D1. Reclaiming Traditional Beliefs, Values, and Customs
Specific Expectations
D1.1
explain the purpose and function of several different individual roles associated with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit beliefs, values, and customs (e.g., oshkaabewisag are messengers or assistants who oversee communication with a council and help enforce council decisions; Senators share traditions and ways of life to keep Métis culture alive; Inuit midwives perform the tuqurausiq naming practice that links a newborn Inuk to a relative or deceased family friend), and analyse the impact of a variety of strategies to ensure the continued importance of these roles in the community (e.g., with reference to hosting community circles and conferences for Elders and knowledge keepers to share teachings with community members; developing and supporting traditional healing programs; making and archiving recordings of Elders sharing stories, knowledge, and experience; including cultural protocols and practices in community governance)
- What distinctive roles do First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women have within the family, in governance structures, and in ceremonies? What strategies are First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women using to reclaim these roles? What are some results of these efforts?
- What value is added to strategic planning meetings between First Nations, Métis, or Inuit groups and non-Indigenous groups when Elders and/or knowledge keepers participate?
D1.2
analyse several different strategies to integrate traditional knowledge and customs into contemporary life for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and communities to identify benefits and challenges related to these efforts (e.g., benefits: providing some community schools and offices with the opportunity to offer cultural leave enables Indigenous youth and adults to maintain their cultural identity by participating in traditional customs; supporting the use of traditional medicines, knowledge, and health practices as part of a comprehensive approach to health care for urban Indigenous individuals can improve physical and psychological well-being; challenges: individuals who seek cultural knowledge or wish to learn a language based on their ancestry may have insufficient access to relevant programming; mainstream institutions may find it difficult to accommodate cultural leave related to seasonal activities; traditional hunting practices may conflict with non-Indigenous approaches to animal rights and/or animal husbandry)
- What benefits does the ‘goose break’ continue to have for Cree communities in northern Quebec and Ontario?
- What are some benefits and challenges related to providing Indigenous liaison roles in hospitals to support health and wellness practices?
- How does Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s film Angry Inuk help you understand the benefits of the traditional seal hunt and the challenges that Inuit face in continuing the hunt? In what ways do the opinions of Inuit hunters and animal rights activists diverge? Do they have any common ground?
- What are some differences between recreational/sport fishing and fishing under harvesting rights? Why do Indigenous harvesting rights continue to be important, and what efforts are being made to assert these rights?
D1.3
analyse a variety of programs and initiatives to reclaim a place for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit beliefs, values, and customs in education in Canada to identify benefits and suggest ways to address challenges related to implementation (e.g., with reference to Elder-in-residence programs at educational institutions; partnerships between arts organizations and local Indigenous artists/groups, such as the Ontario Arts Council Indigenous Artists in Schools program to offer arts workshops in schools; the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in environmental studies and science education)
- What are some benefits and challenges involved in offering Indigenous language programs in place of French as a second language in elementary or secondary schools? How might school boards and communities address the challenges?
- What strategies might postsecondary Indigenous student centres and programs use to support student success and engagement? What barriers remain to student success and how might they be overcome?
- In what ways does the Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research support education and the renewal of Métis culture? What results has it had?
- What sort of educational programming does the Manitobah Mukluks Storyboot School offer? How does this demonstrate an act of cultural revitalization?
