TEACHER ’ S GUIDE Indigenous War Heroes SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM Table of Contents 3 How To Use This Guide 6 Introduction 7 Biography and Rank Information 9 Timeline of First Nations Political and Military History 11 Activity One: Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Homelands Lesson Plan: Indigenous Homelands 16 Activity Two: History as Story - Gaps and Silences Lesson Plans: Gaps and Silences in Historical Narratives A Balance of Stories 22 Activity Three: Indigenous Soldier Traditions Lesson Plans: Answering the Call Diversity in the Canadian Army Section One: Ojibwe Culture and Warrior Traditions Section Two: Support for Diversity in the Canadian Army Recognizing Francis Pegahmagabow’s Legacy Section One: Francis Pegahmagabow: Canadian of National Importance Section Two: Mapping the Battles Indigenous Heroes Heritage Presentations 42 Activity Four: Society and Change—Impact of the Indian Act on post-war benefits for First World War First Nations soldiers Lesson Plans: Community Partner talk on Indigenous Veterans’ Post-War Treatment Constructing a Timeline for Indigenous Veterans’ Rights 49 Activity Five: The Return Home Lesson Plans: Indigenous Veteran Activists Indigenous Political Organizations 55 Activity Six: Healing, Wellness, and Reconciliation Lesson Plans: Disruption of Traditional Healing and Wellness Practices Reconciliation (Final Project) 55 Appendix: Additional Information & Imagery ©Wasauksing First Nation, 2016. This teacher's guide created by authors Gerry Weaver and Brian McInnes; layout and design by David J. R. Short. WELCOME : How to Use This Guide elcome to the Teacher’s Guide for Indige- • Understand the term “Aboriginal” includes all Wnous War Heroes, developed by the Wasauk- peoples indigenous to North America. sing War Hero and Native Veteran’s Educational Awareness and Commemoration Project. The • Present Aboriginal People as appropriate role guide and associated website use the story of models to children. Francis Pegahmagabow as a launching point to provide educators and students with a framework • Aboriginal students should not be singled out and and resources for understanding the military con- asked to describe their families’ traditions or their tributions of First World War Indigenous soldiers, peoples’ culture. as well as the cultural and political landscapes in which they lived. • Avoid the assumption there are no Aboriginal The lesson plans explore the connections students in your class. Research the traditions and Francis Pegahmagabow’s life story has with many histories, oral and written, of Aboriginal peoples Indigenous veterans, thus helping illustrate the before attempting to teach these. larger picture of Canada’s historical relationship with local Indigenous peoples. However, it is • Present Aboriginal peoples as having unique, important to note there are always a diversity of separate and distinct cultures, languages, beliefs, stories and experiences in any complex situation. traditions and customs. Not all Indigenous veterans’ experiences will be the same, and all unique stories are valuable con- • Use books and materials which are written and tributions to our overall understanding of history. illustrated by Aboriginal people as primary source material: speeches, songs, poems, and writings, Creating a Safe Space which show the linguistic skill of people who have Discussions arising from these lesson plans may come from an oral tradition. include difficult subject matter for some students, as the experiences of First Nations, Métis, and In- • Depict Aboriginal peoples, past and present, as uit veterans may feel closely related to their own heroes who are defending their people, rights, and experiences or family history. It is very important lands. to create a safe space in classrooms for all stu- dents, in which different perspectives are respect- • Avoid manipulative phrases and wording such 3 ed. Doug Dokis, the Program Advisor/Instructor as “massacre”, “victory” which distort facts and for Aboriginal Education at Mount Royal College history. in Calgary, has written a useful list of strategies to guide respectful dialogue. • Teach Aboriginal History as a regular part of His suggestions include: North American History and discuss what went wrong or right. • Avoid materials and texts which illustrate Aborig- inal heroes as only those who helped Europeans and Euro-Canadians. i.e. Thanksgiving. • Use materials and texts which outline the continu- ity of Aboriginal societies from past to present. • Use materials that show respect and understand- ing to the sophistication and complexities of Indigenous War Heroes: Secondary School Curriculum Aboriginal societies. Understand and impart that Terminology and Glossary the spiritual beliefs of Aboriginal peoples are Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada has cre- integral to the structure of our societies and are ated a list of definitions to help create a common not “superstitions” or “heathen.” understanding of terms that frequently come up in a discussion of Indigenous history. The glossary • Invite Aboriginal guest speakers/presenters to can be found here. your class. Offer an honorarium or gift to those For terms regarding the identity of Indig- who visit your institution. enous peoples, the Teacher’s Guide follows the guidelines Dr. Brian McInnes outlined in Sound- • Honor and respect the wisdom of the elders, ing Thunder (p. 5). as you would respect the accomplishments of a person with a Ph.D. Within these pages, the terms “Aboriginal,” “First Nations,” “Indigenous,” “Native,” and even “Indian” • Avoid the assumption that an Aboriginal person are all used somewhat interchangeably. Although knows everything about all Aboriginal peoples. the last term might be somewhat politically incor- rect in the present, many Indigenous communities • Most of all, teach about Aboriginal people in a continue to identify with it—at least among each manner that you would like used to depict your other. It is also a term that the people knew them- culture and racial/ethnic origin. selves by in the English language. All Indigenous nations have their own names for themselves. The His complete discussion can be found here. terms “Ojibwe” and “Nishnaabe” are perhaps most fittingly used in this book, since this was how Structure of the Guide Francis best knew his own people (“Nishnaabeg” in This Teacher’s Guide contains four introductory the plural). sections, including an explanation of how to use the guide, an introduction, a biography and a When a collective name is required, the preferred timeline, followed by six Activity sections. A list term in Canada at this point in time is “Indig- of Language Resources is included at the end. enous,” and that is the term we recommend teach- Each activity includes detailed background ers should model in classroom discussion. “First 4 information for teachers and lesson plans with Nations,” “Métis,” and “Inuit” are also acceptable linked resources to explore the subject matter. The collective terms for specific groups of Indigenous lesson plans are aimed at the secondary school peoples. level, and the learning activities are designed to While the use of “Indian” by non-Indige- be applicable and adaptable across all regions of nous people has negative connotations for many Canada. Indigenous peoples, the term “Status Indian” is a The guide has been designed to give teachers legal term defined under the Indian Act and still the flexibility to decide if they wish to teach all in force in Canadian law. Discussions of both the activities as a complete unit, or to access in- historical and contemporary Indigenous issues dividual activities or even individual lesson plans will occasionally need to refer to Status Indians as in order to expand their existing curriculum to a particularly defined group of Indigenous people. include Indigenous perspectives and history. We have made no attempt to change outdat- ed terms in historical quotes, documents or titles. How to Use This Guide Bibliography: Acknowledgements http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/ The Teacher’s Guide for Indigenous War Heroes: identity/aboriginal-identity-terminology.html Secondary School Curriculum was developed by the Wasauksing War Hero and Native Veteran’s http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/ Educational Awareness and Commemoration identity/terminology.html Project with support from a Canadian Heritage grant from the Government of Canada. The sup- port of the Wasauksing First Nation, and so many community members who shared their stories and encouragement, is deeply appreciated. A special thank you to the late Duncan Pegahmagabow and Marie Anderson who wanted their father Francis’s story shared with the world. We are also thankful to Dr. L. James Dempsey of the University of Alberta and LCol Patrick Bryden (ret’d), Headquarters, Canadian Army, who very generously and graciously shared their expertise and answered our questions during content development. We are grateful to the Glenbow Museum, the Esplanade Museum, the King’s Own Calgary Regimental Museum, Library and Archives Can- ada, the Canadian Museum of History, the Them Days Archive, and the McLean family for giving us permission to use the photographs in this guide and on the associated website. 5 Indigenous War Heroes: Secondary School Curriculum Introduction he Wasauksing War Hero and Native Veter- Native military accomplishments in this Tan’s Educational Awareness and Commem- country are broad and far-reaching. Indigenous oration Project explores the experience of First