Courses

British Columbia · Grade 12

BC First Peoples 12

  • BCFP 12

British Columbia’s Grade 12 social studies course, from Land, Territory & Worldview to Resistance, Governance & Self-Determination.

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Units
4
Lessons
20
Skills
20
Provincial exam
None
Official curriculum
Province of British Columbia

Unit by unit

Every skill in the course, numbered by unit.

Unit 1 · 4 skills

Land, Territory & Worldview

Traditional Territories and Political Boundaries

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

    I can map the traditional territories of B.C. First Nations, explain that territories often overlap, and distinguish traditional territories from political boundaries.

    1.1

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How the Land Shapes Worldview

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

    I can explain how the land shapes B.C. First Peoples worldview — stewardship, cultural practice, and language — and describe the cultural and linguistic diversity among B.C. First Peoples.

    1.2

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Oral Tradition as Knowledge and Identity

  • Oral tradition as knowledge and identity

    I can explain the role of oral tradition for B.C. First Peoples as a knowledge and identity system, and describe the protocols that govern engaging with it respectfully.

    1.3

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Oral Tradition as Legal Evidence

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

    I can explain how oral tradition functions as valid and legal evidence, using Delgamuukw v. B.C. (1997), and connect this to ownership of property, territory, and political agreements.

    1.4

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The official wording · 4 outcomes
1.1
traditional territories of the B.C. First Nations and relationships with the land
1.2
traditional territories of the B.C. First Nations and relationships with the land
1.3
role of oral tradition for B.C. First Peoples
1.4
role of oral tradition for B.C. First Peoples

Key ideas

  1. A traditional territory is the land, water, and resources a Nation has occupied, used, and governed since time immemorial — defined by the Nation's own history and law, not by lines drawn later by colonial or provincial governments.

  2. Stewardship means the land is not simply used but cared for under specific responsibilities — seasonal harvesting limits, ceremonial protocols before taking resources, and passing land in healthy condition to future generations.

  3. Oral tradition encodes history, guiding principles for living, and identity — Elders act as knowledge keepers who carry and share the history of their people and lands across generations.

  4. The 1997 Delgamuukw v. British Columbia Supreme Court of Canada decision ruled that oral histories of Indigenous peoples must be admitted as evidence in court and given weight equal to other kinds of historical evidence — a landmark recognition that reshaped how Aboriginal title is proven in Canadian law.

  5. Territories are frequently shared or overlapping between neighbouring Nations — overlap reflects real, historical relationships (shared hunting grounds, intermarriage, alliances) and is negotiated between Nations, not a sign of an unresolved 'error' on a map.

Watch out for

  • Thinking 'traditional territory' means land First Peoples used to live on but no longer have any claim to — territory is a living, present-tense legal and cultural reality, not historical trivia.
  • Treating 'connection to the land' as a vague spiritual phrase rather than a concrete system of law, responsibility, and practice tied to specific places and resources.
  • Treating oral tradition as unreliable 'myth' or 'legend' compared to written records — it is a rigorous knowledge system with its own standards of accuracy and authority.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Unit 2 · 7 skills

Contact, Exchange & Colonialism

Trade Networks and the Fur Trade

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

    I can assess the impact of trade networks and routes among B.C. First Peoples, and the maritime and land fur trade, on goods, technology, and economic power.

    2.1

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Settlement, Migration, and Resource Industries

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

    I can assess the impact of settlement and migration patterns and resource industries — such as the gold rush and whaling — on the exchange of goods, technology, and knowledge.

    2.2

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The Indian Act and Enfranchisement

  • The Indian Act, its amendments, and enfranchisement

    I can analyze the Indian Act, its amendments, and enfranchisement as government policies that have affected, and continue to affect, how B.C. First Peoples respond to colonialism.

    2.3

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Residential Schools, the Apology, and the TRC

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

    I can analyze the residential school system, the federal apology, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Report as government policy that has affected, and continues to affect, B.C. First Peoples.

    2.4

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The Sixties Scoop and the Foster Care System

  • The Sixties Scoop and the foster care system

    I can analyze the Sixties Scoop and the ongoing overrepresentation of First Peoples children in foster care as government policies affecting responses to colonialism.

    2.5

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Treaties and the White, Red, and Brown Papers

  • Treaties and the White, Red, and Brown Papers

    I can analyze treaties (including fishing and hunting rights) and the 1969 White Paper with the Red and Brown Paper responses as government policy affecting responses to colonialism.

    2.6

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Constitutional and International Recognition

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

    I can analyze constitutional recognition (Canada's constitution — the Charter and the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords) and international recognition (UNDRIP) as government policy affecting responses to colonialism.

