Traditional Wisdom Project Literature Review: Aboriginal Culture
Table of Contents
- Foreword
- The Alberta Aboriginal Population
- Definitions
- Aboriginal Culture
- Part One – What the Texts Say About Culture
- Part Two – The Pre-Reservation Period
- Conclusion
Foreword
Ni Toyi would like to acknowledge and thank the following supporters for the Traditional Wisdom Project. A special thanks to Jim Gray for believing in our work. The Traditional Wisdom Project was partly funded by Western Diversification, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (Province of Alberta), and the Alberta Ministry of Gaming Alberta Lottery Fund.
Finally, Ni Toyi would like to express our sincerest gratitude to the Calgary Centre for Non-Profit Management for providing fiscal management to this Ni Toyi project.
The following literature review is an outcome of The Traditional Wisdom Project (Spring / Summer 2005). Another component of the research included a qualitative research process that explored how Aboriginal people perceive the importance of their culture in today’s world. A series of questionnaires (46), interviews (40), and focus groups (3) were held. From these sessions we sketched community expectations and aspirations for culture. Participants were asked if they were aware of existing operations that practise traditional cultural values. The majority of the respondents said there are very few services that qualify and, if they do, they have only a small part of their service that is traditional. Target populations were located in Calgary and Southern Alberta regions respectively. Both pilots had distinctly different objectives. This project is the first part of a national project called Traditional Wisdom. The overarching goal of the first phase is to develop a grounded support and to legitimize funding for the next step of the project. This second component of the Traditional Wisdom Project will capture Canadian Elder’s thoughts and discussions as they modify or change a Board model to make it culturally appropriate.
Why do we want to do this research? Because, in recent years, across Canada there has been a plethora of new Aboriginal organizations that start up but then fail. In recent years, governments listened to the people’s request to provide services for-and-by Aboriginal people. Certainly this is commendable; however, the results of a National survey show that even with the shift to Aboriginal control a chronic service gap remains. Failures and a lack of sustainability are the problem, which in turn severely effect available services. Ni Toyi does not believe that that many Aboriginal people, in that many places, can be making the same mistake over and over again in so many different agencies. While this research is not focused on finding the validity of a systemic issue, we acknowledge this should be the subject of further research. We do know that Aboriginal people have stated, and governments have learned, that existing systems do not work for Aboriginal people. This literature review will so attest to that finding. We have also learned through repeated failures and attempts that it does not work to simply “attach” an Aboriginal service, as a branch or department, to a mainstream structure. This too has resulted in failures. But now we see that the attempts to set up autonomous services are also failing. We believe the underlying cause is systemic. To test this phenomena in the future we must first be able to develop an alternative Aboriginal structure. At present, we have not captured the knowledge to develop alternative structures. The people that hold the knowledge are leaving us, which further compounds the issue.
This project will collect the data needed to develop an alternative Aboriginal decision-making and organizational model. An outcome of this project will be to provide the cultural building blocks that can be used to form new culturally appropriate management and board options for better and more culturally consistent service delivery for Aboriginal peoples, which can then be tested for viability and comparisons.
It is hoped that one of the outcomes and purposes of this literature review is to establish what interest and reliance Aboriginal peoples place in their culture(s), as well as to provide a synopsis of the range of applications envisioned or recommended regarding the usefulness of Aboriginal culture in today’s world. The literature review will include all North American Indian perspectives. The voices in this report are all Aboriginal. For purposes of this paper, Aboriginal refers to all Aboriginal groups included in the Constitution of Canada.
Alberta’s Aboriginal Population
There are a number of distinct nations, or tribal groupings, of Aboriginal people in Alberta. Most of these peoples were present in Alberta many centuries before Europeans arrived. There was some shuffling about during the fur trade era with some westward relocation of Aboriginal peoples who either worked with the traders or moved to locate animals that were not hunted out due to the scarcities in the Eastern regions. The Aboriginal people of Alberta are the Beaver and Chipewyan (or Dene) in the northernmost parts of the province, the Cree in the lower northern area, the Stoney, Sacree and Blackfoot tribes in the central and southern regions, and the Metis throughout the province. Each of these groups has a distinct history, culture, economy, language and political organization. In addition, by virtue of treaties, the Constitution, and the Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal, the Aboriginal peoples of Alberta have a legal status that is unique among all other Albertans and Canadians.
Because many Aboriginal people boycott or avoid the census, it is difficult to reach an accurate determination of how many Aboriginal people live in Calgary or Alberta. Although there are other sources to turn to, such as the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and the Alberta Metis Federation, problems exist with the assumptions on which the reports of each of these agencies are based.
The estimated Aboriginal population of Alberta in 2001 is 156,220 and the non-Aboriginal population is 2,784,930 for a total Alberta population of 2,940,150. The total population of Calgary is 871,140 with an estimated Aboriginal population of 19,760. By contrast, unofficial estimates of the Aboriginal population range as high as 50,000 for the City of Calgary alone.
