C3. Identities, Cultures, and Self-Determination
Specific Expectations
C3.1
compare beliefs and values of some Indigenous and European peoples about the relationship between people, the land, the spiritual world, and the environment during this period, and analyse the impact of the differences (e.g., lack of respect among Europeans for Indigenous spiritual practices, resulting in attempts at conversion; conflicting ideas with respect to land ownership and stewardship; differences in the relationship between the environment and the spiritual world in Indigenous and Christian traditions)
- What impact did European colonialist/imperialist values with respect to land use have on Indigenous peoples during this period? In what ways did practices associated with these values change the relationship that Indigenous peoples had with the land and environment?
- How successful were colonial governments in changing the beliefs of various First Nations about land ownership?
C3.2
analyse various factors that helped shape beliefs in Europe about Indigenous peoples in Canada during this period (e.g., fascination with the “New World” in the wake of voyages of exploration; visits by First Nations individuals, including some who had been kidnapped, to Europe; accounts about Indigenous societies/cultures in logs and other records of explorers, missionaries, and settlers; the popularization of products from the colonies; ideas about the “noble savage” in some cultural/philosophical works in Europe versus the idea of the obligation to “civilize” Indigenous peoples; the impact of several expeditions to travel the Northwest Passage)
- Why did some explorers kidnap Indigenous individuals and take them back to Europe? What impact did the presence of these individuals have on European perceptions of Indigenous cultures?
- What impact did Jesuit records have on European interest in First Nations peoples? What patterns can you find in Jesuit descriptions of First Nations? How might Jesuit records have influenced the development of iconic images and portrayals of First Nations individuals?
- How does the claim that European explorers ‘discovered’ the Northwest Passage affect people’s understanding that the passage was known to the Paleo-Inuit 5000 years ago? What effect might a shared understanding of this fact have with respect to European–Inuit power relations?
C3.3
explain the causes of the rise of the Métis Nation during this period, and analyse the development of the social, cultural, economic, and political lives of the Métis (e.g., with reference to marriage practices, including colonial opposition to “mixed” marriages and resulting changes to inheritance laws; gender constructs and roles; social order; economic life; language and cultural challenges; settlements)
- How did prevailing attitudes about intermarriage between First Nations women and European men at this time affect the development of the Métis Nation?
- What skills and resources did each partner bring to marriages between First Nations women and European men and to the families and communities that developed as a result?
- How did marriage affect the sharing and/or division of assets in Métis communities?