    2.7

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The official wording · 7 outcomes
2.1
impact of historical exchanges of ideas, practices, and materials among local B.C. First Peoples and with non-indigenous peoples
2.2
impact of historical exchanges of ideas, practices, and materials among local B.C. First Peoples and with non-indigenous peoples
2.3
provincial and federal government policies and practices that have affected, and continue to affect, the responses of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism
2.4
provincial and federal government policies and practices that have affected, and continue to affect, the responses of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism
2.5
provincial and federal government policies and practices that have affected, and continue to affect, the responses of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism
2.6
provincial and federal government policies and practices that have affected, and continue to affect, the responses of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism
2.7
provincial and federal government policies and practices that have affected, and continue to affect, the responses of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism

Key ideas

  1. Pre-contact B.C. First Peoples ran extensive, sophisticated trade networks — the 'grease trails' moved eulachon oil inland, and coastal-to-interior routes exchanged obsidian, shell, and copper — trade and diplomacy existed among Nations long before European contact.

  2. The B.C. gold rushes (starting with the Fraser Canyon gold rush of 1858) brought a sudden, massive influx of non-Indigenous settlers and miners into First Peoples territories, disrupting land access, resources, and triggering violent conflict in some areas.

  3. The Indian Act (1876, amended repeatedly, still in force) defines 'status Indian,' controls band governance through an imposed band council system, and historically restricted rights such as voting, leaving reserve, and hiring lawyers to pursue land claims.

  4. The residential school system (operating from the 1880s until the last school closed in 1996 in Canada, with B.C. schools among them) was explicitly designed for cultural assimilation and inflicted documented physical, sexual, and cultural abuse on students.

  5. The Sixties Scoop refers to the mass removal of First Peoples children from their families by provincial child welfare authorities from the 1960s into the 1980s, often placing them with non-Indigenous families across Canada and internationally, frequently without informed parental consent.

Watch out for

  • Assuming 'contact' means First Peoples had no trade or exchange systems until Europeans arrived — extensive inter-Nation trade networks (grease trails, coastal-interior routes) predate contact by centuries.
  • Treating the gold rush and whaling as purely economic events unconnected to First Peoples land and communities — both industries occurred directly within, and disrupted, specific First Nations' territories.
  • Treating the Indian Act as a historical document no longer relevant — it remains the primary legal framework governing First Nations status and band governance in Canada today.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Unit 3 · 1 skill

Cultural Expression & Media

Media, Culture, and Self-Determination

  • Role of media in challenging and supporting cultural continuity

    I can examine how media has challenged or supported the continuity of culture, language, and self-determination of B.C. First Peoples, including the ethics of repatriation and appropriation.

    3.1

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The official wording · 1 outcomes
3.1
role and significance of media in challenging and supporting the continuity of culture, language, and self-determination of B.C. First Peoples

Key ideas

  1. Mainstream historical media (film, news, textbooks) frequently portrayed First Peoples through stereotypes — noble/savage tropes, past-tense framing, or as a single undifferentiated culture — shaping public perception and policy.

  2. Indigenous-led media (Indigenous-run news outlets, filmmakers, and social media used for language and cultural teaching) actively counters those stereotypes and asserts self-determination by controlling the narrative about First Peoples' own communities.

  3. Repatriation is the return of cultural objects — ceremonial items, masks, remains — taken from First Peoples communities (often to museums or private collections) back to their rightful Nation; ownership of cultural objects is an active, ongoing area of negotiation between museums, governments, and Nations.

  4. The ethics of copyright and appropriation matter directly here: using a Nation's cultural imagery, stories, or designs without permission or proper context — in media, branding, or art — can misrepresent or exploit that culture, regardless of intent.

Watch out for

  • Assuming media coverage of Indigenous issues is neutral or automatically respectful — historical and even some current mainstream coverage has repeated stereotypes or centred non-Indigenous perspectives.
  • Treating 'representation' (being shown in media) as the same as self-determination (controlling how you are shown) — Indigenous-led media specifically is about control of the narrative, not just visibility.
  • Assuming repatriated cultural objects were 'donated' or fairly acquired — many were taken without consent (through colonial law, coercion, or outright theft), which is why repatriation is a matter of rights, not charity.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Unit 4 · 8 skills

Resistance, Governance & Self-Determination

Political Action and Land Defence

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

    I can examine political actions and land-defence resistance of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism, including the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Métis Nation B.C., the Tsilhqot'in War, Gustafsen Lake, and Idle No More.

    4.1

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Landmark Judicial Cases

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

    I can examine landmark judicial cases — Calder, Guerin, Sparrow, and Van der Peet — and the Cindy Blackstock/CHRT ruling as resistance of B.C. First Peoples through the courts.

    4.2

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Ecological Justice and Protest

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

    I can examine contemporary ecological justice and protest — resistance to pipelines, logging, hydraulic fracturing, LNG, and hydroelectricity — as ongoing resistance to colonialism.

