Lecture 1

Question 1

Describe the name Indian

Answer 1

Indian was inaccurate at the time it was used because it’s describing a group from a different part of the world and it is discriminatory. It is only currently in circulation because it is used in legal documents like the Indian Act

Question 2

Describe native

Answer 2

In the profs generation this was the term that was commonly used starting but it is now more of a negative term because people say the native which dehumanizes

Question 3

First Nations

Answer 3

This is a good term but it only refers to people previously known as Indian. It must be used for the correct group of people

Question 4

Inuit and Innu

Answer 4

The Inuit are the people of Northern Canada and the Innu are specific to Labrador. This word is to replace the word Eskimo which was given by their enemies which means lacers of snowshoes/boots or eaters of raw meats. The Inuit did not come up with the term Inuit but it is better than Eskimo for now.

Question 5

Métis

Answer 5

Nancy, you can mean anyone of mixed indigenous and non-indigenous descent, but indigenous people use it differently in the historical context that anyone who is a descendant of non-indigenous people to the fur trade in the Quebec or Ontario prairies region, especially in the Red River Valley. It also refers to the original metis people from the fur trade.

Question 6

Aboriginal

Answer 6

This is the word Canada has used to be inclusive and official, but indigenous do not like it because the prefix AB has negative meanings and the root word aborigine is describing Australian indigenous people.

Question 7

Indigenous

Answer 7

This is one of the preferred words because it can be widespread or specific to different indigenous groups. It is also good because there is no ‘the’ in front of the word so it does not dehumanize.

Question 8

What are the different ways indigenous people names can be classified?

Answer 8

There are names of individual Nations, names of political group/ organizations, names based on indigenous language, names based on historical names, other names given by indigenous people, there are also English, French and Indigenous versions of names.

Question 9

How many different indigenous groups are recognized by the Canadian government

Answer 9

Over 6 30 but there are a lot more names than that

Question 10

What are some examples of confederacies

Answer 10

Five nations/six Nations, three fires Confederacy, wabanaki Confederacy, Powhatan Confederacy in Virginia, Huron in southern Ontario, creeks, cherokee, Haida, kwakwaka’wawk

Question 11

Give an example of how similar names of indigenous groups are different people

Answer 11

Chippewa (Ojibwa) vs chipewyan (Dene

Question 12

Name some language groups of indigenous people

Answer 12

Six Nations, Algonquin

Question 13

Give examples of historical names of indigenous people

Answer 13

Algonquian: Attenlins, Agoumequins
Mi’kmaq: Micmac, Mikmaw

Question 14

What name did Olive Dickinson come up with?

Answer 14

French amerindian Indian people specific to North America

Question 15

What name did George Sioui come up with?

Answer 15

Nadouek

Question 16

How do you know what to call indigenous people

Answer 16

It is best to ask as sometimes the most common name is not what they prefer

Question 17

What are the indigenous world views

Answer 17

Holistic, oral cultures, use of metaphors and analogies, circular, relational, family-centric

Question 18

What are Western world views

Answer 18

Written, segmented, linear

Question 19

Describe what study George Sioui did

Answer 19

20 aspects of wendat morality? He went to his home village and to anthropologist and heard a bunch of stories and found 20 main themes taught through oral culture

Question 20

Describe the indigenous creation story

Answer 20

Sky woman fell from sky world and grabbed onto seeds and crops. She was plummeting onto vast open water. The wind people ‘s flew underneath her to slow her fall and a giant sea turtle was ready for her to land. A winged being went to the bottom of the ocean to get dirt for the sea turtles back to make it softer for impact. This saved the pregnant woman and thus North America came to be. Notice how this story shows that nature is very important to indigenous people

Question 21

What do indigenous place names often tell us

Answer 21

They often are very descriptive like place of the willow trees or muddy Waters they have to do with the type of land

Question 22

Describe the meaning and the name of the belt that has four squares and a leaf in the middle

Answer 22

This is the Hiawatha wampum belt. It is for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the five images represent the five nations. It is their first land sharing agreement and shows they’re not only sharing the land each other but are open to share it with others. It is their first land sharing agreement and shows they’re not only sharing the land each other but are open to share it with others

Question 23

Describe the name and meaning of the belt that has two stripes

Answer 23

This is the two row wampum belt. It is a political agreement between indigenous peoples that was extended to settlers and this is the relationship they wanted to have. The indigenous wanted them both to be able to share the land and not cross over. The White stripes in the middle represent eternal peace, having a good mind, and internal friendship

Question 24

What is the chain metaphor called and what does it mean

Answer 24

This is the silver covenant chain and this also relates to settler relations with indigenous people. It is not made of rope because that rots and iron can be in pure. So it is made of silver that needs constant care to shine but is strong. They chose silver because they want the relationship to be continuously revisited.

Question 25

Describe the belt that has the spoon on it

Answer 25

This is the dish with one spoon wampum belt. This is a land sharing agreement made by indigenous people also shared with non-indigenous people and the dish represents the land that everyone should only take what they need with a wooden spoon that cannot hurt anybody. Leave the rest for someone else

Question 26

What does the medicine wheel represent

Answer 26

A circular worldview where Northeast, South and West are connected but the colors and direction vary between groups and have different meanings

Question 27

Describe what anthropologist? Julia discovered about the circular worldview

Answer 27

Julia was a non-indigenous anthropologist who worked with an Inuit elder to learn about a song. The song was played when elders left to hunt and it meant we wish you the best and we hope you come home safe because an indigenous culture once you left the community there was no more control. They also played this song when children left for residential school. It is circular and that all the knowledge from hunting, residential schools, and the current education system is remembered through the song

Question 28

Can we reflect circular world views with dates

Answer 28

We cannot contain holistic ideas in indigenous ways of life with linear views.

Question 29

Why can't we trust our previous knowledge of indigenous people

Answer 29

Because our previous knowledge is eurocentric and even though it is on paper which we somehow trust, it is very unaccurate of actual indigenous customs.

Question 30

What happens when you try to force circular world views into Western worldviews

Answer 30

The relatable and holistic idea of the stories are lost and we fall back on those eurocentric and misrepresented ideas of Western culture

Question 31

Describe why migration is likely a myth

Answer 31

We believe this based on our paper. This is the idea that there is an ice bridge from Russia and Alaska and the only proof is a shelf that looks somewhat like it. This path would have been way too difficult and the early horse fossils were in North America so the horses would have trampled them. Seed and human migrations show if there was one. It was likely from South to North America.

Question 32

Describe/ give an example of how indigenous technology is not primitive

Answer 32

Indigenous learned a lot that we did not know. Over 500 commercial drugs come from indigenous knowledge including Tylenol. Wooden cutting boards that are able to kill bacteria come from indigenous knowledge.

Question 33

Can Western research be useful to indigenous people?

Answer 33

Possibly if we limit the power Western research has in framing indigenous people, if we stop viewing their narratives as fiction, and if we understand and try to undo harm caused by Western education like the residential schools to indigenous people.