3. DO WE ALL SHARE THE SAME PERSPECTIVE (VIEWPOINT)?

8. Core values are important ideas or beliefs about how people should live. These make up your world view. Many First Nations peoples, including the Anishinabe, the Mi’kmaq and the Haudenosaunee had common values relating to their relationship with the Creator, the natural world, other people and themselves. For example, they believed:

9. 1) People are not separate from nature or the non-living world
1) People are not separate from nature or the non-living world. Everything on earth is connected to everything else.
2) The wisdom and experience of the Elders is really important and valuable. They deserve the respect of all community members.
3) A spiritual world exists.
4) People must live in harmony with each other and in balance with nature.

10. Canada’s diverse Indigenous peoples passed knowledge of the land, animals and traditional teachings orally. This means they learned by listening not reading. The information was memorized and passed down from one generation to the next. First Nations peoples developed a rich oral culture

11. First Nations people had ways of remembering everything correctly.
First Nations people had ways of remembering everything correctly.
repeating and reciting information often: histories, place names, family trees, laws and events that took place locally and far away
visual reminders – one example is the wampum belt used by the Haudenosaunee

12. Europeans, on the other hand, have a written history
Europeans, on the other hand, have a written history. When they came to North America, they wrote about the First Nation peoples. They renamed places/people
First Nations called themselves…. But Europeans renamed them…
Haudenosaunee Iroquois
Nehiyawak Cree
Wendat Huron
Why do you think Europeans did this?
What might it reveal about their attitudes toward First Nations culture?

13. We as people have to do the same.
Go into the forest, you see the birch, maple, pine
Look underground and all those trees are holding hands.
We as people have to do the same.
-Charles Labrador, Mi’kmaw Elder

14. The Mi’kmaq
The first of the 3 First Nations groups we’ll look at are the Mi’kmaq. Their traditional territory is in Eastern Canada. We meet them first because they are the first people to make contact with the Europeans. They lived in harmony with nature and moved around depending on the seasons. Spring and summers were spent on the coast, fall and winter were spent in the woodlands.

15. The Mi’kmaq were hunters, fishers and gatherers
The Mi’kmaq were hunters, fishers and gatherers. They lived in small villages of extended families called clans. Clans agreed which territory they would use to gather resources from. Because of their nutritious diet and active lifestyle it was not unusual for people to live to be 100 years old!

16. The Mi’kmaq had a close relationship with Mother Earth and believed that people were put on the earth by Kisulk the Creator. Humans were made equal to everything else in nature. They were not separate from mountains, plants and animals, nor were they better than them. As a result, the natural world was treated with respect. The Mi’kmaq never wasted resources, nor did they take more from nature than they needed.

17. The Mi’kmaq had a form of government
The Mi’kmaq had a form of government. The clans had a local leader called a sagamaw. This was usually someone who was a good hunter and knew how to search for game. Mi’kmaq territory was divided into seven districts. They created a Grand Council to solve problems affection the nation. Mi’kmaq leaders were chosen for their ability to listen to the men and women who wanted to have their opinion heard. The issue was discussed at length until everyone agreed. This is called consensus.

18. Women played important roles in their communities
Women played important roles in their communities. They raised the children and took care of the home. They collected and prepared food. They hunted for small game for food and clothing. Although leaders were usually men, women voiced their opinions in all matters. There were many female Elders.

19. Questions to consider:
1) What would be similar about the roles of men and women between the Mi’kmaq and European culture (like the British or French)?
2) What would be very different?
3) Do Europeans view the nature and the natural world with the same respect as Indigenous peoples? How do you know? What evidence do we have?
4) What creation story would the Europeans have believed? How is this different than the Creator the First Nations people believed in?

20. The Haudenosaunee of the Northeastern Woodlands
Here we meet the second of the three First Nations groups in our curriculum. Unlike the Mi’kmaq, the Haudenosaunee were not on the coast but lived deeper into the woodlands. Europeans would have met them as they moved farther inland down the St. Lawrence River.

21. The Haudenosaunee included six different nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca, and later, the Tuscarora. They lived either north or south of the St. Lawrence River. While a similar language was shared between them, each nation had their own distinct culture.

22. World View: Along with the core values, the Haudenosaunee valued:
collective thinking and considering how decisions made would affect future generations
decision making using consensus
sharing the work load and the benefit of work
duty to family, clan, nation and the Confederacy
equality – everyone is equal and a full partner in society no matter what their age or gender is.

23. Farming:
In addition to hunting, fishing and gathering nuts, roots and berries, the Haudenosaunee were skilled farmers.
Their soil was fertile, the climate was mild and as a result, they were able to grow an abundance of different crops.

