Unit 2

Aboriginal People in Northern Canada

We begin this unit by looking at how the Aboriginal peoples of the Canadian North have been affected by their relationship with Euro-Canadian society. Throughout their long history of contact with Europeans involved in whaling, sealing, the fur trade, resource exploitation, missionary work, and the extension of Canadian dominance, the Aboriginal peoples of Canada’s North have seen their cultures and societies undergo massive structural changes. They have had to adjust their social life, political organization, and economic activities to accommodate the pressures brought to bear on them by the processes of modernization.

In this unit, therefore, we explore the structural changes that have taken place in Northern Aboriginal societies over time, by analysing the modernization processes that have been at work in the North in historic times. We examine the southern Canadian view of northern societies as stereotypically “primitive” aggregates of hunters and gathers; and we discuss the cultural, political, social, and economic changes that have taken place in the North as a result of accelerated resource exploitation and the extension of government services meant to benefit mainly southern interests. We then investigate the importance of land and the natural environment for the cultural survival of northern Aboriginal peoples. Finally, we examine the concerted efforts made by the Inuit people to free themselves from the psychology of dependence on Canada’s federal government. For the Inuit people, the attainment of self-determination is a prerequisite for ending this dependence.

Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. assess the impact of Euro-Canadian-oriented modernization processes on the cultures of the Indigenous peoples of the Canadian North.
2. analyse the social, economic, and political changes imposed on Northern Indigenous societies by resource exploitation and the extension of Canadian state services to the North.
3. describe and assess the responses of northern Aboriginal communities, political organizations, and leaders to the social, economic, and political challenges posed by the imposition of “southern” cultural values.
4. analyse the achievements of the Inuit peoples in their demand for self-determination.
5. compare the current health status of Aboriginal peoples with that of other peoples in Canada.
6. compare the economic realities of Aboriginal peoples, on and off reserve, with that of the general Canadian population.
7. identify strategies and programs currently developed or initiated by Aboriginal peoples to minimize the impact of social and economic issues facing Aboriginal people.