Aboriginal Studies 30 Final Exam Study Guide

self-government

a community's right to make decisions about matters internal to the community

individual rights

privileges or powers that belong to an individual.

Natural Laws

systems governing how the natural world operates that can be learned through observation and experience. Such laws come from the Creator to allow all parts of creation to live in harmony.

Inherent Rights

privileges or powers in existence prior to Canada becoming a nation and outside of Canada's constitution or any other government or legal authority. Aboriginal peoples claim an inherent right to self-government based on their position as indigenous peoples. They exercised this right for centuries before European colonization when their ability to exercise their rights was hampered. The Canadian government recognizes the inherent right of self-government and is now working to relinquish control over Aboriginal groups so that they can exercise it.

Constitution

the written or unwritten set of principles and institutions by which a nation governs itself

Common law

the legal system of most English-speaking countries, which is based on traditions and legal precedent. Common law is supplemented by statutory law, which is written legislation.

Oral Tradition

a practice in which the entire body of knowledge, history, language, and all other aspects of a culture are passed from generation to generation through the spoken word

Mutual Support

a concept central to Aboriginal cultures in which relationships and activities benefit the whole rather than the individual

Land claim

a demand for title to or rights regarding certain territories.

Colonization

the establishment of a colony or colonies, involving one country taking political and economic control of another country or territory and attempting to change the existing culture, often by importing many people as settlers or administrators to encourage social transformation. The colonized country is usually exploited for the benefit of the colonizing country.

Alliances

working partnerships in pursuit of common interests

Displacement

the state of people being forced to move from homelands as a result of war, abuse, disaster, or other conflict

Personal autonomy

the ability of an individual to choose his or her own course of action. In traditional Aboriginal communities, individuals had personal autonomy, but usually acted in the best interests of the group because their holistic worldview made self-interest indistinguishable from the group's interest.

Holistic

emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts

Aboriginal Title

privileges or powers accorded to Aboriginal peoples due to their original or longstanding use and occupancy of the land. These rights vary depending on each group's cultural customs, practices, and traditions, but may include rights to hunt, trap, and fish on ancestral lands.

Indigenous Peoples

the original inhabitants of a land and their descendants

Feudal System

a political and economic system of landholding based on reciprocal relationships between the Crown, nobles, and peasants. The nobles held the Crown's land in exchange for military service and peasants lived on the land and received military protection from the nobles in exchange for a share of their produce or service.

Reserve

land set aside, or reserved, by the government during the colonization of Canada for the use of a First Nation. The Crown holds legal title to reserve lands and the federal government has jurisdiction over reserves and the people living there.

First treaty

Commemorated by a Wampum belt, signed in 1645 and enabled the Dutch to establish a trading fort on Haudenosaunee lands

Treaties are

agreements between sovereign nations.

Treaties come about through

negotiations to reach a mutual agreement between different parties.

The great law of Peace

The Great Law of Peace this assembly agreed upon became the founding constitution of North America's first federal democracy. A constitution is a set of institutions and principles that govern a country or group of people.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763

The Royal Proclamation was designed to prevent future uprisings and to strengthen British government control over formerly French territories. It is significant today for several reasons. The proclamation uses the phrase "nations or Tribes of Indians."

Scrip

a government-issued certificate entitling the bearer to goods, money, or land

Enfranchise

to endow with the rights of citizenship or membership, especially the right to vote. Enfranchisement was defined with respect to First Nations people in the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857. Enfranchisement, in this case, meant that First Nations individuals had to abandon their First Nations identity, assimilate into Euro-Canadian culture, and give up Indian status in order to receive the rights of Canadian citizenship. In some cases, First Nations individuals were not given a choice but were automatically enfranchised for various reasons.

