Unit 2

Distribution of Wealth / Economic Empowerment

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

RESULTS IN

ECONOMIC SECURITY

Economic Security

Definition:

Having enough money to meet your needs and a little extra for the special things you want.

NEEDS

Things necessary for survival

AIR

WATER

FOOD

SHELTER

CLOTHING

WANTS

WANTS: Things you’d like to have but can live without. COMPUTER TELEVISION SNOWMOBILE CELL PHONE

Chapter 2

Economies in History

Every Society has some form of an Economic System

ECONOMIC SYSTEMS answer these questions:

What goods / services do people need and want?

How can they produce goods and services?

How can they distribute them?

Over time economies change

Types of economies (How economies have evolved):

Pre – Industrial (no manufacturing technologies)

Industrial (use manufacturing technologies)

Post – Industrial (informational technologies)

First Nations and Inuit Economies

We accept that First Nations political structures, economies and cultures have existed since

Time Immemorial

– As far back as anyone can remember in stories passed on by elders.

Aboriginal Peoples of Canada today

1. Inuit – First people of the region north of the tree line (a place too cold for trees to grow). i.e. Labrador Inuit

2. First Nations – First people of the rest of the land

that is Canada today. i.e. Innu (Not to be confused with Inuit

Others are – Mi’Kmaq, Maliseet, and Passamaquoddy.

3. Metis – Children of either Inuit or First

Nations women and European traders

Needs and Wants (First Nations/ Inuit Economies)

Depended on the land and natural resources for survival.

Economy was based on the natural resources of the region they lived in.

Needed food, shelter, and clothing.

Had basic needs and used what was in their environment to meet these needs.

Production (First Nations/ Inuit

Economies)

Mostly made using stone / bone tools or by

hand.

Used trees for shelter, animal skins or snow depending on what was available.

Animals used for food, clothing, and shelter.

Production (continued)

People travelled / moved to follow the food source (close to coast in summer, inland in winter)

Believed that the land was an important resource to be respected by the people.

They did not believe in land ownership.

EXAMPLE:

Mukushan – Innu tradition where the community had a special feast to honour the spirit of the caribou.

Distribution (First Nations / Inuit)

Read “The Creator Visits (page 29)

Every one helped with making goods. People shared with each other – equal distribution.

Some nations traded with each other (Corn for beaver hides

for example) There was no land ownership – some groups defended their

hunting territory; others allowed people to go where they wished.

Newcomers

Starting about 1500 AD

Came from a variety of cultures (English / French)

Had a more advanced economic system.

Needs and Wants (Newcomers)

To own more land

To spread their culture (e.g. Religion)

To find economic opportunities

Natural resources – timber, furs, fish, seal oil / pelts and minerals to sell back in Europe.

Note: Land ownership was important to Europeans because only the wealthy (monarchy / nobility) owned land.

Those who came to North America hoped to be able to own their own land. This would mean being able to make money from the resources on that land.

THREE KEY RESOURCES (Sought after by Europeans)

Fish

Furs

Timber

Fish:

First resource to attract Europeans.

Very valuable.

Because of religious beliefs they could only eat fish many days of the year as meat was not permitted.

Furs:

Beaver pelts were in demand in Europe (hats).

Many first nations already traded furs.

Fur trade was the beginning of trade between Europeans and Natives.

Timber:

Europe had fewer, smaller trees and needed more.

Needed for building ships (ship building)

The territories of the Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, and Mi’Kmaq

The fur trade moved settlements further North and West to the Pacific Coast.

Production (Europeans)

Until the 1700’s they used basic tools or made things by hand (Pre-industrial).

Some goods were made by people who specialized in one area (blacksmith, shoemaker, coopers {Men who made barrels}, weavers, dressmakers, etc.)

In the city people could go to a speciality store to get products. In the rural / farm areas many often produced their own goods.

Early settlers had to do most things themselves; it took time to develop cities where you could get products as you could in European towns / cities.

Distributions (Europeans)

Based on profit ($) – if you owned land / resources, you could make money from it.

Goods and services were found in markets.

People could buy and sell their products in the market.

Trading was still part of this system in rural areas and for the early settlers.

Complete Assignment 1

• Comparison Chart of Needs and Wants of First Nations/Inuit and European settlers.

The Impact of Contact

Contact is the term historians associate with the time Europeans first came to North America

Contact between the Natives and the Europeans caused serious problems for the First Nations and the Inuit.

Early Contact: (Maritimes)

Natives were interested in the things Europeans had (metal tools, weapons, clothing)

Europeans needed Natives for survival (Clothing, food, shelter)

Europeans and Native groups both saw economic opportunities.

Fur trade began – Europeans wanted furs and Natives wanted metal objects (knives, pots, etc.)

Treaties:

Conflict existed between First Nations and Europeans and between the French and English.

Conflict over land and resources.

Great Britain and Fist Nations felt that treaties would help settle their conflicts.

Between 1717 and 1779 – The Covenant Chain of Treaties (Treaties of Peace and

Friendship) were signed

These treaties are still in place today.

Each treaty was different.

First Nations (FNs) would act peacefully toward British;

British agreed to respect FN’s rights.

FNs did NOT agree to give up land or natural resources.

Included Mi’Kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet

The Effects of the

Fur Trade

First Nations economies changed

forever. BEFORE Fur Trade

Part of year spent hunting

animals; part of year fishing along coast

Hunted /fished for their own basic needs/wants

Used resources ONLY as they needed them

AFTER Fur Trade

Spent more time on Fur-

bearing animals (fox, beaver) for trade

Relied on the Europeans for their needs (flour, cloth,etc)

Used resources for trade

RESULT

The animal population in areas became low due to

overhunting

Natives could not find enough animals to supply for the trade.

The Europeans moved further west.

Natives were left struggling to meet their basic needs because of European settlement.

The Effects of

European Settlement

The idea of “Land Ownership” cause many problems for FNs who were used to sharing the land.

Europeans fenced the land for farms and cattle which

kept FNs from hunting grounds.

Europeans built roads and towns close to waterways

and ocean fronts keeping FNs away from their food sources.

Most European settlers believed that their ways were better

than the FNs and they expected them to change their ways to become more like the Europeans, or else, move away from them.

Example : the Beothuk (see page 39)

Complete Assignment 2

Map of Canada