Overview

This course introduces the historical, anthropological, sociological, and political science perspectives on the origins and implications of major federal and provincial government policies bearing on Aboriginal peoples. The course analyses, in broad terms, the history of Aboriginal-European relations from the beginning of contact between the two groups to the current time. The course introduces the principle legal and statutory documents, such as treaties, the Indian Act, the British North America Act of 1867, and the Constitution Act of 1982, that form the basis of Canadian state policies towards Indigenous peoples.

Objectives

The primary aim of Indigenous Studies 203 is to provide you with a theoretical and descriptive framework for understanding the historical and contemporary issues surrounding Indigenous peoples in Canada. As you work through the course, you will acquire critical, analytical, and practical skills that will service you well in this and other courses.

When you have completed Indigenous Studies 203, you should be able to:

• discuss the anthropological, political, and sociological concepts currently used in academic discussions analyzing contemporary Aboriginal—White relations in Canada.
• analyse the main legal and statutory documents that form the basis of Canadian federal and provincial government policies for Aboriginal peoples.
• analyse the impact of Canadian government policies on Aboriginal cultures.
• discuss how different contexts affect the meaning of terminology used to describe Aboriginal people in Canada, and how these contexts can change over time.
• analyse the response of Aboriginal leaders and organizations to challenges posed by loss of Aboriginal independence, and by non-Aboriginal governments’ attempts to assimilate Indigenous peoples.
• analyse Indian treaties and Aboriginal rights as defined by Aboriginal people and by the Canadian judicial system.
• discuss the emergence of the Métis as an Aboriginal ethnic group, and its role in shaping provincial and federal government policies in Canada.

Outline

Unit 1: Identity: Social, Political, Psychological, and Legal Consequences

• Section 1: The Indian Act and Racial Categorization
• Section 2: The Indian Act and Indian Women
• Section 3: Terminology and Identity

Unit 2: Indian Treaties

• Section 1: Background to Indian Treaties
• Section 2: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 and Subsequent Unnumbered Treaties
• Section 3: The Meaning of Treaties
• Section 4: The Numbered Treaties, 1871-1923
• Section 5: Indian Understanding of Treaty Terms

Unit 3: The Métis: The Emergence and Status of an Aboriginal Group

• Section 1: What's in a Name? The Emergence of the Métis
• Section 2: Indian Women and the Emergence of the Métis
• Section 3: The Political Emergence of the Métis

Evaluation

To receive credit for INST 203, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 per cent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Frideres, James S., and Rene R. Gadacz. Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Contemporary Conflicts. 6th ed., Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 2001.

Getty, Ian A. L., and Antoine S. Lussier, eds. As Long as the Sun Shines and Water Flows: A Reader in Canadian Native Studies. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. 1983.

Peterson, Jacqueline, and Jennifer S. H. Brown, eds. The New Peoples: Being and Becoming Métis in North America. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1985.

Pointing, J. Rick, ed. Arduous Journey: Canadian Indians and Decolonization. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1986.

Canada. Copy of Treaty No. 6. Ottawa: Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery, 1964.

Other materials

The course materials include a study guide, a student manual, and a book of readings.