USA takeover,

(2) avoid bloody conflicts like the events

happening in the settlement of the USA west,

and
(3) advance ideas of assimilation.
 Free post-secondary education
Do not pay provincial sales tax for goods bought
ON reserves
Have special hunting and fishing rights
Entitled to housing on a reserve
May emigrate easily to the USA

NOTE: A Non-Status Indian is not eligible for

these benefits. Moreover, they are not governed
by the Indian Act.
 In the early years
Treaties were made based on peace and
friendship as military alliances Aboriginals
outnumbered Europeans

In later years
Aboriginals were becoming a minority
They wanted to keep enough land to support
themselves
They wanted the right to control their own
affairs
 Land that is legally owned by the Federal
government, but has been set aside for use
by a First Nation group. (Treaty) Copy

Indian act of 1876

Persuaded Aboriginal peoples to give up their

claim to the land in Canada and move to

reserves. However, the promises of payments,
reserve land, hunting and fishing rights were
broken by the government.
 The government decided how reserve lands were
to be used and there were bans such as
Aboriginal peoples did not have the right to vote,
laws to protect wildlife, and it was illegal for
them to hire a lawyer to negotiate on their behalf
with the government.
Loss of land made it hard for them to keep
traditional ways of life.
Reserves were not large or rich enough to
provide a decent economic base for those that
lived on them, this created, unemployment,
poverty
 2011, 360,620 people lived on reserves in Canada.
Many leave because of low standard of living and
lack of future

Aboriginals standard of living has improved but is

still lagging behind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5DrXZUIinU
Justice for Aboriginal Peoples -- It's time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8QmxU6IZHw
Aboriginal History: "Did You Know"? (part 1 of
2) - YouTube
 1840 to 1960 - Residential Schools were funded by the
Government of Canada and operated by the Church.

The schools were used to ASSIMILATE Aboriginal children

(i.e., bring Aboriginal into mainstream society) by forcing
the children to live away from parents and culture.

Children were taught to be farmers (i.e., self-sufficient) and

required to convert to Christianity.

They were punished for practicing traditional spiritual

beliefs or speaking in a Native tongue.

Often they were abused, physically and emotionally.

COPY
 St. Paul's Indian Industrial School,
Middlechurch, Manitoba, 1901
 Residential school group photograph, Regina,
Saskatchewan circa 1921
 The last residential school operated by the
Canadian Government, Gordon Residential
School, was closed in 1996.

White Calf Collegiate, closed in 1998, was run

by the Lebret Residential school board.
 This consensus was symbolized by the June 11, 2008 public apology
offered, not only by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on behalf of the
Government of Canada, but also by the leaders of all the other parties in
the Canadian House of Commons .[

In its 2005 budget, the Canadian government committed an additional $40

million to continue to support the work of the Aboriginal Healing
Foundation.

Nov. 23, 2005

Ottawa announces a $2-billion compensation package for aboriginal people
who were forced to attend residential schools. Details of the Indian
Residential Schools Settlement Agreement include an initial payout for each
person who attended a residential school of $10,000, plus $3,000 per year.
Approximately 86,000 people are eligible for compensation.

As of 2012 the Commission's hearings are ongoing.

http://
www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/a-long-awaited-apology-for-residential-schoo
ls
 There has been the creation of many
Aboriginal organizations, and agencies
offering cultural programs and assistance in
finding housing and health care
Movement towards self government so they

can control their future, and expand their

economic base, lower poverty
Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that First

Nations without treaties have right to their

historical land.
 Treaty claims are used as a way for Aboriginal
people to establish a legal title to land or
receive monetary compensation for loss of
land

There are 2 types:

Specific Claim focuses on the breaking of or

failing to fulfill original treaties as when

some of the land provided by a treaty is not
receive

 Comprehensive Claim focuses on claims to

land, resources, or self-government in places
not already covered by treaties. In theses
cases Aboriginals are laying claims to the
land because they never signed any treaties
that gave away their land rights.

Nunavut became a territory of the Inuit

people in 1999 after the settlement of a
comprehensive land claim.
 National Aboriginal Day June 21

Many Aboriginals live in cities and participate

in mainstream Canadian society, while
keeping their culture.

54% of Aboriginals live in or near big cities.

The largest areas are Winnipeg, Edmonton,
Vancouver.

Some move between the city and their home

community.
 Child mortality rates are 2X - 3X higher than
Canadian average

In 1980, 37% of all welfare cases were Aboriginal; yet,

Aboriginals only represent 3.5% of the entire Canadian
population.

There are 491 children per 1,000 Aboriginal women;

whereas, the number is 290 children per 1,000 non-
Aboriginal women. This is called the Aboriginal Baby
Boom.

Poverty, unemployment, suicide rates and social

breakdown are higher than Canadian averages.
Unemployment on reserves is over 25%, while the
Canadian rate is about 8%.
 The percent of one-parent families is 33% among Aboriginals
and only 15% in the rest of Canadian society.

Over 35% of Aboriginals are under the age of 15; whereas, the
percent of Canadians is 20%.

Life expectancy is 5 -7 years lower than that of other

Canadians.

Illness rates are higher more diabetes, tuberculosis

Higher rates of family violence, alcohol and drug abuse

60% do not graduate from high school.

Often living in poverty shacks, water and sanitation systems

are substandard.
 Attawapiskat is an isolated First Nation located
in Kenora District in northern Ontario, Canada,
at the mouth of the Attawapiskat River at James
Bay

On October 28, 2011 the Attawapiskat First

Nations leadership declared a state of
emergency in response to dropping
temperatures, and the resulting health and
safety concerns due to inadequate housing.
 Many residents were still living in tents,
trailers and temporary shelters, and many
residences and public buildings lacked
running water and electricity.

In one case, children, the elderly, and the ill

were sleeping in rooms just a few feet away
from a 2009 raw sewage spill that had not
been adequately cleaned
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attawapis
kat_First_Nation
photogallery.thestar.com

ipolitics.ca
 blogs.theprovince.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6abZ0LFT5CQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ynaC8f5ues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIlBD-eQFW0
 The People of the Kattawapiskak River is a
2012

National Film Board of Canada, when

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People_of_t

he_Kattawapiskak_River
 http://fcweb.limestone.on.ca/~stridef/G9%20
Ac%20Geography/Unit%204%20Aboriginal
%20Summary.pdf