Status Indian

a term created by the Indian Act that refers to a First Nations person who is registered according to the act's requirements and therefore qualifies for certain rights and benefits

Self-government

a community's right to make decisions about matters internal to the community

Crown Land

land owned by the Crown and controlled by the federal or provincial government; such ownership dates back to the colonization of Canada, when land was claimed on behalf of the reigning monarch

Constitution Act

passed 1982 advanced many key rights concerns such as: treaty protections, enabling further advocacy for rights, Indigenous recognition for Metis and Inuit people, eased ways to negotiate land claims and self-determination

Indian Act

the law governing First Nations people (and their descendants) who signed treaties or who were otherwise registered in the act's provisions. First passed in 1876 and amended many times since the act designates federal government obligations towards registered individuals and regulations for the management of reserve lands.

Meech Lake Accord

The Meech Lake Accord (French: Accord du lac Meech) was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers.

fee simple

ownership of land in which the rights to use the land are unlimited

Manitoba Act

was a constitutional statute that created the Province of Manitoba. It gave the Métis most of what they asked for, notably responsible government, the status of province, bilingual institutions, confessional schools, and guaranteed property rights with respect to Indian lands.

Aboriginal Rights

The Government of Canada recognizes Indigenous peoples' right to self-determination, including the right to freely pursue their economic, political, social, and cultural development.

5 similarities in the way First Nations lived in different geographic regions

1. Lived in small tribal groups.

2. Generally stewarded the land.

3. Closely knit.

4. Frequently hunted.

5. Rather spiritual.

5 differences in the way First Nations lived in different geographic regions

1. Food they ate

2. Structures they lived in

3. Social structure

4. Cultural practices

5. Ceremonies

Formal leadership

1. Clear expectations

2. Very structured

3. Assigned duties

Informal leadership

1. Less structure and flexible

2. Guidance

3. Desired skills

Roles of tribal councils

1. Pool resources for programs, services, and policy-making.

2. Develop initiatives for areas not governed by the Indian Act.

3. Reinforce traditional political, economic and social

systems of mutual support and independence.

Bill C-31

a proposal to amend the Indian Act approved by parliament in 1985. The amendment increased First Nations' control over band membership. It also removed the section of the act that stripped women of their status and rights — including the right to live on a reserve — when they married non-status men. As a result, 100 000 people — often referred to as Bill C-31 Indians — were able to have their status reinstated.

Indian agent duties

1. Lived on the reserve and were responsible for its administrative affairs.

2. Advise band councils.

3. Indian agents enforced band bylaws and punished those who broke rules and regulations.

4. remove chiefs and band councillors for their unwillingness to follow the federal

5. inspected reserve schools and health conditions.

6. enforced band bylaws and punished those who broke rules and regulations.

Alienate

to give another individual or group a sense of being out of harmony or excluded. Years spent at residential schools left many Aboriginal individuals with a sense of alienation from both their cultural heritage and mainstream society.

Nitawahsinnaan

These relationships are critical to understanding the way in which the Blackfoot view and in turn manage the land they call ______. Translated, this means source of food/sustenance.

Band

a term defined by the Indian Act to describe a territorially based group of First Nations people who share a common culture and ancestry; e.g., the Samson Cree Nation

Red River Resistance

the organized Metis Resistance against Canada's taking over of Red River without consulting them. In 1869.

Indian Register

the federal government's list of Status Indians

Assimilation

the process of absorbing or being absorbed by a group or system. In Canada during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, government policies of assimilation attempted to make Aboriginal peoples adopt non-Aboriginal culture.

Devolution

the transfer of an unexercised right to an ultimate owner, especially by a central government to another administration

Charlottetown Accord

proposed a number of constitutional changes that would have the overall effect of reducing the powers of the federal government and increasing the powers of the provinces. It also repeated Meech Lake's recognition of Quebec as a distinct society. For Aboriginal peoples, the accord included several key features. It recognized Aboriginal peoples' inherent right to self-government and defined how self-government related to land, environment, language, and culture. It also recognized Aboriginal governments as a third order of government alongside the federal and provincial governments and guaranteed Aboriginal peoples' representation in the Senate.

Tripartite agreement

deals between three groups to further some common purpose. The most common type of tripartite agreement involving Aboriginal peoples in Canada involves an Aboriginal government, a provincial or territorial government, and the federal government.

