HST-5060-2

This sec 5 optional History course is worth 2 credits. No Program of Study or DED have been published.

Effects of Colonization

This course is covers the many narratives of Indigenous people as their realities transformed from the point of contact into present day colonial Canada and the U.S.A. It introduces students to the discourse of Indigenous peoples, invites them in to learn about the injustices of colonization over the past couple of centuries, and highlights the ways in which Indigenous people's across turtle island are resilient in a world of ongoing colonization.

Concepts and Topics


Course Concepts

  • Identity

  • Relationship

  • Stories

  • Culture

  • Holistic thinking

  • Tradition

  • Stereotypes

  • Land

  • Colonization

Course Topics

  • Treaties

  • Indian Act

  • Residential schools

  • Disenfranchisement

  • Intergenerational trauma

  • Sixties Scoop

  • Food

  • Art

  • Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls

  • Land claims

  • Idle No More

  • Reconciliation

  • Cultural Resurgence

  • Contemporary Decolonization

Assignments and Activities


Collaborative Map of Indigenous People

https://siftr.org/novaskennenmap/

As a class, we learned about the different terminology for referring to Indigenous people across Turtle Island (First Nation, Metis and Inuit). Each student choses a nation to research and pegs it to this virtual cooperative map.

Discussions and Course Readings


We do a lot of discussions and unpacking of the concepts using this book. Chelsea Vowel has created an amazing resource to be able to begin to understand the contemporary ways that colonization continues to take effect in the lives of Indigenous people today. It is also a good place to start if you are looking for class topics.


Indigenous Role Models



It is important to have discussion around decolonization and resilience as Indigenous people have evolved and are also on healing journeys as an effect of colonization. In this project, students high light an Indigenous role model by creating a poster about their Indigenous background and accomplishments


Social Media Campaign





One of the final assignments asks students to think through what they have learned in the course, and to create some kind of social media graphic and post for educating others. It is an excellent social justice piece and acts as the gateway for other kinds of actions that students can take place once they become aware of the effects of colonization and how it pervades Indigenous people's lives still today.

Class Activities can include:

  • Discussions of readings & close reading of primary source documents (i.e. unpacking the Indian Act)

  • Guest speakers about various topics

  • Art projects (i.e. creating wampum belts)

  • Looking through the newsfeeds for contemporary Indigenous issues (i.e. Moose moratorium, Mi'kmaq lobsters, protests, land claims, pandemic, etc.)

  • Self-driven research projects (i.e. Highway of Tears and MMIWG2S)