Calgary is located in the heart of the Treaty Seven region. The Stoney, Siksika, Sacree, Blood, and Peigan Bands surround the city and are accordingly reflected in the cities statistical composition. The majority of the First Nations communities that surround Calgary are generally large (8,700) compared to the average reserve size in Canada of 350. Of all the regions in Canada, Alberta has a lower than average proportion of its band population living in remote areas. While many northern Aboriginal communities are accessible only by air, Alberta still has a high proportion of their Aboriginal population living in urban locations. Other factors impacting the population rations are migration patterns. Alberta has the highest Aboriginal immigration and the lowest emigration rates for Aboriginal peoples, which indicates significant pooling in the two Alberta cities, Calgary and Edmonton.
Definitions
The Webster definition of culture:
- Culture
- a. The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.
- b. These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population: Edwardian culture; Japanese culture; the culture of poverty.
- c. These patterns, traits, and products considered with respect to a particular category, such as a field, subject, or mode of expression: religious culture in the Middle Ages; musical culture; oral culture.
- d. The predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization.
- e. Intellectual and artistic activity and the works produced by it.
- f. Development of the intellect through training or education.
- g. Enlightenment resulting from such training or education.
- h. A high degree of taste and refinement formed by aesthetic and intellectual training.
- i. Special training and development: voice culture for singers and actors.
- j. The cultivation of soil; tillage.
- k. The breeding of animals or growing of plants, especially to produce improved stock.
Webster’s definition of society:
- Society
- Relating to a class of its organization; concerned with mutual relations; of human beings or classes of human beings; living in organized communities; cooperative practising of the division of labour;
- a. The totality of social relationships among humans.
- b. A group of humans broadly distinguished from other groups by mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, shared institutions, and a common culture.
- c. The institutions and culture of a distinct self-perpetuating group.
- d. An organization or association of persons engaged in a common profession, activity, or interest: a folklore society; a society of bird watchers.
- e. The rich, privileged, and fashionable social class.
- f. The socially dominant members of a community.
- g. Companionship; company: enjoys the society of friends and family members.
Aboriginal Culture
If we try to describe Aboriginal culture, it is important at the outset to recognize the difficulty of this task. This is not unusual – try describing Canadian culture to a non-Canadian. Canada as a whole is comprised of many peoples with many cultures; similarly, Aboriginal peoples represent many different peoples, cultures and languages.
Further, any attempt to describe Aboriginal culture in a general sense, or by using a general description, creates problems and the potential of stereotyping. Having said that, it is important to realize how culture influences cultural characteristics. Aboriginal cultural, "ethics” or "rules of behaviours” are described as behavioural characteristics by Brant (1990) i, or qualities that are so ingrained, so prevalent, within an identifiable or specific group of people as to become almost a trait. Some characteristics flow from the animals and plant life or lifestyle (migratory vs. agricultural) from a region. While other differences come from the unique creation stories found in the respective territories of the peoples.
Aboriginal people, it is important to stress, are not the same. The Cree in central and northern Alberta have a completely different language, culture and society from the Blackfoot who live only a few hundred miles away in southern Alberta. The Cree are patriarchal, which means they trace their lineage, families and clans through the male parent. The Blackfoot, on the other hand, are neither matriarchal nor patriarchal, and determine their heritage through family lines and the social importance of each family and each individual be they male or female. While the Cree are a hunting, trapping and fishing society, the Blackfoot are a migratory people. Although both peoples live in the province of Alberta, they are, perhaps, as different from one another in language, culture and social characteristics as the English are from the Italians in Europe.
In Alberta, similar cultural differences exist between the Ojibway and the Chipewyan, and between the Constitutionally recognized Metis and Red River Metis, and even within a tribe of people, such as the Blackfoot. For instance, there are subtle differences in social characteristics between the North Peigan Blackfoot from Southern Alberta and the Siksika from Alberta east of Calgary.
Yet, all these peoples share similar characteristics. These characteristic similarities were first observed by Kelsey in the late 1600’s. He relied on these basic, or fundamental, similarities as he travelled across North America. These generally practiced ethics or rules of behaviour are found in many indigenous populations around the world.
What are these practises? Aboriginal ethics or rules of behaviour, as an example, are "present in some form in all tribes of North America," according to Dr. Clare Brant, who has studied and written on this topic. The first written observations about Aboriginal social and cultural similarities were recorded by Kelsey. His notes infer that there are transferable social and cultural similarities between tribes. ii
Brant, a native psychologist, proposes the following:
Aboriginal ethics become most pronounced when contrasted to the behaviours considered "normal" by most Canadians. From his own profession, Brant gives this example:
Many general psychiatrists see Native children and adolescents in assessments, and often find them passive, difficult to assess, and not forthcoming. This behaviour, which affects the individual Native child’s attitude and performance in an assessment situation, is understandable in view of the child’s cultural background. The non-aboriginal psychiatrist may, at times, misinterpret the behaviour as resistance, passive-aggression, opposition, depression, or withdrawal. The general psychiatrist’s failure to recognize the derivatives of the individual child’s cultural heritage as they affect his behaviour in a clinical situation may result in unperceived errors in diagnosis, in formulation, and in treatment. For example, overuse of antidepressants and the all too frequent diagnosis of personality disorders may occur. What is intended to be helpful may be harmful even traumatic for the patient. Such encounters will no doubt also be frustrating for the clinician. iii
Dr. Brant’s description of the misunderstandings between doctor and Aboriginal patient is similar to the cultural miscues reported by employees in justice, employment, education and other structures. They often result from a lack of knowledge about Aboriginal people and their cultures. These misunderstandings can be disastrous for an Aboriginal person in the health care system, justice system, educational and employment systems.