Usufructuary rights

the legal ability to use or receive benefit from a possession, such as land, without owning it in fee simple

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

a Canadian government commission investigating the tension between Canada's First Nations and the government in the 1990s that concluded Aboriginals needed to be granted more self-determination and control over their lands.

Aboriginal concerns on the charter of right and freedoms

Aboriginal organizations supported protections for individual rights, but with a significant difference. A focus on the individual is not part of the cultural heritage of Aboriginal peoples, where the community is viewed as most important. Aboriginal leaders were concerned that an individual whose interests came into conflict with an Aboriginal group's rights might use the Charter to override Aboriginal rights.

Five main national Aboriginal political organizations

1. the Assembly of First Nations

2. the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples

3. the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (formerly the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada),

4.the Métis National Council

5. the Native Women's Association of Canada.

Difference between owning the land in fee simple and having Aboriginal title?

uses of Aboriginal title land are restricted to those that will not deprive future generations of the benefit of the land. Another key element is that unlike land held in fee simple, which is generally transferrable, Aboriginal title lands may only be transferred to the Crown.

Natural Resources Transfer Agreements

turned Crown land over to provincial jurisdiction.

four pledges of the Royal Commission's Report.

1. Fully implementation the terms of all treaties.

2. Strengthen Aboriginal self-government.

3. Provide new funding arrangements for the Aboriginal government.

4. Develop programs in consultation with Aboriginal peoples to promote greater social, cultural, and economic development for their communities.

three partners in self-government negotiations for tripartite agreements

1. Framework Agreement

2. Agreement-in-Principle

3. Final Agreement

Land Claims

a demand for title to or rights regarding certain territories. See comprehensive land claims, specific land claims

Comprehensive land claims

demands for title to certain lands that have never come under treaties or other legal agreements. Such demands are based on Aboriginal rights.

Mother Earth

Expresses the sense that the land gave birth to the people and nourishes them.

Umbrella Agreement

Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow launched a two-decade dialogue that culminated in 1993 with the Umbrella Final Agreement (UFA) with the Council of Yukon Indians (since renamed the Council of Yukon First Nations). They were the first group in the north to submit a formal land claim.

Specific land claims

arise when First Nations believe the government has not properly fulfilled treaty or other legal obligations.

Economic Value

In non-Aboriginal societies, the most prevalent value attached to land is economic. This value is what the land or its resources can be bought or sold for on the open market. In this sense, land value can be quantified in dollars. An individual must own land in fee simple to take full advantage of this kind of land value. This does not mean they have to sell it. People who own land can use it as a security to borrow money. They can then invest that money in ways that generate income.

Cultural Value

Aboriginal cultures are deeply connected to land. Aboriginal people's stories, histories, and traditions are tied to the land of their ancestors. By maintaining a link to that land and its resources, Aboriginal people can retain a connection to their culture.

Spiritual value

For many First Nations and Inuit peoples, the cultural value of land is intertwined with its spiritual value. Traditional First Nations and Inuit spirituality is not separate from other parts of life. Spirituality is involved in every aspect of life and in every part of the world.

Educational value

For countless generations, First Nations and Inuit peoples passed on their traditional knowledge through everyday teaching. Children collected plants with their parents, learning what each one was used for. They listened to Elders tell stories about their ancestors, often while working alongside them on the land. An uncle might teach a nephew how to set a snare, or a grandmother might guide her granddaughter's hand as she learned to prepare a buffalo hide. Education was informal and part of everyday life on the land.

Social Value

Land has a significant social value. It provides an anchor and focal point for Aboriginal communities — it is home. It provides the location for social gatherings and spiritual ceremonies — virtually all of which traditionally take place in natural settings, using natural materials. Such gatherings reinforce a sense of community, feelings of belonging, a sense of identity, and self-esteem.

Political Value

The economic, social, cultural, spiritual, and educational values of land intersect with land's political value. Aboriginal leaders see land as an important component of self-government and self-determination. Land provides a springboard from which to work politically to meet community needs. Aboriginal peoples can work within or alongside the Canadian political system to ensure the success of their communities.

