Timeline
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Aboriginal Spirituality
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Unit 1
Timeline
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Timeline
35 000 – 15 000 BCE
Scientist theorize that
people migrated from
Asia to North America
over the Bering Land
Bridge
kya = thousands of
years ago
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Timeline
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Many Aboriginal peoples contend that they
have always inhabited North America and
offer a range of creation stories
Most tribes have their own unique creation
story
1748 CE Under the leadership of Joseph Brant,
Mohawks settle on the Grand River after being
displaced during the American Revolution.
1800 CE The Code of Handsome Lake is
developed, outlawing witchcraft Handsome
Lake was a Seneca leader of the Iroquois
people).
1830s Creation of the Residential School
System.
1 000 CE First recorded meeting between
European (Scandinavians) and Aboriginal
peoples in Newfoundland
Timeline
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1876 The Indian Act is passed. This act defined who
was and “Indian”. Prior to 1985, Aboriginal
Canadians could lose status in a variety of ways
including the following:
marrying a man who was not a status Indian
enfranchisement (until 1960, an Indian could vote in
federal elections only by renouncing Indian status)
having at the age of 21 a mother and paternal
grandmother who did not have status before
marriage)
being born out of wedlock to a mother with status and
a father without
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Timeline
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1884 Potlatch Ceremonies are banned by the
federal government (Pacific custom, main
purpose being to redistribute wealth within an
extended family)
1999 Nunavut is created
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The Eagle Feather
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What is the significance of the eagle feather to
Aboriginal Canadian cultures?
The Eagle Feather
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The Eagle Feather
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It is often presented as a recognition to
someone who defends, fights for, or negotiates
on behalf of aboriginal peoples.
Aboriginal Spirituality has no founder, or
creator of the religion. During a crisis, an elder
or significant person will rise and renew the
faith.
Recently, in 1996, Canada declared June 21st
to be National Aboriginal Day
A symbol of strength
Gives the holder of the eagle feather the power
to represent others
The Eagle Feather
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It is believed by some that the eagle can see
over all the land. When the eagle is flying
overhead, it is believed that Mother Earth will
prosper.
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The Eagle Feather
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It is believed by some that the Creator loves
the eagle most because it symbolizes the
duality, or contradictions in life (male and
female, light and darkness, summer and
winter). Even its feathers are divided in to two
parts (light and dark), reminding humans of the
duality of life.
The Eagle Feather
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Symbols/ Images
Symbols/ Images
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Traditional symbols and images are an essential
part of the Aboriginal culture.
Dream Catcher: If you hang a dream catcher
over your bed, your bad dreams will go through
the web and into the Universe and your good
dreams will be caught in the web.
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Symbols/ Images
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Inukshuk: Used for navigation, gives
warnings for any danger in open water,
and it marks sacred space.
Some elders (venerable respected members of
the community) describe the eagle feather as a
symbol of healthy relationships. The spine of
the feather holds relationships together, and
the feather is widest at the bottom,
symbolizing the relationships beginning, a
time when learning is greatest.
Eagle: Alerts the Aboriginals of what is to
come.
Fire: Symbolizes the heart of The People
and is used to cleanse the spirit.
Symbols/ Images
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Medicine Shield: Made by warriors as a
symbol of protection and strength when
hunting and battling.
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Symbols/ Images
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Tree of Peace: In some Aboriginal
religions, the tree is believed to connect
Earth to Heaven. (White pine—Seneca,
Onondaga, etc).
Peace Tree
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Statistics
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As of the 2006 census, Aboriginal peoples in
Canada totalled 1,172,790 people, or 3.8% of
the national population, spread over 600
recognized First Nations governments or bands
with distinctive cultures, languages, art, and
music.
Statistics
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The origin of the North American
Aboriginal peoples
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Some Aboriginal North Americans believe that
they were always here.
There is archaeological evidence that
Aboriginal peoples migrated from Asia to
North and South America by crossing a land
bridge over the Bering Strait (between Alaska
and Russia) approximately 35 000 years ago.
There are aboriginal artefacts dating back
many thousands of years.
Six or seven nations were at war with each
other, which was destroying Mother Earth.
They made a pact to get rid of their weapons
and that is when they tilted the white pine tree,
and they threw their weapons under the tree.
There was rapidly moving water under the
tree, and that is what carried all their weapons
away. And peace ensued—these nations have
never been at war since.
The group of aboriginals, the Inuit located
mostly in Nunavut share their culture and
traditions with aboriginals in Alaska and
Greenland. There are 100 000 Inuit (a lot of that
population practices Christianity).
The origin of the North American
Aboriginal peoples
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In Canada there are six distinct groups of Aboriginal
Peoples. The geographical environment in which
they lived defined them:
Northwest Woodlands
Great Plains
Northwest Pacific Coast
Plateau
Sub-arctic
Arctic
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The origin of the North American
Aboriginal peoples
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Each culture has several nations in it.
As a group they have similar aspects of belief,
although different practices of form represent
those beliefs.
For example, At Powwow, Algonquin and
Mohawks enter the east gate—Algonquins
dance clockwise whereas the Mohawk dance
counter-clockwise (subtle but important
differences).
The origin of the North American
Aboriginal peoples
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The origin of the North American
Aboriginal peoples
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There are linguistic differences between
different groups in any geographical area. For
example, the Northeast Woodlands is divided
into two linguistic groups, Algonquin and
Iroquois.
See page 72 for a map of differing aboriginal
language groupings in Canada.
Each culture has familial clan represented by
animals who protect them such as the raven or
the wolf.
Beliefs
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Animism encompasses religious beliefs that
there is no separation between the material
world and spirits. Spirits exist not only in
humans but also in all other animals, plants,
rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder,
geographic features such as mountains or
rivers, or other entities of the natural
environment
Central Beliefs and Morality
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Read pages 86 to 89
Answer questions 1, 2, and 3 on page 90
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