This is compounded when Aboriginal people refuse to follow the rules; as they are then judged to be deficient or, worse still, rule-less. The system's ignorance of Aboriginal culture fails to admit there might be rules other than the majority rules.
Brant’s Cultural Imperatives
He says a cultural imperative or rule of behaviour is a cultural value that dictates the actions and reactions of Aboriginal people to given situations. For instance, Brant states that, in general, Aboriginal people are non-confrontational. Aboriginal people usually will seek to resolve disputes or to make their opinions known to others in ways that avoid direct confrontation. Confrontation violates one of several Aboriginal cultural rules of behaviour that deem the preservation of harmony paramount, rather than personal satisfaction or gain.
According to Brant, there are at least 10 distinct Aboriginal cultural ethics or rules of behaviour, and perhaps there are even more. He categorizes them under three main headings.
Brant calls the first category of Aboriginal behaviours "conflict suppression." The second he calls "projection of conflict" and the third is "humiliating superego." He identifies the primary behavioural differences as the following:
Ethic of Non-Interference
One of the most important is the ethic of non-interference. It "promotes positive interpersonal relationships by discouraging coercion of any kind, be it physical, verbal or psychological." It stems from a high degree of respect for every individual’s independence and regards interference or restriction of a person’s personal freedom as "undesirable behaviour."
The ethic of non-interference is one of the most widely accepted principles of behaviour among Native people. It even extends to adult relationships with children and manifests itself as permissiveness. A Native child may be allowed at the age of six, for example, to make the decision on whether or not he goes to school even though he is required to do so by law. The child may be allowed to decide whether or not he will do his homework, have his assignments done on time, and even visit the dentist. Native parents will be reluctant to force the child into doing anything he does not choose to do.
This ethic is one of the most difficult for non-Aboriginal people to understand because it often conflicts with their conceptions of "accepted" practice. In European-Canadian society, for instance, children are told what to do, when to do it and what will happen if they do not do it. Advice is offered freely and regularly, whether it is welcomed or not. Children are expected to conform, rather than to experiment, and to learn by rote, rather than by innovation.
The importance of the ethic of non-interference helps to explain the use of stories in Aboriginal societies. If advice is given, it is usually in the form of a story. It lays out a situation with options. The advice is contained in the story and the listener is free to understand it as he or she wants to, and to act or to not act on that advice accordingly.
This rule of behaviour is still strongly evident in Aboriginal communities. Where it once was necessary to ensure the survival of a group, this ethic continues to be functional to maintain harmony within the community. It demands people show respect for other people’s personal privacy. It promotes individual self-reliance and responsibility with assurances that others will not intercede or interfere in the individual’s personal affairs. Finally, it encourages people to make decisions, and accept responsibility for those decisions, starting at an early age.
Brant’s Rule of Non-Competitiveness
The second ethic Brant describes is the rule of non-competitiveness. It exists to suppress internal conflict within a group by "averting intragroup rivalry." It also acts to prevent the embarrassment "that a less able member of the group might feel" while involved in a group activity. Brant says this ethic often is misinterpreted by many European-Canadians as an inability to compete. However, he says, success or attainment of goals for Aboriginal people stress a more cooperative approach, as opposed to the imposition of one person’s will upon the group, or the attainment of personal success at the expense of group needs.
Emotional Restraint
One of Brant’s theories concerns the ethic he has called the "exercise of emotional restraint." It is a complement to, and an extension of, the ethics of non-interference and non-competitiveness. It too developed out of a need to control outbursts of emotions that might cause disruption in tightly knit groups or families. However, he warns, it is a double-edged sword.
On the positive side, it promotes self-control and discourages the expression of strong or violent feelings. However, emotions such as joyfulness and enthusiasm are suppressed along with anger and impulses to destructiveness.
Brant says this ethic may be "problematic" for Aboriginal people in today’s society when "repressed hostility," against distant government bureaucracy, for instance, "often explodes into the open under the influence of alcohol and inappropriately visited upon by innocent bystanders such as a spouse, child or casual acquaintance." It may also lead to problems in dealing with grief from separation or loss. He quotes one study in which "Forty-four percent of the Native people who consulted a psychiatrist ... were suffering from grief reaction of one kind or another."
Sharing
Sharing is another rule of behaviour exhibited by many Aboriginal peoples. In some instances, it was institutionalized in ceremonies to ensure that no one became too rich or powerful and, conversely, that no one became too poor or too powerless. Such ceremonies included the Potlatch of the West Coast and the Sundance of Manitoba. However, it was, and remains, a daily feature of Aboriginal societies in a less formal fashion.