Calder case on aboriginal rights

In its ruling, however, the court declared that, in the absence of an agreement in which the Crown explicitly stated its intention to extinguish title to land, Aboriginal peoples could still hold rights to land and resources. This meant Aboriginal title legally pre-existed any declarations by the Crown regarding sovereignty.

four issues Aboriginal people wanted the government to start considering in land-claims in The Coolican Report?

1. This approach offered cash and reserves in exchange for extinguishing Aboriginal title.

2. "To date," stated the document, "treaties and modern settlements have provided neither the finality desired by governments nor the guarantee for the future desired by Aboriginal peoples."

3. The report urged Ottawa to build "living," lasting partnerships with Aboriginal peoples, instead of limited, final settlements.

4. Furthermore, it recommended that the federal government consider political, social, and cultural issues in negotiating land claims, in addition to economic issues.

Describe the five aspects of a comprehensive claim.

1. The Aboriginal group is, and was an organized society.

2. The Aboriginal group has occupied its territory since

time immemorial. Its occupancy was "an established fact" when European nations asserted their claim on the territory.

3. The Aboriginal group occupied the territory mostly to the exclusion of other organized societies.

4. The Aboriginal group continues to use and occupy the territory for traditional purposes.

5. The group's Aboriginal title and rights have not come under any treaty, or become restricted by other lawful means.

Describe the four aspects of a specific claim.

1. unfulfilled treaty or Indian Act

obligations, including unful-

filled treaty land entitlements

2. illegal sale or expropriation

of First Nations land

3. failure to fairly compensate

First Nations for land

expropriated, sold, or

damaged by the government

4. mismanaged trust accounts

or leases of reserve land to

third parties

What are three ways someone lost status under the Indian Act?

1. First Nations woman who married a non-status man lost her own status under the act, as did her children.

2. Graduated university

3. Doctor or lawyer

Multiculturalism

supports the idea of a heterogeneous society in which people freely practise their own cultures and speak their own languages.

Prejudice

a preconceived idea, usually unfavourable, or an adverse judgment relating to an individual or group, often on the basis of social, physical, or cultural characteristics. Prejudice is an attitude that may lead to discrimination.

Restorative justice

initiatives are especially effective with young offenders. Youth justice committees are being used in many Alberta communities, and not all of them are Aboriginal. For example, a program called Calgary Community Conferencing helps reduce crime and violent conflict in the city's elementary, junior, and senior high schools. The resolution process involves giving everyone involved a chance to speak about their needs, with the offender eventually suggesting resolutions for the problem.

Homogenous

composed of or having the same or similar elements or qualities; uniform. A single First Nations community would be considered homogeneous.

Covert discrimination

harmful treatment of members of subordinate racial and ethnic groups that is hidden and difficult to document

Stereotype

a rigid and inflexible mental image that portrays all individuals of an ethnic, national, cultural, or other group as being without individual characteristics

overt discrimination

Knowingly and willingly denying diverse individuals access to opportunities and outcomes in an organization

Canada's Indigenous people differ from immigrants

1. They were the countries initial inhabitants

2. Immigrants could always return to their original countries to re-learn them.

What is the difference between prejudice & discrimination?

While prejudice refers to biased thinking, discrimination consists of actions against a group of people. Discrimination can be based on age, religion, health, and other indicators; race-based laws against discrimination strive to address this set of social problems.

What are Friendship Centres?

Friendship Centres are non-profit community organizations that provide services to urban Inuit, Métis, and First Nations people. Friendship Centres were first established in the 1950s, and there are now more than 100 Centres across Canada.

How did Friendship Centres begin?

As First Nations and Métis people began moving to cities in greater numbers during the 1950s, local volunteers formed Friendship Centres to assist them. At that time, the centres functioned mainly as referral agencies, connecting individuals to various resources and services to help them adapt successfully to urban life.

