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THE DREAMCATCHERS: THE FIRST NATIONS (MODULE 1 #3). In The Beginning…..(origins). First “Canadians” –the very first- arrived in prehistoric times (12 000 to 80 000 years ago) when low sea levels created a temporary ISTHMUS , or land bridge (Berring Strait), between Asia and Alaska.
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In The Beginning…..(origins) • First “Canadians” –the very first- arrived in prehistoric times (12 000 to 80 000 years ago) when low sea levels created a temporary ISTHMUS, or land bridge (Berring Strait), between Asia and Alaska. • Early hunters followed the woolly mammoth, caribou, and bison into North America crossing the land bridge. • Rumor has it that the first European to arrive in North America was an old Irish monk by the name of St. Brendan who arrived in a curragh (or big canoe!) circa 400 A.D. • There is evidence, however, that the first European settlement was established by the medieval Norse (Vikings) circa 1000 A.D. Leif Eriksson led his hoard of Vikings to L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland on large open ships called Knarrs. • The Vikings stay was short lived as members of the First Nations drove them off their settlement. • By the time the Europeans arrived (including the Vikings), a wide variety of aboriginal societies had long since evolved and spread across every region of North and South America. • In Canada, there were more than 50 separate Native languages. Today, only 3 of these (Cree, Ojibwa, Inuktitut) are in a strong enough position to survive. Entire nations have vanished and entire cultures have been lost.
In The Beginning…..(origins) • First “Canadians” –the very first- arrived in prehistoric times (12 000 to 80 000 years ago) when low sea levels created a temporary ISTHMUS, or land bridge (Berring Strait), between Asia and Alaska. • Early hunters followed the woolly mammoth, caribou, and bison into North America crossing the land bridge. • Rumor has it that the first European to arrive in North America was an old Irish monk by the name of St. Brendan who arrived in a curragh (or big canoe!) circa 400 A.D.
There is evidence, however, that the first European settlement was established by the medieval Norse (Vikings) circa 1000 A.D. Leif Eriksson led his hoard of Vikings to L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland on large open ships called Knarrs. • The Vikings stay was short lived as members of the First Nations drove them off their settlement. • By the time the Europeans arrived (including the Vikings), a wide variety of aboriginal societies had long since evolved and spread across every region of North and South America. • In Canada, there were more than 50 separate Native languages. Today, only 3 of these (Cree, Ojibwa, Inuktitut) are in a strong enough position to survive. Entire nations have vanished and entire cultures have been lost.
THE ALGONQUIANS: NOMADIC HUNTERS • Algonquian refers to the language, or the many tribes who speak an Algonquian language. • Algonquian Tribes: Abenaki; Cree; Micmac; Montagnais; Naskapi; Ojibway (located in Central & Eastern Canada, and Eastern U.S.)
ALGONQUIAN CHARACTERISTICS & WAY OF LIFE (P.A.W.N.) • Way of life: NOMADIC (i.e. hunting bands would move their camp site from place to place following wild game / source of food) • Sources of food: Men HUNTED and fished. Women prepared food, made clothing, took care of children, collected firewood, prepared hides, contributed to food supply by gathering berries, roots, and seeds. • Tools: Men fabricated all equipment for hunting and ‘living’ – bows, arrows, stone axes, spears, fish hooks, nets, snowshoes, and canoes.
ALGONQUIAN CHARACTERISTICS & WAY OF LIFE (P.A.W.N.) cont’d • Homes: They lived in WIGWAMS (tents covered in birch bark or animal skins). Easy to put up and take down as the tribe moved along. • Clothing: Made from animal skins or furs. Moccasins, beaver robes. • Travel: Traveled on foot. Used birch bark canoes that were sturdy and light, snowshoes and toboggans in the winter.
ALGONQUIAN CHARACTERISTICS & WAY OF LIFE (P.A.W.N.) cont’d • Religion & Culture: Creation Myths. Believed in spirits found in every living entity. Interpreted dreams through a Shaman(medicine man) who contacted the spirit world. Culture and traditions passed on orally through storytelling. Fabricated elaborate designs on clothing, wampum belts, charms, etc. • Social Structure: Structure centered around a PATRIARCHY (men were the leaders and heads of families. Traveled in small hunting groups (2 to 4 families). Groups of the band came together in the summer. Bands with same dialect formed a tribe.
THE ALGONQUIANS STORYTELLING ON THE MOVE
THE IROQUOIS: SEDENTARY HUNTERS • Iroquoian refers to a family of First Nations languages. True name is Haudenosaunee, meaning “people of the longhouse.” • Iroquoian Tribes/Nations: Hurons; Tobacco; Neutral (settlements North of Lake Erie & Huron). League of 5 Nations / Iroquois Confederacy: Cayuga; Mohawk; Oneida; Onondaga; Seneca) who settled in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands.
IROQUOIAN CHARACTERISTICS & WAY OF LIFE (F.I.L.M.S.) • Way of life: SENDENTARY (i.e. lived as ‘farmers’ in permanent villages. They only moved if soil was depleted or for military purposes. Moved every 10-15 years. • Sources of food: Men hunted in the fall and fished in the spring. Women were main food producers; grew maize, beans, squash, sunflowers, tobacco, gathered plants and berries. • Tools: Women made clothing, pottery, straw baskets, and mats. Men made stone axes, bows/arrows, fishing nets, spoons, bowls, armour.
IROQUOIAN CHARACTERISTICS & WAY OF LIFE (F.I.L.M.S.) cont’d • Homes: Men built several (30) LONGHOUSESthat were protected by a palisade. Longhouses could be as long 200-300 feet and were constructed from wooden support beams covered with animal skins or elm bark. Several families lived in each longhouse. • Clothing: Made from animal skins or furs. Moccasins, beaver robes. • Travel: Traveled on foot. Used birch bark canoes, and snowshoes in the winter.
IROQUOIAN CHARACTERISTICS & WAY OF LIFE (F.I.L.M.S.) cont’d • Religion & Culture: (similar to the Algonquians) Creation Myths. Believed in spirits found in every living entity. Interpreted dreams through a Shaman (medicine man) who contacted the spirit world. Culture and traditions passed on orally through storytelling. Fabricated elaborate designs on clothing, wampum belts, charms, etc. • Social Structure: Structure centered around a MATRIARCH (women were the heads of families, owned all property, free to marry the man of their choice). Women made important decisions about family life. Clan mothers selected the chiefs, but men made political decisions. Married men lived with wife’s family. League of Five Nations / Iroquois Confederacy created sophisticated political system with division of powers …inspired both Canadian and U.S. governments.