In Aboriginal times, when this principle originated among Native peoples, group survival was more important than individual prosperity; consequently, individuals were expected to take no more than they needed from nature and to share it freely with others. Of course, this is somewhat akin to the central principle of Marxism and Christianity. Native people, however, regard it neither as a political ideology nor as a religious requirement. It was and still is simply a part of the Native way of life. Although the main function was to help ensure group survival in the face of the ever present threat of starvation, it also serves as a form of conflict suppression by reducing the likelihood of greed, envy, arrogance and pride within the tribe.
These four major Aboriginal ethics or rules of behaviour (non-interference, non-competitiveness, emotional restraint and sharing) form the basis of daily relations within Aboriginal communities. But they work with four supplementary ethics: a concept of time, the expression of gratitude and approval, social protocols, and the teaching and rearing of children.
Conflicts Arising from Aboriginal Cultural Imperatives
Aboriginal people have developed their own views and customs, or rules of behaviour, that are sometimes in conflict with those of the dominant society. For example, Aboriginal people have a very different concept of time from that of most other Canadians. It is referred to jokingly by Aboriginal people as "Indian time" or "Metis time." But it is simply an acknowledgement that events will take place when it is the proper time, after the required social protocols have been followed, or as long as they do not interfere with other duties or activities.
The Native person has an intuitive, personal and flexible concept of time. It may have had its origin in an age when the activities of Native people were regulated by the seasons — by the sun, the migratory patterns of birds and animals, and a changing food supply.
Other Rules of Behaviour
There are rules governing nearly every form of social behaviour. There is a rule dictating the proper way to commend another or express appreciation so as not to embarrass that particular person or deem another less-than-adequate from another person. There are rules governing proper etiquette and social protocol. "Native society has highly structured and demanding rules of social behaviour. There are rules about everything. Many, however, are specific to individual villages, clans, tribes and bands, a fact that can cause problems, given the ethic of non-interference."
There is even a rule that defines the proper method of teaching Aboriginal young people or children. Unlike European-Canadians, Aboriginal people teach their young people through example. They allow the children to set their own goals and to learn that which the children feel is important or worthwhile. This method also respects the other rules of behaviour restricting interference and avoiding conflict. This method of teaching has often been misinterpreted or misunderstood by European-Canadians as a sign of poor parenting.
These practices establish common distinctions that underlie Aboriginal practice. While there are similarities there are also differences that make each Aboriginal group unique. Some of these distinctions were arbitrarily created due to geographical difference in the flora and fauna, which in turn are reflected in such things as the grass used for incense, or the animals talked about in creation stories.
Part One – What the Texts Say About Culture
The quotes listed below are excerpts from Aboriginal and government sources that have, over the years, validated the need for Aboriginal culture. This list is intended to provide readers with direct quotes that can supplement their writings where a quote advocating the importance of cultur is needed. The period of time these documents cover is from 1955 to 2005 – a half century! There is no analysis – the literature speaks for itself.
| Date | Reference | Quote |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Our Alberta: A Calgary Herald Magazine Series Celebrating Albert’s Centennial Issue 7 October Page 29 |
Today, strong native leaders, many university educated and with solid grounding in revived traditions, are stepping forward preparing their people for a new, more prosperous future in Alberta. |
| 2005 | Carleton University Magazine “drumming up Aboriginal heritage” www.magazine.carleton.ca www.nativedrums.ca |
“There have been studies which have found that where culture and language are strong, the suicide rate in Aboriginal communities literally goes right down to the baseline. So it’s not that far a step to say that a major component of what’s killing our young people is loss of language, loss of culture, a loss of family and loss of identity.” |
| 1999-2005 | Issues and Opportunities In the Centre City: Research Synthesis 1999-2005. City of Calgary Report Number 76690 Page 8 |
To ensure that these Young (Aboriginal) people are afforded every opportunity to succeed in whatever paths they choose will require careful planning for the future in areas such as childcare, health education, and employment among others. Moreover, high mobility within the City and between the reserves and the city creates challenges for planning and implementing culturally-appropriate programs in education, social services, housing and health care. |
| 2000 | The Native Social Work Journal HIV/AIDS Issues Within the Aboriginal Populations Native Human Services Program Page 17 |
To respond to the need for culture in social services, the current content, practise methods and specific competencies reflect distinct realities in self-determination, cultural preservation and community empowerment. |
| 2000 | Alberta Government – Aboriginal Policy Framework Strengthening Relationships Page 11 |
Socio-Economic Opportunities Commitments to Action
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| 2000 | Intertribal Traditionalism and the Religious Roots of Power; Treat, James Native American Spirituality – A Critical Reader (ed. Lee Irwin) University of Nebraska Press. Page 289 |
[by the mid seventies … local and regional cultural gatherings ... did achieve some success at facilitating “spiritual revival for Indians.” The most endearing legacy of the movement is the witness to the unqualified compatibility between “traditionalism” and “activism” between religious commitment and political praxis articulating cultural identity as a seamless garment of spiritual and social existence. |
| 2000 | Battiste, Marie; Reclaiming Indigenous Voice, UBC Press; Vancouver Page xii |
