The Metis: Our People, Our Story Teacher's Guide
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The Metis: Our People, Our Story Teacher’s Guide Developed by the: Gabriel Dumont Institute Contributors: Leah Dorion Darren R. Préfontaine 1 Table of Contents 0.0 Introduction 0.1 Rationale 0.2 How is the guide organized? 0.3 How is the guide used? 0.4 Teaching Methods and Techniques 1.0 Métis Social Life 1.1 Worldview and Ceremony The Church in the Northwest, Métis Values and Beliefs, Métis Lifecycle, Church and the People 1.2 Marriage and Family Métis Childrearing and Identity, Family Structures, Métis Kinship, Métis Genealogy, Métis Marriage practices 1.3 Métis Education Traditional Education, Fur trade Education, Church role in Education, Government Controlled Education, Contemporary Education, Métis Controlled Education 1.4 Métis Language and Communication Multilingualism, Michif 1.5 Métis Recreation Métis Storytelling, Métis Games and Gambling, Métis Sports Métis Entertainment 1.6 Métis Arts and Crafts Métis Clothing, Decoration 2 2.0 Métis Political Life 2.1 Métis Political Resistance Seven Oaks 1816, Free trade Movement, 1870 Red River Resistance, 1885 Northwest Resistance, 1930s Alberta Métis Organize: 1930, 1960s Métis Activism and Resistance 2.2 Métis Political Organization Métis Governmental structures, Métis Leadership, Métis War Veterans, Métis Self-government, Métis and Treaty Making 2.3 Métis Law and Order Métis people and the Justice system, Métis laws and community governance 2.4 Who are the Métis? Métis Legal Identity and Definitions, Métis Nationalism 2.5 Métis and the Land Saskatchewan land claims, Manitoba land claims Northwest Territories land claims, Métis Scrip System, Dispossession of the Métis, the Road Allowance People 2.6 Métis Rights Hunting Rights, Métis Aboriginal Rights, Métis Perspectives on Human Rights 3.0 Métis Economic Life 3.1 Lifestyle and Work Clothing, Subsistence, Buffalo Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, Hunting, Farming, Gardening, Ranching, Wage Labour, Seasonal Cycles 3.2 Métis People and the Fur trade Fur trade Employment 3 3.3 Transportation York Boats, Snowshoes, Red River Carts, Horse, Dogs 3.4 Standard of Living Health and Well-being, Earning a Living, Food and Diet, Living Space 4.0 Métis Communities 4.1 Kelly Lake, British Columbia 4.2 Lac La Biche, Alberta 4.3 Cumberland House, Saskatchewan 4.4 Hay River, Northwest Territories 4.5 St. Laurent, Manitoba 4.6 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 4.7 Métis communities, Québec 4.8 Fox Valley, Newfoundland 5.0 Conclusion Gabriel Dumont Institute Mission Statement To promote the renewal and development of Métis culture through research, materials development, collection and distribution of those materials and the design, development and delivery of Métis- specific educational programs and services. 0.0 Introduction This teachers guide is to provide the teacher with thematic units that can be integrated into existing courses and curriculum. The themes and topics are developed at various grade levels and suggestions are made on how to adapt the lessons to various grade levels. This teacher’s guide complements Gabriel Dumont Institute resources, publications, and The Metis: Our People, Our Story CD-ROM. Many activities and lessons are based on effective practices in First Nations and Métis education. 4 Teachers and academics developed this resource for teachers. 0.1 The Rationale Why is this teacher’s guide needed? In most Canadian Native Studies curriculums there is limited Métis content and perspectives. This guide provides Métis specific content, activities, lessons and perspectives. This teacher’s guide complements the major themes in Saskatchewan Learning’s Native Studies 10, 20, 30 programs. [See: Table 1.0] This teacher’s guide can also be taught as a comprehensive Métis studies course. 0.2 How to use the teacher’s guide? This course and guide is a beginning place for students and teachers to discover the rich diversity of Métis culture in Canada. We encourage teachers to adapt and modify this curriculum to add regional and local Métis history and perspectives. It is designed to compliment existing Métis content and curriculum – to expand on the role of the teacher, the student and the community. 0.3 How it is organized and why? The CD-ROM is designed in four umbrella themes: Social Life, Political Life, Economic Life and Community Life. The compilation of information in the CD-ROM is very encyclopedic and contains an eclectic range of contributions by Elders, educators, archaeologists, historians, lawyers and Native Studies academics. The Metis: Our People, Our Story CD-ROM contains information about Métis communities from Newfoundland and Labrador to the Northwest Territories; however, the main focus is on the historic Red River Métis and their descendants in Western Canada. All the units in the CD-ROM and in this teachers’ guide are interrelated and are designed to fit into 5 the Saskatchewan Native Studies 10, 20 and 30 Content. 