BC First Nations 12… Anishinaabe, Métis, Coastal Salish, Cree, Cherokee. We have nothing much in common. We’re all aboriginal and we have the drum. That’s about it.” Thomas King writing about a drum circle in “The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America”

BC First Nations 12… Not recognizing the cultural diversity of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada is one of the most common mistakes non-Aboriginal people make.

BC First Nations 12… Respect for cultural diversity is an aspect of Canadian society that is of great appeal to people from other countries who want to move here, and is supported by the Multiculturalism Act of 1988.

DEFINITIONS Aboriginal – the descendants of the original inhabitants of Turtle Island (North America). This is an umbrella term used to categorize all people of Indian, Metis and Inuit ancestry into a single entity. Usage is acceptable if your intention is to categorize all nations into a single entity.

First Nations First Nations – new term, referring to the ancestors of the original inhabitants who are classified by the term “Indian” replaces the term ‘Indian’ except in reference to the Act Umbrella term for those recognized by the Indian Act.

Terminology Indian – legal term under the ‘Indian Act’; The Act defines who can be an ‘Indian’ May have three legal definitions: Status – means you fit under the Indian Act; registered, thus have ‘status’; every “Indian” has status Treaty – has status, plus belong to a First Nation that signed a treaty Non-status – claim Indian/First Nations status, yet are not registered under the Act. They identify with a First Nations or Inuit Community culturally or linguistically

The Traditional Metis Homeland

BEFORE CONTACT…. How were the First peoples of BC similar? How were they different? Think about culture, resources, class systems… EACH PERSON WILL ANSWER THE QUESTIONS...FULL SENTENCES...PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO IT!!