First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies, Grade 12

Unit 1: Image and Identity

Cluster 1: image and identity — the issues facing First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples in Canada today and why they matter to all Canadians, who the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples of Canada are, and the popular images of Indigenous people and how they distort or reveal reality.

• Contemporary issues facing Indigenous peoples
• Why these issues matter to all Canadians

• Three distinct peoples
• Diversity within each people

• Stereotypes and media images
• Image versus reality and its harm

Unit 2: A Profound Ambivalence: First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Relations with Government

Cluster 2: the ambivalent relationship with government — the early relationship of alliance and treaty in the fur-trade era, the meaning of 'We are all treaty people', the impact of the Indian Act on First Nations' autonomy, who the Métis are, and how Indigenous peoples pursue self-determination through land claims, rights, and self-government.

• Alliance and the fur-trade relationship
• Pre-Confederation treaties

• The treaties and differing understandings
• 'We are all treaty people'

• How the Indian Act controlled First Nations
• The loss of autonomy and its legacy

• Origins of the Métis nation
• Métis culture and identity

• Land claims and Aboriginal and treaty rights
• Self-government and self-determination

Unit 3: Toward a Just Society

Cluster 3: toward a just society — how colonization subverted traditional education and how its purpose can be restored, how it subverted traditional health practices and how health can be restored, the connection between colonialism and the legal issues Indigenous peoples face, and how colonialism affected Indigenous economies.

• Colonization and residential schools
• Restoring the purpose of education

• Colonization and health
• Restoring health and wellness

• Colonialism and the justice system
• Responses and Indigenous justice

• Colonial disruption of economies
• Rebuilding Indigenous economies

Unit 4: Indigenous Peoples of the World

Cluster 4: Indigenous peoples of the world — why preserving Indigenous cultures is vital for both Indigenous and other citizens of contemporary Canada, situated in the global context of Indigenous peoples and their shared struggles and rights.

• Why preservation matters for Indigenous peoples
• Why it matters for all citizens and the world

Unit 5: A Festival of Learning

Cluster 5: a festival of learning — how First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures combine tradition and adaptation to meet today's challenges and ensure a better tomorrow, celebrating living, contemporary Indigenous cultures.

• Living tradition
• Adaptation for a better tomorrow