Culture – as the university and society know it – would undoubtedly be changed by the cultural restoration of Aboriginal peoples, but that change would benefit everyone, encouraging those who have much to offer while moderating the pretensions and increasing the receptivity of those who too often think and act as if they know it all. |
| 1999 | City of Calgary Listening Circles, Consultation Report Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative, City of Calgary Canada Page 42 |
Major themes in all domains are lack of resources, lack of support, lack of awareness, culturally inappropriate services and policies, and lack of coordination and collaboration across all domains. |
| 1999 | Human Resources Development Canada, Lesson Learned Series: Evaluation and Data Development Strategic Policy SP – AHOP2E-99 Page 3 |
To be successful Aboriginal Institutions of Governance must be consistent with the cultural traditions of the individual band or community. This may imply a hierarchical political process, such as adopted by the White Mountain Apache Tribe, or a less centralized one such as the Sioux of the Pine Ridge reservation. Each band needs to develop its own governance mechanisms that win the allegiance of the people governed. |
| 1999 | Human Resources Development Canada, Lessons Learned Background Document, Building Effective Practises in Aboriginal Communities Page 2 |
This report starts from the premise that social and economic well-being are interrelated and are dependant upon people having a wide range of positive life experiences by
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| 1999 | Human Resources Development Canada, Lessons Learned – Background Document, Labour Market and Economic Development Polices Pages 5 – 7 |
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| 1999 | Government of Alberta, Alberta Learning, First Nations, Metis and Inuit Policy Framework Pages 13 - 15 |
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| Page 21 – 23 |
Student Quotes:
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| 1997 | The True Spirit and Original Intent of Treaty 7, McGill–Queen’s University Press: Montreal pp. 210 |
The persistence of some of their cultural and spiritual ceremonies and the preservation of their languages to the present day, in the face of government pressures to outlaw them, testify to the importance of cultural survival for the Plains Aboriginal peoples. |
| 1997 | Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Vol. 1 Ch 16 s 1 – s 3, Looking Forward Looking Back | 1.1 This calls on the non-Aboriginal Canadians to recognize that Aboriginal people are the original inhabitants and caretakers of this land and have distinctive rights and responsibilities that flow from that status. …
Regardless of the interrelationships that have developed between aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples there remains the principle of recognition that ensures that Aboriginal cultures and governments continue. A commitment to preserve and enhance Aboriginal cultures and governments will entail repudiation of certain strategies pursued in the past. |
| 1996 | Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Vol. 11 Ch 7 s 1 – s 4., Government of Canada, Ottawa (1996) | Recommendation 1.7.2 – In overseeing this project, the board give due attention to:
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| 1996 | Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Vol. 3 Ch 3 s 3.4 www.indigenous.bc.ca |
3.3.24 – Non Aboriginal services, agencies and institutions involved in the delivery of health or social services to Aboriginal people, and professional associations, unions, and other organizations in a position to influence the delivery of health or social services to Aboriginal people
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| 1996 | Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Rekindling the Fire, Vol. 11 Ch 15 s 1 - 5 |
Through frequent and eloquent statements about the importance of culture and identity, Aboriginal people made abundantly clear to us their determination to sustain distinctive cultures, to revitalize the aspects of culture eroded by colonial practises, and to maintain their identities as Aboriginal peoples into the future. Culture we understand to be the whole way of life of a people. We focus particularly on aspects of culture that have been under assault historically by non-aboriginal institutions: Aboriginal languages, relationship with the land, spirituality, and the ethics or rules of behaviour by which Aboriginal peoples maintained order in their families, clans, communities, nations and confederacies. |
| 1996 | Bridging the Cultural Divide: A Report on Aboriginal People and the Criminal Justice System in Canada, The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Minister of Supply and Services, Canada Communications Group Publishing Page 99 |
The need for cross-cultural awareness grew out of a number of circumstances. Rupert Ross’s book “Dancing with Ghost” illustrated the need for awareness of Aboriginal culture. … As well ignorance of Aboriginal cultural practises can lead to inappropriate and counter-productive strategies in attempts to resolve conflicts through the criminal justice system. |
| 1995 | Native Studies Review, Native and Mainstream Parenting Programs Pages 1-20 |
The purpose of this article is to describe Positive Indian Parenting and Cherish the Children Native, two native parenting programs that teach traditional Native child rearing practises and encourage a reliance on the extended family and elders for support. They investigated and measured parents' attitude changes and found they did change and also reported success in reaching the goals identified at the commencement of the course. |
| 1995 | Aboriginal Peoples Collection – Corrections, Healing, Spirit and Recovery – Factors Associated With Successful Integration in Society. Solicitor General Canada Supply and Services Canada Spirituality and Culture | Coupled with the impact of Elders is the impact of Aboriginal spirituality. [Many] of the participants used the terms “spirituality” and “culture” interchangeably. To most participants the concept of spirituality is a way of life… a direction. This sense of direction was identified by one participant as being instrumental in his effort to quit drinking. Interconnectedness with a way of life, a road or pathway and a sense of direction is a sense of personal identity. A participant said, I was in the burning sweet-grass fasting and I was becoming a happy man… I was becoming me. |
| 1995 | The Canadian Journal of Native Studies, Epistemological Dependency and Native Peoples: An Essay On The Future of Native/ Non-ative Relations in Canada Pages 277-307 |
Essential distinctions on Western thought about nature.
