Category Archives: Module 3

It is so true that art reflects a culture’s values and history.  This article discusses some of Canada’s up and coming Indigenous artists.  I was very impressed with the variation of mediums used.  Artist Brian Jungen uses Nike running shoes to re-fashion traditional masks, and even a whale skeleton.

I think art is a fantastic window into the a people’s culture.  Teachers can use the article and photos of art to compliment any class discussion on culture or art.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/06/19/aboriginal-art-canada_n_7539490.html

                                                      Robert Davidson – Eagle Tranforming

                                                                      Fred Degrace: “Woman”

Daphne Odjig: “Bad Medicine Woman”

I saw this interesting article from the The Walrus magazine.  There is a debate raging in Canada over who gets to select historical honours in the form of either statues ( General Cornwallis in Halifax), naming rooms in Parliament (Removing the name “Langevin Block”), or even street names (Trutch Street in Victoria, BC).

Supporters of a statue of British General Cornwallis claim that to remove this statue “white washes” history.  A number of Mi’Kmaw members say it is a symbol of hate and racism, and needs to be removed.

Here are some selected quotes from the article:

• As she worked, a large white man approached her, a motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm. To Paul, his aggression felt palpable, so she asked him to leave. He refused. Instead, he began to lecture her, defending Cornwallis and what the man saw as his legacy. Paul knew better, of course. Unable to quell the Mi’kmaq resistance on the peninsula in 1749, Cornwallis put a bounty on the scalp of every Mi’kmaq person in mainland Nova Scotia, including children. Put simply, he wanted them gone.
• That’s why Paul joined the movement to take down Cornwallis statue, a struggle that has gone on for more than three decades in Halifax. “There’s the oppression of living in a society that doesn’t have racial inclusion,” she says, “and then there is this symbol in the middle of the park just to fortify those messages.”
• While she admits taking down monuments won’t suddenly bring about reconciliation with Indigenous communities, she says doing so would go a long way in paving the road towards a better future. “If you want to talk about reconciliation,” she says, “those reminders need to be taken away.”
• Sir John A. Macdonald, whose face is plastered on our ten-dollar bills. He was also an early proponent of the residential school system and other genocidal policies against Indigenous peoples. As famine hit Indigenous communities, for instance, Macdonald bragged about denying them food as a way to clear the way for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. “We are doing all we can,” he once said, “by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense.”

As teachers, this article can be used to open conversations on how Canada selects people we wish to honour.  It will also give the Mi’Kmaw perspective on this statue as seen through the eyes of activist Tayla Fern Paul.

Here is the link to the article: https://thewalrus.ca/inside-the-indigenous-fight-to-reshape-canadas-history/

This series of videos are very effective in helping to dispel common “myths” that are found all over Canada today when it comes to Indigenous Canada.  I have used these videos in my history classes with good outcomes.  I usually stop the video right after the narrator asks a question like: “Did the Canadian government ever outlaw Aboriginal sacred ceremonies?”  I then ask my own class to give their response.  When we are done trying to answer, I hit the “play” button and we listen to what the real answer is.  It is a good and non-threatening way to provide students with the facts of our nation’s history.  For many, this will be quite illuminating.  Many of these “myths” about Indigenous Canada are based on ignorance, and with a correction of the “myth” with real facts, this could be the cold-water-in-the-face some of our population really needs to hear to wake up because status quo will not change if the dominant culture determines their world based on myths and stereotypes and errors.

I saw this article at the Huffington Post Canada website.  A restaurant called Kukum Kitchen owned by an Indigenous Canadian began serving raw seal meat as part of its menu.  The decision to serve seal meat was instantly met with protest by non-Indigenous protestors.

The menu offering seal meat was noticed by non-Indigenous environmentalists who began a boycott campaign against the restaurant to pressure them to remove seal meat from their menu.  A petition has already attracted 4,500 signatures.

“Toronto-based Anishinaabe artist Aylan Couchie launched a counter-petition in response, which has been shared by musician Tanya Tagaq and has nearly matched the support of the original campaign.”

“Lenore Newman, the Canada Research Chair for Food Security and Environment and author of “Speaking in Tongues: A Canadian Culinary Journey,” considers some of the practices in raising chicken and pork for consumption to be far more cruel — and far more common — than the seal hunt.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/10/12/toronto-seal-meat-controversy-smells-like-racism-researcher-says_a_23241872/?utm_hp_ref=ca-homepage

(A photo showing the restaurant Kukum’s Kitchen.  Indigenous chef John Shawana shown next to menu offering seal tartare.)