A2. Inquiry: Perspectives on Interactions
Specific Expectations
A2.1
formulate questions to guide investigations into aspects of the interactions among Indigenous peoples, among Europeans, and between Indigenous and European people in what would eventually become Canada, from the perspectives of various groups involved (e.g., questions about interactions from the perspectives of groups such as European settlers; First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit men and women; different First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit communities; coureurs de bois; missionaries; Filles du Roi; warriors; shamans; slaves and slave owners)
- In what ways might the relationships between First Nations, Métis, and voyageurs or coureurs de bois have been different from the relationship between First Nations, Métis, and European settlers? What factors might account for some of the differences?
- How did various Indigenous peoples view the European newcomers? What factors might account for differences in their views?
- How did various Europeans, First Nations, and Métis tend to view each other’s spiritual beliefs and ceremonies? Would the view of a coureur de bois “up country” likely have been the same as that of a nun or priest in Montreal? Why or why not?
- Why did First Nations and Métis peoples help European settlers and explorers? What were some of the teachings, values, and/or beliefs in First Nations and Métis cultures that explain their attitudes towards settlers?
- What were some of the values and beliefs held by various European settlers and explorers about First Nations and Métis peoples? In what ways did these values and beliefs affect the relationships between European settlers, explorers, First Nations, and Métis?
- How did the development of the fur trade industry affect relationships between First Nations, Métis, and European people?
- What natural resources did various First Nations use to make their shelters, clothing, sacred items, hunting equipment, and/or agricultural tools? In what ways, if any, did access to and use of these resources change with the arrival of European settlers?
A2.2
gather and organize information on interactions among Indigenous peoples, among Europeans, and between Indigenous and European people in what would eventually become Canada, using a variety of primary and secondary sources that present various perspectives (e.g., treaties; pictographs; petroglyphs; paintings; maps of trade routes; artefacts and their replicas; oral histories; traditional First Nations and European stories relating to similar themes/events; census records; journals written by Jesuits, early explorers, and/or Hudson’s Bay Company employees; accurate and authentic voices from Internet resources and/or books on Canadian history; interviews with Métis Senators, Elders, and/or knowledge keepers)
- Where would you locate information about the alliance between Champlain and the Wendat? Whose perspective or perspectives does this information present?
- When using this painting as a historical source, why is it important to consider when and by whom it was created?
- Why are most documents from this period written from a Eurocentric perspective? Given the source of these documents, what types of biases do you think they might contain?
- What biases existed at the time, and continue to exist, against the preservation and reliability of oral histories? Why might knowledge passed through oral history be valued? Why might it not be valued?
- When using information from the Internet, why is it important to consider who created it and for what purpose?
- How can you tell if a resource has an authentic voice and presents accurate information?
A2.3
analyse and construct maps as part of their investigations into interactions among Indigenous peoples, among Europeans, and between Indigenous and European people in what would eventually become Canada (e.g., thematic maps that show how physical features influenced settlement patterns, seasonal migration, trade routes, Indigenous social networks, agricultural practices, or the habitat of animals that sustained the fur trade; historical maps that show First Nations territory prior to and after contact; historical maps that show the emergence of Métis communities)
- What type of map could you construct to show alliances between different First Nations and Britain and France?
- What types of maps would help you identify the First Nations or Inuit communities that were most affected by early fur trade routes?
- What information would you need to include on a map showing traditional Indigenous hunting and agricultural lands before and after contact with European settlers?
- What type of map could you construct to show traditional seasonal territorial routes of some Indigenous peoples and how those changed with the arrival of European settlers?
- What does this series of maps tell you about the impact of ongoing exploration in search of the Northwest Passage to Asia on European claims to territories that would become part of Canada?
A2.4
interpret and analyse information and evidence relevant to their investigations, using a variety of tools (e.g., assess evidence to ensure that its voice is authentic and the information it provides is accurate; use a graphic organizer to help them compare the views of First Nations, Métis, and European settlers on nature and resource use; examine the content of journals or diaries to determine how European settlers and explorers reacted when meeting and working with First Nations peoples; use oral histories to develop their understanding of how one or more First Nations reacted to meeting and guiding settlers; use a comparison chart to help them analyse different perspectives on the fur trade or the establishment of Christian missions)
- What does this written account suggest about how European settlers and/or missionaries viewed First Nations people? What does this oral history suggest about how First Nations viewed European settlers and/or missionaries?
- How could you use a comparison chart to help you identify differences in the ways various First Nations interacted with Jesuit missionaries?
- How could you use a fishbone organizer to help you analyse information on economic, military, and cultural interactions between the British and the Haudenosaunee?
- What does this document tell you about how Indigenous ecological knowledge helped European settlers survive? What type of organizer or matrix could you use as a tool to help you compare information on how IEK helped European settlers survive in different parts of what would eventually become Canada?
A2.5
evaluate evidence and draw conclusions about aspects of the interactions among First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and communities, among Europeans, and between Europeans and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit in what would eventually become Canada during this period, highlighting the perspectives of the different groups involved
- From your evaluation of this evidence, what can you conclude about the relationship between European settlers, Métis, the Anishinaabe, and the Haudenosaunee? How did each of these groups view this relationship?
- From your research, what can you conclude about the goals of Jesuit missionaries? How did these missionaries view First Nations cultural practices, spiritual ceremonies, beliefs, and/or world views? How might a shaman have viewed the Jesuits? Why?
A2.6
communicate the results of their inquiries, using appropriate vocabulary (e.g., Elder, faith keeper, knowledge keeper, Métis Senator, shaman, oral history, wampum belt, pictograph, petroglyph, missionary, colonization, colonialism, settler, xenophobia, racism, prejudice, charter, treaty, coureur de bois, seigneur, Filles du Roi) and formats (e.g., a poem, song, or story that describes the founding of Quebec from two distinct perspectives; an annotated map that shows different perspectives on the growth of the fur trade and resulting settlements; a collection of images they have created themselves, downloaded from websites, and/or taken from printed sources, showing different perspectives on the work of missionaries)