Indigenous History 1006-001

What was "The Indian Act"? When was it?

1876 - The act was passed with very little input from First Nations. Remains in effect today, and acts as a point of reference for who gets "Indian Status"

What are the central themes surrounding Indigenous Origin stories?

There is a creator figure that emphasizes connection to homelands, other creatures inhabiting those lands, and the responsibility to care for and respect life.

Explains the emergence of people, the development of their language, customs and culture

What was the city of Cahokia?

Cahokia had a population of up to 30,000 people. It began in the Mississippi valley and was the largest city ever built north of Mexico before Colombus. This supports the notion that Indigenous Peoples formed civilizations pre contact.

What was the Haudenosaunee Confederacy?

Five Nations/Iroquois - Was intended to unite the nation and create a peaceful means of decision making. This was a good representation of Indigenous diplomacy via the Peacemaker.

Beliefs: Sharing labor, maintaining a duty to family, clan, nation and Creator.

Describe the relationship between Algonquians and the British

Some Algonquians wanted to trade, some didn't. Two men were speculated to have "agreed" to go with explorers to meet the Queen of England. This pushed expansion. With the arrival of 600 men, the relationship between Algonquians and the British deteriorated.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Algonquians were accused of stealing a silver cup and this leads the British to burn Indigenous corn fields and the death of an Indigenous Chief = Killed the relationship between the Algonquians and the British Administration.

What was the Virginia Company?

Colonizing enterprise that focused on the discovery of metals and jewels. John Smith emerges as their leader (Disney Movie - Pocahontas).

Side Note: Half of the soldier-colonists died due to their exposure to hunger and sickness

Who was John White?

Artist who painted Indigenous peoples in their clothing, plants in North America, etc. He returned as the Governor of Roanoke Island in tow with 100 colonists

What did the Huron-Wendat Confederacy look like pre-contact?

Social structure was focused around the kinship of women. There was a city, Kanata, which had a palisade that ran around the village consisting of 70 long houses. One of their greatest skills were to create trade alliances.

Who were the two Catholic groups that clashed with the Huron-Wendat Confederacy? Describe them

Recollets - Poor, didn't have many resources, goal: to convert people into Catholicism through spiritual means

Jesuits - Like the Recollets but they had money. Heavy military principles with a primary focus on education

What happened to the Huron-Wendat Confederacy?

Huron-Wendat's were forced to flee their land and join the Iroquois (other confederacy that they had not formed an alliance with; had military backing from the Dutch).

They experienced land, culture and economic loss.

According to the film, Kanata: Legacy of the Children of Aataentsic, people who identify as Wendats are still fighting to pursue land claims.

What were the Europeans looking for pre-contact? (Give 2 answers)

1) Shorter, more direct trade routes to Asia

2) Conquering land and people "In the Name of God"

How did Indigenous Peoples respond to the arrival of Europeans?

Europeans were valued for trade purposes and Indigenous Nations tolerated them. They rejected the explorers' land claims and weren't surprised of their arrival (indicates earlier, undocumented contacts).

What did European explorers find?

They found that America was already inhabited and took Indigenous peoples back with them as proof of discovery. Colombus first sold Indigenous peoples as slaves in the early 1500s

Who is Chelsea Vowell and what does she argue?

Chelsea Vowel is a Cree-Metis Scholar and she reaffirms the

notion that Indigenous identity is fluid.

She argues that Indigenous Peoples are diverse and that names, due to their connection to history can be confusing and forever changing.

Who is Winona Wheeler and what does she argue?

Winona Wheeler is a member of the Fisher River Cree Nation

Winona argues that Indigenous texts should utilize oral history to better represent Indigenous culture and the spirituality that is performed when doing so.

She stresses that historians should not unilaterally adhere only to post-colonial forms of education.

Who is Leanne Simpson and what does she argue?

Leanne Simpson is a Mississauga Nishnaabeg

Simpson reaffirms the ability of Indigenous Nations to perform self-governance. She references the Bimaadiziwin and the Gdoonaaganiaa

Who is John Norton? What did he write about?

John Norton was a Chief and was an adopted Mohawk that was born of Scottish and Cherokee descent. He was a British soldier with close ties to the British Administration.

He is the author of the "Iroquois Creation Story"

Who is Susan Sleeper-Smith and what does she argue?

Susan Sleeper-Smith argues that Indigenous Peoples had competitive leverage in the fur trade.

