Aboriginal People of Saskatchewan

Traditional Aboriginal Spirituality

God/Creator/Great Spirit

Sun/Moon/Earth/Stars

Rock/Fire/Air/Water

Plant Life

Insect World

Swimmers/Flyers

Four Legged Creatures

Humans

Aboriginals believe that if you eliminate one layer that all layers below will die. So for example – if we eliminate Plant Life, then the 4 layers below will die or cease to exist. What does this say about the importance of humans?

What does it mean to be Aboriginal? Aboriginal – this refers to the ‘original

people’ of the land. There are 3 groups of Aboriginals in

Saskatchewan:

First Nations Inuit

ABORIGINAL

Metis

First Nations: this refers to aboriginal people who first lived on the land. The old term to describe them was Indian.

Inuit: this refers to aboriginal people who originally lived in the far north. The old term to describe them was Eskimo.

Metis: this refers to a people who had parents that were half First Nations and half white.

Can you tell which picture shows a Metis person? An Inuit? A First Nations?

Answer Key: Did you guess correctly?Inuit

First Nations

Metis

Terms you need to know Crown: refers to the government (term comes from the fact

that we are decedents of a monarchy. Get it? Crown for king of queen.

FNIM: initial commonly used in Canada for “First Nation Inuit Metis”

FSIN: initials commonly used in Saskatchewan/Canada “Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations”.

SICC: initials for “Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre”

AFN: “Assembly of First Nations”

Band: a body of First Nations who share land.

Terms …con’t Reserve: land given to the a group of First Nations in which they can live and govern. In Saskatchewan we have approximately 60 Reserves.

Off-reserve: a term used to describe people, services or objects that are not part of a reserve but relate to First Nations people.

Urban-reserve a reserve of land occupied by First Nations in a Treaty that resides in a city. “Urban” refers to the ‘city’ – any city. Saskatoon has many urban reserves.

Indian Act: a Canadian legislation first passed in 1876 but amended (changed) several times since. Indian Act outlines who is considered ‘Indian’. It sets out the federal gov’t obligations to the First Nations people. It also regulates the management of the Indian reserves, Indian moneys and other resources.

Status Indian: a person who is registered as an Indian under the Indian Act.

Once upon a time in Saskatchewan…

Saskatchewan Tribes:

(Commonly used term in brackets)

NEHIYAWIK (Cree)DENE (Dene)ANISHINABE (Ojibway; Saulteaux)SIOUX: (Lakota, Dakota, Nakota)

Once upon a time in Saskatchewan, long before white Europeans came to Saskatchewan to live on the land, there were many First Nation tribes as well as Metis groups living on the land. The most prominent tribes were:

The First Nation and Metis tribes got along for the most part, living off the land for food and shelter. They did not ‘own’ the land for no one owned the land – the land belonged to Mother Earth.

Along came some white Europeans looking for a new place to live because their countries were getting very crowded. It was tough to find a place to live or enough food to eat. They heard about this great new land that had plenty of space, so they got on a ship and traveled to a place that would eventually be called ‘Saskatchewan’.

Now these Europeans came from a place where people owned the land and they brought this idea with them to Saskatchewan. They wanted to own the land so they made a deal with the First Nation and Metis tribes that were living there.

They said, “Let us buy the land from you. We will pay you with money, food, shelter, education. Oh ya and we will also give you some land to live on as well.” These deals became known as ‘Treaties’ and the land the First Nations were given are called ‘Reserves’. There are a number of Treaties in Saskatchewan as there were different tribes throughout Saskatchewan. Each tribe would make their own deal with the Europeans. These Treaties were titled by numbers. Treaty 1, Treaty 2, Treaty 3 and so on.

Metis HomelandThe Metis have a special place in Saskatchewan as this is one of two provinces that are considered the homeland of the Metis. The other province is Manitoba. The Metis’ culture is so strong in these two provinces that they even have their own flag.

The flag has a blue background with a white infinity symbol that has two meanings:- The joining of two cultures.- The existence of a people forever.

METIS FLAG