1. IMPORTANT ABORIGINAL UNIT VOCABULARY BE SURE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MEAN!

2. Animism: the attribution of a living soul to plants, animals, inanimate objects and natural phenomena

3. Ancestors: Supernatural beings who emerged and roamed the earth during the time of the DREAMING (*creation), giving shape to the landscape and creating various forms of life.

4. Assimilation: To absorb one group into another one. No longer being unique.

5. Elder: A person, male or female, venerated (respected/honoured) for their age and wisdom.

6. Faithkeeper: A member of a nation selected to maintain the traditional ceremonies and rituals.

7. First Nations: An Aboriginal Band, or a community functioning as a band, but not having band status: the term First Nations does not include Inuit or Metis.

8. Indigenous: Origination naturally in a region, belonging naturally to an environment (of people) born in a region.

9. Oracy: The ability to express oneself fluently in speech and to understand a spoken language.

10. Potlatch Ceremony: A gift- giving ceremony that West Coast Aboriginal peoples celebrate to mark significant events. Banned in 1884.

11. Pow Wow: A gathering of Aboriginal people with ritual dances, drumming, chanting, costumes etc.

12. Reincarnation: The belief in the rebirth of the soul in a new body or form.

13. Shaman: Medicine man/woman - spiritual leader.

14. Smudging Ceremony: A purification ritual that includes the burning of sweet grass and drawing smoke ritually over the body

15. Totem: A natural entity that symbolically represents an individual or group and that has special significance for the religious life of that individual or group.

16. Vision Quest: The process of purifying and fasting in order to be sensitive to a vision or voices that might guide a person; sacred ceremony.