    4.3

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Traditional Governance Systems

  • Traditional governance systems of B.C. First Peoples

    I can describe traditional governance systems of B.C. First Peoples, including hereditary, matriarchal, and clan-based structures and law enacted through ceremony.

    4.4

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Contemporary Governance: Band System, Land Claims, Self-Governance

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

    I can compare contemporary governance — the band system, land claims, and self-governance — with traditional governance systems, identifying commonalities and differences.

    4.5

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Missing and Murdered Women, Stereotypes, and Racism

  • Missing and murdered women, stereotypes, and institutionalized racism

    I can assess missing and murdered women, stereotypes, and institutionalized racism as contemporary challenges facing B.C. First Peoples that are legacies of colonialism.

    4.6

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Intergenerational Trauma and the Judicial, Correctional, and Child Welfare Systems

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

    I can assess intergenerational trauma and its connection to the judicial, correctional, and child welfare systems as a contemporary challenge facing B.C. First Peoples.

    4.7

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Conditions on Reserves

  • Conditions on reserves (water, housing, education)

    I can assess conditions on reserves — water, housing, and education — as contemporary challenges facing B.C. First Peoples that are legacies of colonialism.

    4.8

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The official wording · 8 outcomes
4.1
resistance of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism
4.2
resistance of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism
4.3
resistance of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism
4.4
commonalities and differences between governance systems of traditional and contemporary B.C. First Peoples
4.5
commonalities and differences between governance systems of traditional and contemporary B.C. First Peoples
4.6
contemporary challenges facing B.C. First Peoples, including legacies of colonialism
4.7
contemporary challenges facing B.C. First Peoples, including legacies of colonialism
4.8
contemporary challenges facing B.C. First Peoples, including legacies of colonialism

Key ideas

  1. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (founded 1969, partly in response to the White Paper) is a political organization representing B.C. First Nations in advocating for title, rights, and self-determination — a sustained institutional form of resistance.

  2. Calder v. British Columbia (1973) was the first Supreme Court of Canada case to recognize that Aboriginal title existed in Canadian law prior to colonization — a foundational precedent that directly led to the federal government establishing a modern treaty and land claims process.

  3. Pipeline projects proposed through First Peoples territories (for oil or gas transport) have prompted major resistance centred on unceded title, water contamination risk, and lack of free, prior, and informed consent from affected Nations.

  4. Many B.C. First Peoples governance systems are hereditary — specific names, titles, and territorial authority pass through family lines according to each Nation's own laws of succession, not through elections.

  5. The Indian Act (1876) imposed a standardized elected band council system across all status First Nations, regardless of their pre-existing governance structure — a colonial layer that often did not match, and sometimes directly conflicted with, hereditary systems.

Watch out for

  • Treating resistance as only dramatic, confrontational events — much of the most consequential resistance has been sustained political organizing (Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Métis Nation B.C.) over decades.
  • Assuming these cases are interchangeable 'old Indigenous rights cases' — each established a genuinely distinct legal principle (title exists / fiduciary duty / scope of a specific right / human rights discrimination finding).
  • Assuming these protests are only about the environment in the abstract, missing that they are directly grounded in unresolved title, rights, and consent questions specific to First Peoples territories.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Which course?

British Columbia has 4 social studies courses for Grade 12. Here they are side by side.

What a university, college or program asks for is theirs to say: check its admission page, and your school’s course guide.

The official curriculum

This page follows British Columbia’s own curriculum for BC First Peoples 12.

BC's Curriculum, Social Studies, BC First Peoples 12, Content learning standardsProvince of British Columbia · curriculum.gov.bc.ca · Read July 25, 2026

Textbooks

In British Columbia, each school district chooses its own textbooks: the ministry no longer recommends them. The ministry’s page

Study it in MapleMind

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Chemistry 11 in the MapleMind app on a tablet: its units, Unit 1 open, and the skills done so far with their starsChemistry 11 in the MapleMind app on a phone: its units, Unit 1 open, and the skills done so far with their stars
Pictured: Chemistry 11, another British Columbia course, partway through Unit 1.

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Course Companion

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Questions about BC First Peoples 12

What is BC First Peoples 12?

British Columbia’s Grade 12 social studies course: 4 units and 20 skills, from Land, Territory & Worldview to Resistance, Governance & Self-Determination.

What units are in BC First Peoples 12?

1. Land, Territory & Worldview, 2. Contact, Exchange & Colonialism, 3. Cultural Expression & Media and 4. Resistance, Governance & Self-Determination.

Is there a provincial exam for BC First Peoples 12?

No. British Columbia gives no provincial exam for BC First Peoples 12.

What textbook does BC First Peoples 12 use?

Each school district in British Columbia chooses its own textbooks, so ask your teacher which one your class uses.

Can MapleMind help with BC First Peoples 12?

Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of BC First Peoples 12, step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.

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