Drawbacks of reserve life

The benefits of reserve life are not always enough to keep people on the reserve. While some people experience a comforting closeness to family and friends, others feel a lack of privacy. In some cases, the influences of family and friends are not always positive. For example, some people experience peer pressure to use alcohol or other substances. Moving away can give them the chance to start a new life away from old habits.

How do life on Métis and Inuit communities differ from life from other Aboriginal communities?

Unlike aboriginal communities, Metis and Inuit people different ceremonies (i.e doing jigs instead of powwows). For Metis their traditional career is a mix of hunting and trading. Inuit are adapted to cold climates. All three engage in uniques forms of art, Inuit making inukshuk, Metis sashes and indigenous talking sticks.

Pollution impacts reserves through

Many reserves suffer from the effects of polluted land and contaminated water due to mining, agriculture, and other industries.

Youth at risk

Abuse of alcohol and other drugs or substances can be a problem that affects young and old. In some places on the prairies, alienated young people have formed gangs that reinforce their sense of alienation from wider society.

Television

On reserves today, as in other locations in Canada, children are drawn to the ideas and values reflected on television.

Most common reasons that aboriginal people move to urban areas?

A city offers more choices — in schools and educational programs, in recreation and leisure opportunities, shopping, and other conveniences and amenities. Some people go to a city looking for excitement or new friends. Others want to join friends and family who are already living in a city. Some want or need to be near better medical facilities and services. Some people hope to escape from problems in their home community.

List barriers that Aboriginal people face in an urban environment?

1. Physical Atmosphere: Cities are often crowded, polluted, noisy places, with little connection to the natural world.

2. Unemployment and Poverty: City living is often costly and can involve extra expenses for transportation, parking, education, and services.

3. Alienation: People who have been raised in families where traditional cultural values dominate, or in communities where hunting, trapping, and fishing remain a central part of life, generally find it difficult to adapt to an urban lifestyle.

4. Access to Services: Urban Aboriginal people do not receive the same level of services from the federal government as First Nations people living on reserves or Inuit people living in their communities.

5. Maintaining Cultural Identity: Aboriginal people living in urban areas told the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples that maintaining their cultural identity is essential to their sense of happiness and well-being.

6. Cultural Barriers: Some Canadians know surprisingly little about their country's first inhabitants.

How will a younger population of Aboriginal people help change the trends of unemployment?

This trend will likely continue for some time in the future. Because the Aboriginal birth rate is 1.5 times higher than that of the non-Aboriginal population, one-third of the Aboriginal population in 2001 was aged fourteen and under. This compares to 19 percent of the non-Aboriginal population.

In a few years, this demographic could offer a solution to a forecasted shortage of skilled labor in Western

Canadian cities. Given the right education and training opportunities, young urban Aboriginal people could reduce that shortage.

What does AHRDS stand for

Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy

What does AHRDS do?

a program designed to help Aboriginal people obtain and keep employment.

What is a significant problem that Aboriginal Communities have in providing services for their people?

This situation is partly the result of an on-going disagreement about jurisdiction between the federal and provincial governments. The federal government has assumed responsibility for providing services to First Nations people living on reserves, Inuit people, and Métis people living in the North.

What is the problem with assuming that Aboriginal services place an unfair tax burden on the average citizen?

Some people fear that Aboriginal services place an unfair tax burden on the average citizen. Such views ignore the important economic, social, and moral benefits of encouraging all communities across Canada to fulfill their potential. The costs of not improving services may well be far greater.

What is the difference between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal health care services?

non-Aboriginal health care services tend to focus on treating the symptoms of problems, rather than the causes. Aboriginal health care methods look at more holistic solutions to health problems.

Spirituality and the Land

Though indigenous cultures differ one from another, distinct similarities exist. For example, all have a spiritual connection to the land and the natural world. Many indigenous cultures respect and care for the land and its resources as a part of their community.

Respect for Diversity

Sometimes indigenous peoples with in one country are painted with a single brushstroke — a stereotype that does not account for their true diversity. Prior to European contact and colonization, each indigenous people lived in a traditional territory, sometimes overlapping with other groups.