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| 1994 | Bedford, David ‘ marxism and the aboriginal question: the tragedy of progress’, The Canadian Journal of Native Studies Vol. 14 No 1 Page 102 |
It is unlikely that the desire to preserve culture, and to resist any further encroachment by industry or by the modern state, will be articulated in any other political form than self-government. |
| 1993 | Sharing the Harvest – The Road to Self Reliance, The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Minister of Supply and Services Canada, Canada Communication Group Publishing Page 203 |
New Vision of Aboriginal Socio-Economic Development When we talk about intervention regarding economic planning in Aboriginal communities, we must continually take into consideration an ever-present set of values which includes the preservation of language, culture and spirituality. Native American spiritual traditions teach that Earth is a Mother to be nourished, celebrated and respected. Future Aboriginal socio-economic development must be congruent with this precept. |
| 1993 | Bolt, Menno Surviving as Indians: The Challenge of Self Government, Canada; University of Toronto Press Page 29 |
Indian leaders believe that constitutional entrenchment of their version of aboriginal rights will create a warrant that each Indian Band/ tribe could exercise against the Canadian government in claiming their particular inherent right to sovereignty, land title monetary reparations and the preservation of their culture. |
| 1991 | Report of the Task Force on the Criminal Justice System and it’s Impact on the Indian, Metis People of Alberta Volume One – Main Report, Chairman: Mr. Justice R.A. Cawsey For: The Honourable Pierre H. Cadieux Solicitor General of Canada |
Task Force offers the following summary of problems and factors related to the relationship between Aboriginal people and the R.C.M.P.:
Recommendation 2.2
Recommendation 2. 4
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| 1989 | Drum Beat: Anger and Renewal in Indian Country, Introduction, Assembly of First Nations, Summerhill Press Toronto |
For the last 150 years we had seen our cultures and languages suppressed and our economy undermined. We had been impoverished while the newcomers became enriched. Through this time, though absent from the country’s political agenda, we had ceased to believe in, and stubbornly to affirm, our ancient rights. The aims of the schools that have been taken over by our communities are to develop among students (in contrast to what they have been getting from the state-run schools): strong moral character; an appreciation of spiritual and cultural values; a respect for sound traditions; concern for the rights of others, regardless of race or creed; and a willingness and capacity to act in the best interests of one’s family and community. |
| 1989 | Ashini Daniel “David confronts golith : the innu of ungava versus the NATO alliance” in Drum Beat: Anger and Renewal in Indian Country, Introduction, Assembly of First Nations Summerhill Press Toronto | We want to keep the door open to our children, our grandchildren, for them to be able to pursue the traditions of our ancestors in the interior of Nitassinan. The great many Innu who continue to go into the country each fall and spring will be our lifeline to the past and to the future, a lifeline that will be one of the greatest importance to us all in permitting us to pass on to the future generations the great wealth of knowledge about the animals and the land that is our heritage. |
| Pages 58 – 59 | Will our language and culture survive another decade of colonial domination?… The Inuu will continue to use civil disobedience and will continue the fight for our rights in Nitassinan. We will continue to appeal to Canadians’ sense of justice. We will not simply disappear off the cultural face of the world without a fight. | |
| 1989 | Donald Marshall Sr. – The Covenant Chain, Drum Beat: Anger and Renewal in Indian Country, Introduction, Assembly of First Nations Summerhill Press Toronto | What came out of this summit was a Declaration of Mikmaq Nation Rights, which reaffirms the Mi’kmaq commitment to the principles of self-determination, sovereignty and self-government. The declaration also states that our children have the right to be brought up in the knowledge of their language, history and culture. And finally it points to the fact that as Mi’kmaq people, we must have a fair share of the natural, economic, and fiscal resources of this land called Canada. |
| 1989 | Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr. Prosecution, Commissioner’s Report, Findings and Recommendations, Province of Nova Scotia, McCurdy’s Printing Page 264 |
Recommendation 61 – Training
Recommendation 62 – Sensitivity to Minorities
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| 1987 | Alberta’s Minister of Education Policy Statement, Alberta Department of Education, Edmonton Alberta Page 7 |
Many worthwhile initiatives resulted from the Policy Statement including the hiring of First Nations, Metis and Inuit individuals at the school level to provide services as elders, liaison workers, language instructors and counsellors, the establishment of Aboriginal parent committees, involvement of Aboriginal, Metis and Inuit people in the development of curriculum and learning aimed at improving all Albertan’s cultural awareness.
