Tag Archives: history

Module 2 – Post 2 – National Film Board of Canada

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While researching Nanook of the North and looking for other film based cultural media, I came across the Daughters of the Country film series that was produced by the National Film Board of Canada.  The series dramatize general themes and time periods in Metis history, from 1770 to present day.  Film descriptions provided by NFB Canada.  All films are available on the National Film Board of Canada’s website for online viewing, and/or purchase.

The films are:

1) Ikwe – This film features a young Ojibwa girl from 1770 who marries a Scottish fur trader and leaves home for the shores of Georgian Bay. Although the union is beneficial for her tribe, it results in hardship and isolation for Ikwe. Values and customs clash until, finally, the events of a dream Ikwe once had unfold with tragic clarity.

2) Mistress Madeleine – This film, set in the 1850s, unfolds against the backdrop of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s monopoly of the fur trade. In protest, some Métis engage in trade with the Americans. Madeleine, the Métis common-law wife of a Hudson’s Bay Company clerk, is torn between loyalty to her husband and loyalty to her brother, a freetrader. Even more shattering, a change in company policy destroys Madeleine’s happy and secure life, forcing her to re-evaluate her identity.

3) Places Not Of Our Own – This film, set in 1929, depicts how Canada’s West, home to generations of Métis, was taken over by the railroads and new settlers. As a result, the Métis became a forgotten people, forced to eke out a living as best they could. At the forefront is Rose, a woman determined to provide her children with a normal life and an education despite the odds. But due to their harsh circumstances, a devastating and traumatic event transpires instead.

4) The Wake – This film , set in contemporary Alberta, is the story of the love affair that blossoms between a well-meaning Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and a young Metis woman. The Metis have a strong sense of community but there is also a feeling of separateness defined by racial origins and economics. In this atmosphere, the romance offers a new sense of hope. Then, during a dark winter’s night on a frozen lake, something happens to change the lovers’ lives forever.

The films are available here: National Film Board of Canada

Who are the Métis peoples?

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One of the central questions in ETEC 521 is: “How do communities balance educating non-Indigenous people, while preserving their culture?”  However, in order to answer this question as it pertains to the Métis peoples, one first needs to have an understanding of who the Métis peoples are.  However, the answer to the question of Métis identity seems to depend on who you ask. “Métis peoples insist that they are part of a distinctive cultural group.  However, Métis identity is frequently misinterpreted by non-Métis to refer simply to Aboriginal-European ancestry” (Ouellet and Hanson, 2008).

The question of Métis identity is an important one for me personally because my family has Métis ancestry.  In terms of my profession, I am interested in both the traditional and contemporary representations of the Métis presented in K-12 education.

My research project will investigate how the Métis are working to preserve and celebrate their culture while at the same time educate non-Indigenous people as to what it means to be Métis.

I will explore the following themes in my project:

Identity: Who are the Métis Peoples?  How do they define themselves?  How are they defined by others? How have these definitions changed over time?  Why does it matter?

Technology: How are the Métis using technology for historical research, cultural expression, cultural preservation, and education?

Possible sources of information include:

Module 1 – Post 4 – Library and Archives Canada

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Library and Archives Canada website contains historical publications, images, sound and video recordings, and other electronic documents.  I came across this site while researching traditional First Nations music. The page I found is an archived website titled “ARCHIVED-Aboriginal Sound Recordings: Music and Song“. It includes information on different types of Aboriginal music and links to listen to actual historical recordings of the music.  On this page there are also links to music from various indigenous peoples, history, genres, educational resources, and others.

 

Module 1 – Post 5 – Metis Museum

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One of the central themes of Etec521 investigates how technology can be used by Indigenous peoples to reconnect with, archive, and share their identities and culture.  With that in mind, most of my posts for this module have centered around websites that provide online access to historical documentation and information on Metis culture.  For my final post for this module I chose to feature the website: The Virtual Museum of Metis Hitory and Culture.  This website is designed and maintained by the Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Reseach in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The virtual museum provides a wealth of information in the following categories:

  • Indigenous Voices – Contains video clips of Michif language interviews
  • Metis Celebration – Video and audio files celebrating Metis music, dance and storytelling
  • Metis Heritage – Oral histories, photographs, and Metis Resistance documentation
  • Learning Resources – Information on traditional Metis lifestyle and education
  • Artistic Expressions – Materials honoring traditional and contemporary Metis art forms
  • Moccasin Telegraph – Links to other Metis resources around the web

The website is very user friendly, and I think provides a wonderful example of how technology can be used by Indigenous groups to preserve and share the visible aspects of their culture.

The website can be found here: Metis Virtual Museum

Module 1 – Post 4 – Glenbow Museum

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I had an opportunity last September to visit the Glenbow Museum, which is located in Calgary, Alberta.  My quest was to visit their archives in hopes of finding information for the family tree project I have been working on for the past ten years.  Glenbow’s website contains links to searchable databases of resources that are available at the archives.  Unfortunately, very few of the materials have been digitized and therefore a visit to the archives will be required if you wish to investigate your initial finds further.