0.4 Teaching Methods and Techniques The CD-ROM and accompanying teachers’ guide attempts to maintain a strong Métis voice that is inclusive and respectful to all our attended audience. Moreover, the CD-ROM employs a variety of academic disciplines and the Oral Tradition. Saskatchewan Native Studies 10, 20, 30 Content Outline Native Studies 10 This is a survey course that examines the societal structures and practices of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in Saskatchewan and Canada through time. Introduction: Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Unit One: Spiritual Life Unit Two: Family Life Unit Three: Political Life Unit Four: Economic Life Unit Five: Education Life Unit Six: Social Life Native Studies 20 This is a course that examine contemporary issues and concepts common to Canadian and international Indigenous peoples. Introduction: Indigenous Worldviews Unit One: Self-Determination and Self-Government Unit Two: Development Unit Three: Social Justice 6 Native Studies 30 This is a course that examines contemporary Canadian Aboriginal issues. Unit One: Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Unit Two: Governance Unit Three: Land Claims and Treaty Land Entitlements Unit Four: Economic Development Unit Five: Social Development 1.0 Métis Social Life Métis peoples across Canada have developed unique social and cultural traditions that have blended European and First Nations customs, believes and values. This section discusses the different historical and contemporary social events and customs that have been proudly practiced by the Métis people of Canada. Learning Objectives: By the end of this section the group will able to identify important aspects of Métis culture. Major Activity: In a large group formulate a definition of culture. ___________________________________________________ __________ What is culture? Definition: Culture is the total life-way of a people. It is a complete system of learned behaviour transmitted from generation to generation as a means of providing a historically proven 7 method of surviving and adapting to the natural and social environment. It includes language, values, beliefs and traditions as well as providing practical guidelines in technology and the economy. Culture is learned behaviour passed down from one generation to the next. We learn our culture from our parents and other members of our community. This learning is accomplished by providing an informal example (children watch adults and learn from observation), by formal “teaching and learning” in schools, or through instruction by Elders. Culture is NOT biologically inherited from your parents. These ways of thinking and acting include all aspects of living including language, values, beliefs, customs or traditions, technology and economy. One of the most important things to remember when dealing with different cultures in is that one culture in not any better or worse than another. They are just different. People who tried to satisfy their needs for such things as safety, food, shelter, communication, and achievement have developed cultures over many thousands of years. Just because the solutions to these needs, arrived at by two groups of people, happens to be different does not mean that one is a better or worse than the other. Culture constantly changes, and it is this flexibility, which has helped humans adapt to such things as environmental shifts. ___________________________________________________ __________ “My people shall sleep for a hundred years and the artists shall then lead the way”. – Louis Riel ___________________________________________________ __________ 8 Critical Thinking Activity: How have society, the media and historians traditionally portrayed Métis culture, and society? Compare outsiders’ views of Métis culture, and society to an Métis persons or families/communities view of their culture. Why is Métis culture Important?For background information please consult Leah Dorion and Darren R. Préfontaine, “Deconstructing Métis Historiography: Giving Voice to the Métis People”, in Lawrence J. Barkwell, Leah Dorion and Darren R. Préfontaine. Editors. Metis Legacy. Winnipeg and Saskatoon: The Louis Riel Institute and the Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2001, pp. 13-36. See also the essays posted on the Gabriel Dumont Institute’s The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture. ___________________________________________________ __________ 1.1 Ideology and Ceremony All thoughts, feelings and behaviours are based on our ideology or belief systems and values. Human cultures around the world have unique ideologies and these form the basis of their social organization. This section analyzes aspects of Métis ideology and