Despite the efforts of government and First Nations, there remains a substantial gap. |
| 1986 | Siggner, Andrew J. “the socio-demographic conditions of registered Indians” in Arduous Journey Canadian Indians and de-colonization, McClelland and Stewart Limited: Toronto Page 179 |
Today, maintaining cultural identity has become an important issue for the Indian peoples across Canada. Therefore measuring cultural retention and change becomes relevant to those who wish to develop programs and policy to ensure the continuance of cultural identity. |
| 1987 | Janes, Robert R. Muse Vol IV, Museum Ideology and Practise in Canada’s Third World Pages 33-39 |
We are attempting to participate in the cultural enfranchisement of [northern] native cultures. This process of cultural enfranchisement will only be complete when the aboriginal peoples [of the NWT] have assumed a full and equal role in the preservation of their cultural traditions. |
| 1984 | The City of Calgary, Needs Assessment of Native People in the City of Calgary Page 17 |
Recommendations
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| 1970 | Red Paper – Indian Association of Alberta, 1170 Kingsway Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta Page 5 |
The White Paper said: “ that there should be positive recognition by everyone of the unique contribution of Indian culture to Canadian life. We say that those are nice sounding words which are intended to mislead everybody. The only way to maintain our culture is for us to remain as Indians. To preserve our culture it is necessary to preserve our status, rights, lands and traditions. |
| As above | There is room in Canada for diversity. Our leaders say that Canada should preserve her “pluralism” and encourage the culture of all her peoples. The culture of the Indians are old and colourful. |
Part Two - The Pre-Reservation Period
The year 2005 marks the 503rd year since contact. At the time of contact it is estimated that there were approximately 25,000,000 people living in North America (DIAND 2001). iv
The definition of culture states that culture is “the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought." It goes farther by saying, “These patterns, traits, and products are considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population": e.g. Edwardian culture; Japanese culture, and in this case, Aboriginal or Indian culture from the period prior to contact. So let us explore and recreate the context and then build upon those reconstructions the places where Aboriginal culture would be housed. How did the communities look? What was the population? What was created during this period?
Historical Realities
American Indian cities, towns and villages were scattered throughout the Americas (Hardoy 1964). The largest cities were developed in the pre-Columbian period some of which included Tula, Xochiacalo, Monte Alban, Coba. The cities in the Americas were as large as cities found in other parts of the world. In fact, Teotihuacan (AD 1500) was one of the largest cities in the world during that period, and covered a larger area than Rome with more than four thousand buildings, mostly apartment buildings, and a population of between 100,000 – 200,000 (Millon 1967). The Inca capitol had 200,000 people.
Pre- and post Columbian Aboriginal settlements North of the Rio Grande were not as large as the Southern cities, although large concentrations of Aboriginal peoples did exist throughout. The largest Northern city was still in existence when Christopher Columbus landed on these shores. This city was called Cahokia (named by the French settlers who traded at the site, in the mid-eighteenth century, for the Indians that lived in the city) and is located east of present day St. Louis. The Cahokia’s largest population (40,000) was reached approximately eight hundred years ago. That city was a central North American trading centre (Pfeiffer 1974), where many Aboriginal languages were spoken. Hochelaga, was another large site located on the Island of Montreal, which had thousands of acres of permanent homes, gardens and cultivated communal crops. In the central plains area, mobility was essential. Here moving village sites have been recorded of Blackfoot camps that are over a mile wide. v
An interesting discussion by Micheal J. Mosely (1975) provides more indepth and insightful information about other North American cities and pre-industrialization centres in his book Chan Chan: Andean Alternatives to Pre-Industrial Cities. With the development and urbanization of large Aboriginal populations there is inevitably rules and organizational regulations which also manifest; as well, there is refinement of certain behaviours and categories of people that are created as are certain behaviourisms that become defined as acceptable or unacceptable activities. Complex social organizational patterns develop with shared values that exhibit a rich and distinct culture that is maintained by a close cooperative relationship with all life, both human and animals; inanimate and animate alike. Hence the often made statement by aboriginal people, “to all my relations”! Relationships are the foundation of the many ceremonies; often contracts with the animals are revalidated each year.
The meaning of relationships is also connected to an awareness that the human beings are a tiny part in the web of life. Man must respect his world in an Aboriginal system. By understanding how these Aboriginal urban centers and their societies were organized, the wider present day society may learn that what was developed was a thoughtful, skilful partnership with nature, even when living in an Aboriginal urbanized setting. vi
This part of the paper describes some aspects of the ways of life of the Indian peoples particularly where they have been noted through history to differ from mainstream societies.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself. —Chief Seattle
Pre-Contact Societies and Social Structures of the Alberta Tribal Groups – Dene, Ojibway, Stony, Cree and Blackfoot Peoples
Assiniboine (Stoney – pre-contact)
This group was formally part of the larger Siouan group. Strong linguistic ties can be found with the Yanktonai Sioux showing that this group probably separated from the larger group. Originally they occupied an area somewhere around the great lakes. They began migrating to the west through the 18th century, and their numbers seriously declined. The group finally settled in their present location by the Rocky Mountains. The name refers to their method of cooking using hot stones. By the 19th Century their culture was much the same as the Blackfoot. Like the Cree, they had a long association with the traders and lost their original habitat and cultural materials.
