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)