1. Indigenous Societies
Values and Beliefs

2. Origins of the world
Each First Nations group have a unique belief about how the earth was created and how people came to exist.
These beliefs or Traditional Teachings are past down through Oral Storytelling (Culture) from generation to generation.

3. Origins of the world EX: Haudenosaunee Origin Story & Turtle Island.
Pg. 9 Mi’kmaq origin story

4. Land They shaped their way of life to fit the land
Ex: Snow Igloos for the Northern Inuit vs wooden log houses for southern Haudenosaunee

5. Land ownership
Because land was a gift from the Creator, full ownership of land was not possible
Believe the land belonged to everyone, including plants and animals.
This is completely different to how most
Canadians view land today

6. nature
Believed that humans should change themselves to fit their environment, and not the other way around.
French and British settlement changed the environment and restricted the access to the land for First Nations

7. nature
People are not separate from Nature or from the non-living world. Everything on earth is connected to everything else
Therefore, people must live in harmony
with each other and in balance with nature

8. elders
Highly value the wisdom and experience of elders as they were the Keepers of Knowledge
Can we say that is true of us today in Canada? In Calgary? In O.L.G? In your family?

9. The Circle as a symbol
All of the values of Indigenous peoples are embodied in the symbol of the circle
The circle promotes some of the following ideas:
Life is circular (ex: the life cycle, the water cycle, seasons, etc)
All parts are connected and are included in a larger whole
All parts are equal (important and valuable)
Think to some of the values we disused earlier – how do they connect to the circle?