The website is available here: The Glenbow Museum and Archives

 

Module 1 – Post 5 – The Altai and the Land

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A  vivid examination of the importance of the local Indigenous connection with the land can be seen in the following video:

http://vimeo.com/7111821

The focus in the video is of the Altai people in central Russian and how they are seeking to rebuild their connection with their knowledge and customs that have suffered due systematic neglect and Russian colonization. This short documentary focuses on the environmental knowledge of the Altai, yet one of the most striking aspects of this piece is that it shows how differing types of knowledge is transmitted between members of the community as well as the profound connection that the speakers have to the place they live in. What is inspiring about this video is that it also represents a restoration of traditional knowledge and practice.

This film, sponsored by United Nations Diversity Project is a very effective reference tool in understanding the universal challenges confronting First Nations peoples globally and their struggle to  reclaim their ancient heritage and traditions.

Module 1 – Post 2 – The Trail of Tears

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While driving home from work the other day, listening to CBC Radio, I heard a heartbreaking story about the “Trail of Tears”

The “Trail of Tears” refers to the forced removal of the independent Cherokee Nation from their established homeland in Northern Georgia.  Despite being known as one of the 5 Civilized Tribes, the Cherokee were cheated out of their lands and forced to relocate a thousand miles to the west beyond the Mississippi.  This forced exodus of the Cherokee, during the winter of 1838, had a deadly toll, with as many as 4,000 deaths.

What really struck me was that even though the Cherokee had tried to assimilate into the new culture – they lived in frame houses in the city, produced a bilingual newspaper, farmed, and wore European finery – they were still not considered to be sovereign citizens under the Indian Removal Act of 1930 by the government of President Andrew Jackson.

The link to the CBC story is here: Trail of Tears

 

Module 1 – Post 3 – Google Earth and Indigenous Communities

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In our Hare reading, emphasis is placed on the ‘local’ in Indigenous knowledge. However for many of us, who are not of this background, it may be difficult to understand the importance of what “place” actually represents. This prevents us from a more complete understanding of the Indigenous perspective.  In aid of this and by utilizing online technology available, a group from Georgia(USA) is using Google Earth and multimedia to demonstrate the geography of the Cherokee. You can view the project here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6IJrxz–AA&list=PLWw80tqUZ5J8tXKFdM6vvTYMK9ibmCQ9Y

This project focuses on revealing the very importance of the landscape itself as central to the Cherokee culture. What’s interesting about this is how useful a publicly available tool such as Google Earth is in providing content to what the relationship that and Indigenous community would have to the land and actual locations. Using a tool such as this, one can show, for example, sacred places, deposits of medicinal herbs, as well as animal migration routes. For those among us who live in larger cities, such a guide is invaluable in providing context.

(note: I am not a fan on the banjo music they play in the clip and have tried hard to not listen to it while appreciating the rest of their work.)

 

Module 1 – Post 1 – Metis Culture and Heritage Resource Centre

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The Metis Culture and Heritage Resource Centre’s mandate is, “To honor the richness of Metis culture and history through preservation, restoration, education and sharing.”

The website provides a great deal of resources including:

  • Information on the history of the Metis People
  • Research and Genalogy Services
  • Access to maps and other historical documents
  • Online Michif language lessons

the site is easy to navigate and includes links to many other Metis based resources.  It is a great place to start your Metis research.

Access it here: http://www.metisresourcecentre.mb.ca/

 

Module #1 – Post #3: Kaha:wi Dance Theatre

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As I’ve been exploring the notion of contemporary Canadian Aboriginal identity, it seemed quite obvious that I should be see how this is manifesting in the arts. As with many ‘images’ of First Nations cultures that I’ve encountered growing up, I was often left with a very fixed notion of what Aboriginal art is, giving it the appearance of something that is static and has remained largely unchanged for hundreds of years. We see this kind of work lining the shelves of souvenir shops in Gastown or YVR, always the appearance of something that is a replica of something from the past, rather than a conduit through which contemporary Aboriginal artists explore aspects of identity and history.

From what I’ve read and seen through the promotional trailers, the Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, operating in one form or another, is a great example of Aboriginal art that transcends stereotypes and blends tradition with modernity. According to the company’s mandate, their philosophy is “To explore the intersection of Indigenous and new dance performance, to create and present theatrical productions, and to educate and engage artists, audiences and diverse communities through Indigenous performing arts encompassing disciplines of music, storytelling, theatre and design.”

Among the numerous productions the company has staged, I found the concept of The Honouring quite interesting, as it portrayed these historical events from an Aboriginal perspective. The dance conveys the importance of their role in aiding the British defend Canada from American forces, specifically as sovereign Nation allies to the British. Considering that the Canadian government was making a big push last year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, I made a point of looking at the official government website and press releases. Predictably, very little was mentioned of the roles of First Nations, apart from key players who fit nicely into the existing, dominant narrative.  Check out The Honouring Trailer for a sampling of the Kaha:wi Dance Theatre’s unique interpretation of history through  Aboriginal song and dance storytelling.