24. Corn, beans, and squash were the main crops
Corn, beans, and squash were the main crops. They were called the three sisters as they were always planted together because of the benefits to all three crops. The corn stalks supported the climbing bean plants. The squash discouraged weeds from crowding the corn and beans. The large squash leaves shaded the soil and kept it from drying out. When eaten together, these crops made for a well balanced diet.

25. The Three Sisters are tied to the Haudensaunee’s beliefs about the creation of their people. Their teachings tell them that earth began when the first human, Sky Woman, fell to earth. She was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. Her daughter died while she was giving birth to twin boys. When she covered the grave, she placed plants and leaves over top. Soon after, corn, beans and squash began to grow from her daughter’s grave. These became the main foods for the Haudenosaunee people.

26. They also grew tabacco, cucumbers, melons, potatoes, turnips and many other fruits and vegetables. Caring for the crops was one of the many jobs of the women. The Haudenosaunee believed that all resources, such as land, crops, medicine, game and housing belonged to the entire community. When harvest time came, everyone shared in the food. The women handed it out to each family according to need. First the children, then the Elders, then the women and finally the men.

27. The society of the Haudenosaunee was matrilineal
The society of the Haudenosaunee was matrilineal. The head of each long house was a woman known as a Clan Mother. When a marriage took place, the husband went to live with his wife’s longhouse. The women of the clan owned all the possessions in the house.

28. Haudenosaunee women were well respected for the ability to create life
Haudenosaunee women were well respected for the ability to create life. They gave birth and they grew food from Mother Earth. For this reason, they were seen as making a contribution to their community that was equal to men’s. Their responsibilities included:

29. deciding on a location for a new village
deciding what crops to plant
deciding whether men would to war, or when to make peace
controlling immigration – whether to accept refugees and orphans
making sure ceremonial rituals were performed correctly
helping troubled people and teaching children.

30. The Great Law of Peace
This was memorized and it would take several days to recite the laws orally. This great peace ended fighting within the five nations long before the Europeans arrived.

31. Haudenosaunee women played an important part of government
Haudenosaunee women played an important part of government. The leaders were men, however, the Clan Mothers chose them and watched them carefully to make sure they were doing a good job. The men could be removed and replaced by the Clan Mothers, and any law could be vetoed by the Clan Mothers. Each nation sent leaders to the Grand Council which consisted of 50 leaders. This council met every year to discuss important issues. If consensus could not be achieved, the issue was set aside for discussion later on.

32. The Seventh Generation
The Haudenosaunee believed they were responsible for the health of the environment. They understood that failing to care for Mother Earth would leave them without the resources they needed to survive. Whenever an important decision was made, they tried to look forward and see what effect their decisions would have seven generations in the future.

35. Cycle of Life:
Like the Mi’kmaq, the Anishinabe were hunter-gatherers. People gathered plants, hunted and fished according to the seasons. While some of it was eaten fresh, much was preserved and stored for the winter. People had to have excellent knowledge of the land and climate in order for this economy to work. But the Anishinabe had another food source that set them apart from other First Nations – wild rice. They called this grain mamomin and it played an important role in their way of life.

36. Harvest:
Women would tie sections of tall rice stocks with different coloured twine which was a way for each family to claim a piece of the harvest. The maple trees were also divided up. No one was allowed to touch the rice or the trees that had been claimed.
Only women and children took part in the harvest; men were hunting and trapping game. The harvest was communal so it happened in an organized way. Traditional techniques made sure that unripe stocks were left undamaged. And most importantly, harvesters had to leave enough rice unharvested to seed the next year’s crop.

37. Decision Making:
The Anishinabe lived in extended family clans in lodges made of birchbark. Each village looked after its own business. They cooperated in short term alliances when they needed to. There were seven clans, each named after animals. Each clan had duties to carry out that benefitted the whole community.

38. 7 clans
Bird: spiritual leaders; responsible for the well being and spiritual development of the community
Marten: Hunters, food gathers, and warriors
Fish: Teachers and scholars; responsible for teaching young people and settling disagreements
4/5. Loon and Crane: Leadership clans; provided decision making and
governance
Bear: Strong and steady; responsible for patrolling and policing the community
Deer: Poets and pacifists; responsible for creating and maintaining shelter

39. Economy of a Plains People
Before the Europeans arrived, buffalo herds filled the prairies. The Plains people depended on the buffalo for their existence and it was the basis for their economy.
There was an expert understanding of the land and buffalo behavior and this created effective hunting methods like the Buffalo Jump.

40. For over 6000 years, the Piikani, Kainai and Siksika peoples of the Blackfoot Confederacy used Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. Men would frighten them into a stampede toward a steep cliff and women would clean and prepare the meat of the fallen buffalo. All parts of the buffalo were used to meet peoples’ needs. Europeans arrival and their policies towards the buffalo led to the near extinction of these great animals. However, recent efforts are helping herds come back to the prairies!