The central question for this unit was: How did the concepts of “Identity” and “Nationality” apply to the various cultural groups in the Prairies and the Northwest and how did these ideas affect their interactions with each other from approximately 1810 to 1885?
In the first class I assigned each student a role by putting a character card underneath their desk. Some of the characters were real historical figures and some were fictional and were used to represent certain groups. The students did some research on their character and at the beginning of each class we would hear from a few characters who were related to the days lesson. Below is an example of a character card with the information filled in.
| Name (real person): | Thomas Douglas | Occupation: | Earl of Selkirk, Director of HBC |
| Lifespan: | b. 1771- d. 1820 | Textbook page: | 143, 146 |
| Nationality: | Scottish | Presenting date: | Lesson #3 February 24, 2015 |
| Loyalty? (Monarch? Nation? Company?) | – Monarch of Great Britain (Scotland was part of Great Britain)
– He was also loyal to the poor Scottish farmers (known as crofters) |
||
| Why is this person important? | – Used his fortune/influence to move poor Scottish people to BNA
– Established a farming community in the Red River Valley – Did not give much thought to the people already living there |
||
| How did he deal with the conflict between HBC and NWC? | – Took 95 Swiss mercenaries, sized the NWC depot of Fort William, took military control of Red River, and made a treaty with the local Ojibwa and Cree nations for 100 pounds of tobacco a year. | ||