Indigenous Peoples and Canada

Learning Outcomes

• Gain introductory knowledge of Indigenous worldviews in order to recognize that kinship relations are central to Indigenous ways of being and knowing
• Develop greater familiarity with historical Indigenous-Canada economic relations including the fur trade, diplomacy and changes to Indigenous livelihoods
• Establish introductory knowledge about contemporary economic relations with industry have implications for cultural and spiritual practices, environmental protection and conservation
• Enhance your understanding of Indigenous histories, societies, and politics (including treaties, self-government, modern land claims)
• Learn about Indigenous legal systems, restorative justice and impacts from settler colonialism
• Develop your understanding about Aboriginal title, Aboriginal rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
• Establish a foundational understanding of Indigenous approaches to teaching and learning and become familiar with the Canadian Indian Act, its policies and methods
• Deepen your comprehension of effects from Indian residential schools, the Indian Residential School Settlement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• Explore different Indigenous experiences of living in the city as hubs for Indigenous kinship relations in terms of community governance, cultural and social support networks
• Be able to identify that Indigenous activism is action in defense of kinship relations to the Lands/Waters and community/communities, both human and more-than-human
• Gain greater familiarity about how Indigenous arts and culture are a means of political activism, education, and affirmation of kinship relations and Indigenous sovereignty

Course Outline

1. Indigenous Worldview(s) and Gender(s)
2. Indigenous Resources and Relations
3. Indigenous Governance, Treaty, and Law
4. Indigenous Experiences of Institutionalization
5. Contemporary Indigenous Communities
6. Indigenous Activists and Artists