Indigenous Peoples and Archaeology

Indigenous Peoples and Archaeology: From Conflict to Coalition. Anth 3510, Sept - Dec 2005. Dr. Kathryn Denning

3 Indigenous peoples in Canadian national history - video, discussion. Video: CBC Canadian history series, episode "When the World Began", Hour 1. Scott library vid 6022.


The Prehistory of Ontario http://adamsheritage.com/pre/preont1.htm	Required: Read the Overview. Recommended: read through the individual time periods.

Peopling North America www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/migrations/	Required: 1. Early Migrations to the Americas (subsections 1.0 Introduction, 1.1 Problems in the Study of Early Migration, 1.2 The Spread of Homo sapiens, 1.3 Inter-Cultural Contacts) Ensure that you read all the material within each subsection, that is, read 1.3a, 1.3b, 1.3c) 2. European Migrations to North America (subsections 2.0 Introduction, 2.1 The Nature of the Diaspora, 2.2 Major Influences on Migration, 2.3 Patterns in Migration and Settlement, 2.4 The Impact of Migration. Ensure that you read all the material within each subsection, that is, read 2.4a, 2.4b, 2.4c, 2.4d) Recommended: The rest of that site -- i.e. the sections on 3,4,5,6,7, or further European, Asian, and African population movements -- is useful background to the history of North America.

Canada’s First Nations www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/firstnations/	Required: all sections. Tip: click on "sitemap" to see an overview of the contents of the site.

3 Homework for today, Oct 17 was: complete this 2% seminar participation exercise. Write a 350-500 word reflection based on the online reading for Oct 17.

Answer any one of these questions, or write on another theme emerging from the readings. How much of this history of Canada and North America did you already know / which parts of this are new to you? Does this information contradict anything you believed, or impressions that you had? What do you think about the processes by which reservations were established, and land treaties were signed? How does this information connect to the patterns outlined by Hughes, or the stories told by King?

If you need to cite or quote material from one of those online sources, use this format:

AHRGUC 199-2001: section 1.1. The Applied History Research Group at the University of Calgary (AHRGUC). Website: Peopling North America: Population Movements and Migration. Section 1: Early Migration to the Americas. Subsection: 1.1: Problems in the Study of Early Migration. SITE URL: www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/migrations/ Date checked: 14 October 2005.

* Read selections from Geoffrey York's book, The Dispossessed: Life and Death in Native Canada

Required selections to read: Foreword, Introduction, Chapter 2 (From Lytton to Sabaskong Bay: Fighting for the Schools), Chapter 3 (Inside the Reserves), Chapter 8 (From Manitoba to Massachussetts: The Lost Generation), and Chapter 9 (The New Militancy).

The rest of the book is well worth reading, too, but not required for this course.

Two copies of the book (not photocopies) are reserve at the Scott library, and there are also several photocopies available for borrowing outside KD's office, Vari 2029.

In addition, there are multiple copies of the book on the shelves in the Scott Library, available for borrowing. There are different editions (different years), but all will be fine for this reading. These are the call numbers: E 78 C2 Y67 1999, E 78 C2 Y67 1992, E 78 C2 Y67 1989

5 In class on Oct 24, I'll distribute the syllabus for the rest of the course, with details of further readings and assignments.

Initial classes: introduction to the general issues of being indigenous today, and to the problematic relationships between the colonizers and the colonized.

This week (Oct 17): the specifics of the population history of Canada and North America -- who lived here when -- and next week (Oct 24): the contemporary and recent realities of life for Native peoples living within Canada.

Rest of the course: a series of themes specifically concerning Indigenous peoples and archaeology.

Consider both the information imparted about Canadian history, and the images given of Native Canadian peoples. How does this popularized national history compare to the versions you read for today? Are there stereotypes or conventions in the representation of First Nations?

For class today, you were asked to write a reflection and be ready to talk about it, on this topic:

Answer any one of these questions, or write on another theme emerging from the readings.

How much of this history of Canada and North America did you already know / which parts of this are new to you?

Does this information contradict anything you believed, or impressions that you had?

What do you think about the processes by which reservations were established, and land treaties were signed?

How does this information connect to the patterns outlined by Hughes, or the stories told by King?

Overall: these readings are intended to give you some sense of the depth and diversity of First Nations cultures, and the processes of colonization as they unfolded in Canadian history.

- to this we would add both Native oral history and scholarship, and archaeology