Aboriginal Beliefs, Values, and Aspirations in Contemporary Society

Unit 3: Leadership, Responsibilities, and Aboriginal Knowledge
Time: 24 hours
Unit Description
In this unit, students investigate how relationships among Aboriginal peoples were structured by kinship
terms, such as Mother Earth, Grandmother Moon, and Father Sky. Students learn how these relationships
are integral to the respect shown towards the natural environment. Students explore how concern for the
natural environment is being challenged by industrial and technological practices associated with fishing,
logging, mining, and resource development. The responsibility that elders, grandmothers, traditional
chiefs, cultural carriers, spiritual leaders, and Aboriginal organizations take to promote Aboriginal
knowledge, respect, and dialogue is examined by students, through analysis of video documentaries,
biographies, autobiographies, traditional stories, and news events. Positive achievement and leadership
models are investigated so that students can see how traditional Aboriginal values provide strength,
endurance, and a basis for healing, reconciliation, and renewal.
Unit 3 Overview Chart
Activity Expectations Assessment Focus/Tasks/Activities
1
240
minutes
2
300
minutes
3
360
minutes
4
300
minutes
IDV.01, IDV.02,
REV.01, RE1.01,
ID1.01
IDV.01, IDV.02,
REV.02, RE1.04,
ID1.01, SOV.03,
ID3.02, CH3.01,
CH3.04
ID2.01, ID2.04,
CHV.01, CHV.02,
RE3.01, SO2.03,
SO2.04
REV.04, RE2.01,
RE3.04, SO2.05
- formative
anecdotal
assessment
by teacher
(K/U, T/I, A)
- peer
assessment of
short answer
quiz using
marking
scheme
(K/U, T/I, A)
- oral
formative
assessment
by teacher
using
checklist
(K/U, T/I, A)
- diagnostic
selfassessment
by students
using
checklist
(T/I, A)
Traditional Life Patterns
Students:
- read, listen to, and analyse a Thanksgiving Address;
- analyse traditional hunting patterns of Inuit people;
- list skills needed for Arctic survival.
Modern Aboriginals on the Land
Students:
- compare customs and practices of hunting, fishing,
and trapping communities (Northern Quebec Cree,
Plains, West Coast);
- list and compare beliefs and values of each
community.
The Challenges of Development
Students:
- read recent news stories on logging, fishing, and
mining controversies;
- list customs and beliefs that are threatened by
economic development;
- view video, Hunters and Bombers, NFB.
The Response of the Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)
Students:
- read and analyse selections from RCAP;
- view video on RCAP;
- predict recommendations of RCAP and compare to
actual recommendations.
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