Capitalization is essential: Indigenous, Indigenous Peoples, First Nations, Inuit, Metis, Native, etc.
Deduction: 0.25 points for improper usage.
Draft posts in Word or a word processor for better proofreading.
Responses must reference that week's content accurately.
Include a call to action that addresses the topic's reconciliation.
The region and environment
Blackfoot Creation stories
Archaeological evidence
Global Era context
Contemporary Issues:
Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up
The Great Plains region is home to various Indigenous groups, including:
Cree, Blackfoot, Dakota, Cheyenne, and many others categorized under their respective areas (e.g., Arctic, Subarctic, Great Basin).
Consists of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Plains Cree, Gros Ventre, Sioux, and Saulteaux.
Translates to "the people" or "the Blackfoot-speaking people."
Confederation: Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), Piikani (Peigan).
Napi (The Old Man) created the world from mud, shaping mountains, prairies, and forests.
Napi traveled from the south to north, molding the landscape.
Every plant and animal assigned a specific place on earth (e.g., Big Horn Sheep in mountains, Bison on prairie).
The first people were created from clay, taught to harvest plants and animals for sustenance.
Depictions by Jesse DesRosier are inspired by traditional Blackfoot winter counts and tribal records.
Three main types: Buffalo hunting, Tipi rings, and Medicine Wheels.
Oral histories are increasingly informative alongside physical evidence.
Vital to Great Plains society and deeply embedded in their culture:
Hunting practices, spiritual rituals, and social organization all linked to buffalo migration patterns.
Buffalo are sacred to First Peoples with significant ceremonies for their return.
Tanned hide utilized for various cultural artifacts (moccasins, robes, and various bags).
Bones and muscles were critical for tools, food, and shelter.
Every part of the buffalo had multiple purposes, emphasizing respect and sustainability.
Circles of stones crucial for holding down lodge edges; abundant in the plains.
Excavation reveals social structure and seasonal occupation details.
Elders used stone alignments for spiritual and ritual purposes, notably found in Alberta.
Some of these structures date back to 4000 BC.
Dogs served as pack animals before horses arrived in the early 1700s, changing hunting dynamics.
Horses introduced transformative changes to communal hunting practices and increased conflict.
By the 1700s, the Blackfoot acquired horses and guns, establishing complex social structures.
Declining bison numbers and disease led to Treaty 7 in 1877.
Established during the fur trade period, originally known as Turtle Island, named after Prince Rupert.
Canada acquired it in 1870, often neglecting Indigenous rights.
1868 laws facilitated the transfer from HBC to Canada, promoting settlement and resource extraction without Indigenous consent.
The colonial mindset deemed the need to manage Indigenous affairs as a civilizing mission, hindering westward expansion.
Bison hunting policies aimed at starving the Indigenous population were enacted, demonstrating a systematic approach to undermine First Peoples' sovereignty.
Elevator pitch for assignments and proposals, emphasizing feedback on Indigenous perspectives and viability of topics.
Follow guidelines from previous weeks, including Younging’s Elements of Indigenous Style.