She uses the extinction of European beavers and the Catholics pescatarian diet to demonstrate the demand that Indigenous Nations were able to fulfill

Define Ethnonym - provide an example

A name that a group of people call themselves in their own language.

Example: Wendat (Ethnonym)

Define Exonym - provide an example

A name for a group of people that is used by outsiders, and often in a different language.

Example: Algonquin (Exonym) coined by the French.

Example: Huron (Exonym)

Define "Status Indian"/"Indian Status" - provide an example

"Status Indians" are people registered as "Indians" under the Indian Act of 1876. Benefits include medical coverage, treaty annuity payments, tax exemptions, residence reserves, etc.

Give 3 examples of exonyms that have been used in legal documents

Indian (Indian Act), First Nations (References Indian Act), Aboriginal (Constitution)

What are the 3 sisters and why are they important?

Corn, Beans, and Squash - They are the physical and spiritual sustainers of life. To Indigenous Peoples, this is a significant intercropping practice but is also cultural and spiritual.

Define: Gdoo-naaganinaa and why it was important

"Our Dish" - Refers to a precolonial treaty between the Nishnaabeg and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. They shared hunting rounds, food, values, etc.

Define: Bimaadiziwin and why it was important

"To Live a Good Life" - Ensures humans live in balance with the natural world, their family, their clan, and their nation. Embedded in the social and political structures of the Nishnaabeg.

Define: Weroance and their importance

Title for leaders of the Virginia Algonquians. They ruled with the consent of priests and council. Underwent different rites and ceremonies. They were vital to diplomacy with other nations

Who was Powhatan and why was he important?

Title for Chief of all Chiefs. Powhatan had authority over the new system of government. He had direct contact with the English colonists that built Jamestown

Importance - Uniting dozens of tribes into a single, powerful alliance.

Land Bridge vs B.S theory

The Land Bridge Theory attempted to explain why Indigenous Peoples were in North America first. It tried to reconcile the teachings of the Bible with the reality of Americas' existence.

The B.S theory asserted that the the Land Bridge theory leads people to believe in Indigenous people being immigrants to America.

Define: Prehistory

The branch of knowledge that deals with events or conditions before written or recorded history

Define: Pre-Contact

Existing or occurring in a place or culture outside Europe prior to first contact with Europeans; designating a time or place before such contact

Define: Culture Area

A geographic area in which societies have different cultures

Who were the Conquistadors?

Spanish conquerors that seeked gold and riches. They claimed to have conquered in the name of God.

Who was Hernan Cortes?

Conquered the Ancient Mexico City, Tenochtitlan (The Aztec Empire). The city was larger than all other cities in Europe at the time. Cortes won mainly due to diseases that the Europeans brought over to America (Debunks popular myth that Europeans won with Euro-tech superiority)

What are the main consequences of colonization?

Land, language, religion and culture loss.

What is Kanata?

One of the main landmarks of the people that lived in St. Lawrence - Part of Huron-Wendat Confederacy

Provide an example of early Indigenous architecture

Adena and Hopewell - Cultures built thousands of mounds in Northeast and Central North America

What occurred before the fur trade?

Atlantic Fishery - Late 1400s

Demand was caused by the Catholics and their pescatarian diet throughout the year. Fishermen would come seasonally but were not settlers.

Trade relationship was formed. Fur and fresh vegetables were traded for fish and European goods.

What conflict surrounds Euro-Western early written records?

Euro-Western written records are told from a Eurocentric perspective and hold different biases

True or False: Contact with Indigenous People was a long term process

True

Provide 3 cultigens that were brought to the Americas

Wheat, Melons, Coffee

Provide 3 cultigens that were brought to Europe

Maize, cocoa, beans

Provide 3 animals that were brought to the Americas

Pigs, Cats, Rats

Provide 2 animals that were brought to Europe

Turkeys, Llamas

Provide an example of a disease that was brought to Europe

Syphilis

Provide 3 diseases that were brought to the Americas

Smallpox, bubonic plague, measles

Define: Columbian Exchange

Refers to the transfer of pathogens, cultigens and animals between Eurasia/Africa and the Americas

What were the main motivators to convert for the Huron-Wendats?

Better trade rates and respect were given to Christian converts

Who was the main nation in the Nishnaabeg Confederacy? (That we've covered in class)

Algonquin

Who was the main nation in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy? (That we've covered in class)

Mohawk - One of the Iroquois nations that formed the Five Nations Confederacy