The Blackfoot (Pre-contact)
The Blackfoot are Algonkian people. They were loosely organized under three main tribes – the Kianai, Siksika and Pikuni (North and South) groups.
They once held an immense territory that stretched from the North Saskatchewan River South to the Yellow Stone National park, West along the rocky mountains and east about half way into Saskatchewan. The first people to stay with the Blackfoot said that although they would not trade directly with the fur trade, they had an abundance of guns, horses, knives and other trade goods. Ceremonial items are personal bundles, while smaller bundles such as the feather dance bundle could be owned by individuals. Sun Dances, medicine pipe bundles and medicine lodges, horn society, motoki society, Brave dogs as well as several children’s societies, such as the prairie chickens and bumble bees and humming birds still exist. vii
The Cree Society (pre-contact)
The Cree people hold the largest tribal territory in Canada. They are an Algonkian people related to the Montagnais in Eastern Canada and Kickapoo and Shawnee groups of the central plains. The Cree were involved early with the fur trade. The Cree were not a tribe in the popular sense but a collection of families scattered over an immense area. viii Since the 17th Century the Cree groups have been adapting to missionary and other European influences. The Cree share with the Ojibwa common beliefs and ceremonies such as the shaking tent ceremony. The western woods Cree are the group that pushed to the west with the fur trade. Their material culture was largely replaced by European goods at an early stage. They have retained some elements of traditional dress including moccasins. They believe in the great spirit and fear Windigos or ice people. The population of the Cree in the mid 18th century is estimated at 20,000. By comparison, in 1978 their numbers were at 35,000.
Northern Athabascan (Dene)
They are part of 30 Athabascan speakers group. The dene live in relatively small groups. The groups had a fairly uniform culture, living completely on moose, caribou, deer and small animals they trapped. Houses were constructed of bark or skins, which were modified into log houses. Before the trade period the clothing was of dressed skins, vessels, toboggans, snow shoes, and canoes made of bark continued until recently. The fur trade gradually modified the lifestyles of the people, to include guns, knives and steel traps. Despite the meager resources this group excelled in decorative porcupine quillwork and later beading. ix
The Beaver Society (pre-contact)
The Beaver people live in the northern corner of the province. Prior to the fur trade, they lived on the prairies and in the woods of the Peace River area and the Lesser Slave Lake. They were among the first Northern Athabascans to experience Eurpoean contact in 1792. The firearm carrying Cree pushed this group to the west where they eventually became bound to several northern trading posts. Descendants of these groups are now at Boyer River and Fort Vermillion and are heavily mixed with Cree.
Social structures were loosely organized and the groups lived in smaller tribal affiliations. Ceremonial practices included personal bundles, teachers for healing, and smaller ceremonial objects. Extensive creation stories include stories of a long journey and details of how the earth was created in the region.
Conclusion
Human nature cannot live independent of culture. The aboriginal peoples of Canada claim their right to return to their original cultural bases. The documentation clearly outlines the historical and continuous requests on the part of all Aboriginal peoples for a return to their original culture. This request is more than a request to make superficial changes; it is about making profound changes in their environments. Those changes are seen as an answer to the problems that stem from the status quo environment. Essentially, the literature states the status quo is not working and it has not served the Aboriginal people in any way.
The material also provided a different historical landscape. This was not to challenge but rather to provide another set of facts that can potentially jar some of the stereotypical beliefs held by all people.
Thank you for your interest in this work.
Endnotes
i. Brant, Clare “Native Ethics and Rules of Behavior” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, August 1990 at page 534.
ii. Canadian Plains Research Centre, (994) The Kelsey Papers (Canada : Hignell Printing Limited)
iii. Government of Manitoba, (1992) Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba – The Justice System and Aboriginal People – The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission, Chapter Two: http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volumel/chapter2.html#6
iv. See the work of Henry F. Dobyns (1976), Native American Historical Demography: A Critical Bibliography. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
v.
vi. Recommended works on aboriginal urbanization are the following Ruth Blumfield. “Mohawks: Round Trip to High Street” Transaction 3 ;19-22. ; Melvin I. Fowler “ A Pre-Columbian Urban Centre on the Mississippi” Scientific American 233:92-101. Guillemin J. “Urban Renegades: The Cultural Strategy of American Indians ” (1975) New York: Columbia University Press and Sol Tax (1978) “ The Impact of Urbanization on American Indians” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 436: 121-36.
vii. Johnson, Michael (2002) Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North America (USA: Gremercy Books).
viii. Johnson, Michael (2002) Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North America (USA: Gremercy Books).
ix. Ibid., at page 221.
Bibliography
Hardoy, Jorge E. (1964) Pre-Columbian Cities New York: Walker.
Millon, Rene. (1967) “Teotihuacan” Scientific American 216:38-48
Mosely, Michael F. (1975) “Chan – chan: Andean Alternative of the Preinductrial City,” Science 187 : 219-25.
Government References
Canada, The Canadian Indian Ottawa, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1990)