A1. The People and the Land
Specific Expectations
A1.1
analyse how First Nations, Métis, and Inuit arts disciplines are connected to the traditional territories now called Canada, drawing on evidence from a variety of regions and cultures (e.g., chiselled rock and rock paintings depict events that happened where the rocks are located; styles of dance are often identified regionally as Northern, Southern, West Coast, East Coast; oral stories and songs often address the land directly or describe particular territories; the materials used in mask making reflect the region with which the mask maker is associated; floral designs in traditional Métis beadwork and silk-thread embroidery often refer to local Indigenous ecological knowledge; Inuit drumming and singing styles vary according to their specific geographic origins)
- What is the significance of using regionally specific material in First Nations, Métis, or Inuit art works?
- In what regional ecosystem might you find the indigenous plants required to make a sweetgrass basket?
- Why should you seek advice from a local Elder, Métis Senator, knowledge keeper, or knowledge holder when utilizing materials from the land in your art works?
- What is Indigenous land-based education? How might land-based teaching concepts, such as a connection to the natural world located within traditional territories, enhance your knowledge, skills, and attitude as you explore arts disciplines from First Nations, Métis, or Inuit perspectives?
A1.2
identify and explain a variety of recurrent symbols and themes related to the land and the natural world in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit art forms (e.g., symbols: the circle, the infinity sign, the inukshuk, trees, birds, antlers, Earth, the moon, the sun, feathers, flowers, water; themes: the impact of climate change, the importance of responsible land use, the sacredness of the land, the spiritual connection between the people and the land), drawing on evidence from several different art works/productions to analyse how spiritual and personal connections to the land inform artistic expression
- What do the symbols included in the Native Women’s Trail of Tears Quilt represent? What themes are expressed in the individual quilt blocks?
- What is the main theme of The Jerusalem Series, by Daphne Odjig? Why do you think an Israeli airline commissioned an Odawa/Potawatomi artist to depict the holy city of Jerusalem? How do the prints reflect a First Nations perspective of the land?
- What specific connections does Susan Point’s Cedar Connection carving make between the land, sea, and sky and traditional Salish culture? In your opinion, how does the work express a spiritual dimension?
- How does Mathew Nuqingaq use symbols of Inuit land in his silver jewellery design?
A1.3
analyse the relationship between human society and the natural world expressed by precontact First Nations and Inuit artists and early Métis artists, drawing on evidence from several different art forms (e.g., Tsimshian carved red cedar totem poles connected family history with symbolic animal forms; an Inuit qilaut, or caribou-skin drum, was played to accompany drum dancing at gatherings to mark the changing of the seasons)
- How were the seal and the caribou viewed in Inuit culture? How did Inuit use the different parts of a variety of animals in traditional art forms? How did this use reflect the values of reciprocity and mutual respect?
- How did song and ritual play an important part in communicating reciprocity and mutual respect to the spirit of the caribou?
A1.4
identify and explain various ways in which First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists are reclaiming a personal connection to the land and/or the natural world through their work, drawing on evidence from specific art works (e.g., Amanda Strong draws a parallel between her own existence and the tenacious but fragile life of the honey bee in her 2009 short film Honey for Sale; Jordan Bennett establishes links to the land by including walnut, oak, and spruce in his 2010 interactive sculptural sound work Turning Tables; in his collaborative art project Anishnaabensag Biimskowebshkigewag (Native Kids Ride Bikes), Dylan Miner uses the bicycle to evoke the Red River cart, symbolizing Métis migrations across illegitimate national borders)
- How does the work of Inuk artist Kenojuak Ashevak demonstrate the connection of Inuit, both past and present, to the land?
- How did Terry Haines use video documentation to reflect the link between land and cultural survival in his 2013 work Coyote X?
- How would you describe Métis artist Dylan Miner’s Anishnaabensag Biimskowebshkigewag (Native Kids Ride Bikes) project within the context of environmental sustainability? How does the art work reclaim a connection to traditional migratory practices?
