Canada’s First
Peoples
Cluster 1
What are the origins of First Peoples in Canada?
Shaping Canada: pp 23- 28
Origins of First Peoples
• Many cultures have passed on these stories and the history of
their people by telling stories to their children and
grandchildren. We call this ‘oral tradition’.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WcOwFX_u7P8/TZS8p68w29I/AAAAAAAADOQ/vvXQ9Fu3KS0/s1600/images2.jpeg
Origins of First Peoples
• A community’s oral
tradition includes:
• Prayers
• Songs
• Stories
Although oral tradition
teaches us about a
people’s history, it can
also help us to
understand who people
are today.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Squamish_Pole_Raising_Ceremony_-_North_Vancouver_-_2012_-_003.jpg/300pxSquamish_Pole_Raising_Ceremony_-_North_Vancouver_-_2012_-_003.jpg
http://castlemaineindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/art-gallery.jpg
Origins of First Peoples
• From a community’s
oral tradition, we can
learn about:
•
•
•
•
their history
their customs
their beliefs
their values
Where did
they come
from?
How did
they live?
What did
they
believe?
What was
important
to them?
Origin of First Peoples
• A community’s oral
history is not only
creation stories.
• People also tell
stories to:
•
•
•
•
•
Teach morals
Entertain
Preserve traditions
Preserve ideas
Teach about the world
and about all that is in
it
Origins of First Peoples
• Understanding a
society’s oral history
is not always easy.
• A story from any
culture is always best
understood when it
is told and heard in is
original language.
BUT-sometimes ideas get
‘lost in translation’ from
one language to another.
AND- sometimes you
need to have a deep
understanding of other
parts of the culture, to
be able to understand a
single story.
Origins of First Peoples
• First Peoples were
the first humans to
live in North
America.
• We know that First
Peoples have been
living here for
thousands of years.
http://www.rcinet.ca/english/illustration/htmleditor/Ancient%20seal%20hunter%20in%20Beringia.jpg
Origins of First Peoples
• There are several
different ways to
explain how and
when the history of
the First Peoples in
North American
began.
http://www.canisius.edu/dotAsset/532f65cc-b804-48a5-a4fa-0f3cf457d13d.jpg
Origins of First Peoples
• Many cultures have different ways to explain how they believe
the world began. We call them ‘creation stories’.
http://agm.cat/upua/UPUA0506/CD-UPUA-0506/altres/VikingCreationMythGegant-i-Vaca_files/yggdrasil.gif
http://www.eso-garden.com/images/uploads_bilder/the_top_10_intelligent_designs_or_creation_myths_7.jpg
http://www.crystalinks.com/chinacreation.html
Origins of First Peoples
• The creation stories
of Canada’s First
Peoples show one
explanation for how
the First Peoples
came to live in North
America.
A mural at the Manitoba
Museum showing a First
Nations Creation Story 
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8228/8570180362_cecdf159ae_z.jpg
• These stories teach
that the people
‘come from the land
and that they are
part of it’.
Origins of First Peoples
• Different First People
groups in Canada
may have different
creation stories.
Ojibwe
Haida
http://yerf.metafur.org/thomjuli/raven1stmen.jpg
http://bayoffundy.ca/archives/395
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/1a/15/e9/1a15e9e25edd6a8320f6d1e1cf73a9b3.jpg
Mi’kmaq
Origins of First Peoples
• Traditional stories are
one way to explain
how the First Peoples
came to live in North
America.
• Scientists have other
theories (ways to
explain) how the First
Peoples came to live
here.
• Not everybody
agrees about these
possible
explanations.
Origins of First Peoples
The Land
Bridge Theory
Origins of First Peoples
Some scientists
believe that a long
time ago, there was a
land bridge between
northern Asia and
North America. This
land is now
underwater. It is
called The Bering
Strait today.
Scientists believe that
25 000-12 000 years
ago, people used this
bridge to move from
Asia to North
America.
http://ssrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/pelliott/EPSS/bering_straight_land_bridge.jpg
Origins of First Peoples
First Peoples
came from Asia
over the Bering
Strait –when it
was covered in
ice
People came
over the
Bering Strait
from Asia by
boat
Other
possible
theories
First Peoples
came from
Europe across
the Atlantic ice
cap during the
Ice Age
First Peoples
came from
Asia by boat
over the
Pacific Ocean
Origins of First Peoples
The Genographic
Project:
• There is a study that
is looking at the DNA
of humans all over
the earth.
• This study suggests
that every person on
earth descends from
(comes from) people
who lived in Africa.
• These people moved
across the globe at
different times in
history.
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/media/photos/000/333/33313.jpg