Oral Traditions, Archeology & History
Transcript of Oral Traditions, Archeology & History
THE ORIGINS OF CANADA’S FIRST NATIONS
Oral Traditions, Archeology & History
WHAT ARE ORAL HISTORIES?
Many cultures world wide did not use writing to record their histories
Instead in First Nations’ culture, histories are passed down through stories from generation to generation
Historians debate extensively whether or not to use oral histories as reliable primary sources
SIMULATION 1
In you tables you will get into partners and sit back to back
Each person will be given a simple picture
DO NOT show the picture to your partner
You’ll have 2 minutes to write a description of your picture
Next, you will give your description to your partner
Based on the description alone, you will have to try and recreate the picture
SIMULATION 2
This time you will have to sit in rows of 4 or 5
The person at the back of the row will be given a drawing
They will have 1 minute to describe it to the person in front of them
After hearing the description, you will repeat it as best as possible to the person in front of you
The person at the very front will have to draw the image as it is described to them
DEBRIEF:
Which method was more reliable? Was there a huge difference?
What, if anything, does this show us about the reliability of oral histories?
CANADA A PEOPLE’S HISTORY
To what extent does the Origin Story of the Salish line up with archeological theories?
Do you think Oral Histories are reliable?
MULTIPLE THEORIES?
While the Bearing Straight migration theory has been popular, and taught for years, there are some alternatives.
Read up further on the Bearingian Migration, as well as on an alternate theory that has been proposed in the last 20 years
Use the worksheet to guide you through
SO WHO’S RIGHT?
Which theory seems the most compelling to you? Why?
WHAT WE DO KNOW
We do know that Aboriginal peoples have been in North America for AT LEAST 12,000 years
North America is home to many different language an cultural groups
MORE CONFUSING: THE MOUND BUILDERS
The Mound Builders were an ancient culture that lived near current day Ohio
They built giant burial mounds, fortifications and maybe cities
Existed around the year zero
No one is too sure what happened to them
TERMINOLOGY
Aboriginal = First Nations, Metis & Inuits (all encompassing)
First Peoples = Same as aboriginal
First Nations = All native groups excluding the Inuit (the modern term for “indians”
Inuit = The culturally unique people of Canada’s arctic (they are NOT First Nations)
Metis = Descendants of First Nations people & French
Indians = Old Fashioned (not to be used)
LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY
Aboriginal Peoples are often named, and classified by their language group
There are over 50 unique languages that were spoke in Canada alone
CULTURAL/LIFESTYLE DIVERSITY
Aboriginal Cultures very greatly across North America
Largely influenced by their environment & climate
FIRST NATIONS OF EASTERN CANADA
The First Nations people of Eastern Canada fall into the grouping “Eastern Woodlands”
These are the groups we will focus in on:
Iroquois Confederacy
The Huron (Wendat)
The Algonquin
CONCLUSION
Many theories exist as to where the Aboriginal people came from, though they have been here for thousands of years
Before contact with Europeans they had complex and varying cultures and languages
Oral Tradition can be an interesting source of historical information