Unit 1
Anthropologists and Images of Aboriginal Peoples

Unit 1 provides a general introduction to the anthropological study of Amerindian culture. The discussion links an overview of the European-First Nations contact in Canada and the United States to the processes of anthropological and historical scholarship that affect the study of Aboriginal peoples.

Objectives

When you have completed Unit 1, you should be able to

1. identify the three perspectives used by Morrison and Wilson to broaden our understanding of Aboriginal society and culture.
2. outline criticisms of the images anthropologists have created for Aboriginal societies.
3. describe how the image of Aboriginal society has shifted over time in histories written in Canada.
4. describe the development of the study of ethnohistory and identify the new strategies Trigger advocates for improving ethnohistoric studies.
5. describe how the study of Native American cultures has shifted over time.
6. describe European-Amerindian contact prior to the 1600s.
7. explain how wars between the European states affected relations between First Nations and European States.
8. explain the impact of extending government administration and state/provincial law to First Nations in the United States and Canada.
9. outline the role of Aboriginal organizations in the resistance to colonization in the 1900s.