First Nations People of Canada Socials 9

First Nations People of Canada  The Inuit of the Arctic  The Iroquois of the Eastern Woodlands  The Peoples of the Plains  The Peoples of the Plateau  The Peoples of the Northwest Coast

First Nations People of Canada  At the end of this unit you will be able to…  Describe the history and lifestyle of the different groups  Identify the patterns of subsistence, shelter and transportation of each group  Identify the important natural resources for each group  Describe the social organization of each group

Introduction  Long before any Viking or European Explorer came to Canada, there were millions of First Nations people here.  Our history would be very different if North America had not been colonized.

Introduction  When the First Nations were the sole inhabitants of Canada, there were many different culture groups and hundreds of languages.  After we have learned about First Nations Peoples in Canada prior to contact, we will be studying European arrival in Canada.

Aboriginal Culture  Aboriginals within North and South America are incredibly diverse, with thousands of different ethnic groups and over 2200 language groups.  Aboriginal people often participate in a variety of ceremonies and rituals as part of their culture  Many groups have their own “creator myth” which explains how they came to live in North America.

Aboriginal Culture  Aboriginal languages are currently in decline due to loss of culture  Efforts are being made by many aboriginal organizations to restore their lost heritage and keep their culture and languages alive.  This is important because aboriginal groups did not write their history down, instead they have an oral history of their past.

How did they get to North America?  North America is credited as having been “discovered” by Christopher Columbus in  However, historians have discovered that the Vikings landed on the shores of N.A 500 years before Columbus.  Yet, for thousands of years prior to this, aboriginal people made their home here.

Bering Land Bridge Theory  There are several theories about how aboriginal people came to north America.  The most accepted theory is that the people migrated to N.A using the Bering land Bridge, a piece of land connecting Siberia and Alaska, which emerged during the last ice age.

Bering Land Bridge Theory

Bering Land Bridge Theory  This migration occurred over a period of time between 21,000 and 10,000 years ago.  Some aboriginal people dispute this theory, suggesting that they were created by their god to live on this continent, rather than being descended from groups from other continents  This is where the “creator myth” becomes important.