BC First Peoples 12

Unit 1: Land, Territory & Worldview

Traditional territories and the reciprocal relationships that flow from them, and oral tradition as the living knowledge system and legal evidence base of B.C. First Peoples.

• Traditional territories of B.C. First Nations: overlap and political vs. traditional boundaries

• How the land shapes worldview: stewardship, cultural practice, and linguistic diversity

• Oral tradition as knowledge and identity

• Oral tradition as valid and legal evidence (Delgamuukw v. B.C., 1997)

Unit 2: Contact, Exchange & Colonialism

Historical exchange of ideas, practices, and materials among local B.C. First Peoples and with non-Indigenous peoples, and the provincial and federal government policies that have shaped, and continue to shape, how B.C. First Peoples respond to colonialism.

• Trade networks and routes and the maritime and land fur trade

• Settlement and migration patterns and resource industries (gold rush, whaling)

• The Indian Act, its amendments, and enfranchisement

• Residential schools, the federal apology, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Report

• The Sixties Scoop and the foster care system

• Treaties and the White, Red, and Brown Papers

• Constitutional and international recognition: Canada's constitution and UNDRIP

Unit 3: Cultural Expression & Media

The role and significance of media — traditional and contemporary — in both challenging misrepresentation and supporting the continuity of culture, language, and self-determination of B.C. First Peoples.

• Role of media in challenging and supporting cultural continuity

Unit 4: Resistance, Governance & Self-Determination

Historical and ongoing resistance to colonialism; the commonalities and differences between traditional and contemporary governance systems; and the contemporary challenges — including the legacies of colonialism — that self-determination must confront.

• Political actions and land-defence: Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Métis Nation B.C., the Tsilhqot'in War, Gustafsen Lake, Idle No More

• Landmark judicial cases (Calder, Guerin, Sparrow, Van der Peet) and the Cindy Blackstock/CHRT ruling

• Ecological justice and protest (pipelines, logging, hydraulic fracturing, LNG, hydroelectricity)

• Traditional governance systems of B.C. First Peoples

• Contemporary governance: the band system, land claims, and self-governance

• Missing and murdered women, stereotypes, and institutionalized racism

• Intergenerational trauma and the judicial, correctional, and child welfare systems

• Conditions on reserves (water, housing, education)