ABORIGINAL AWARENESS

WEEK

May 19-25 2014

DID YOU KNOW?5% OF CANADIANS ARE FIRST NATIONS, MÉTIS OR INUIT.

Of that 5%...

60% are FIRST NATIONS

32% are METIS 4% are INUIT 4% are other

DID YOU KNOW?NORTH AMERICA IS ALSO CALLED TURTLE ISLAND.

DID YOU KNOW?THIS IS A MEDICINE WHEEL. IT IS AN ANISHINABE SYMBOL THAT REFLECTS BALANCE IN LIFE.

COLOUR SYMBOLISM

BLACK RED WHITE YELLOW

PHYSICAL EMOTIONAL INTELLECTUAL

SPIRITUAL

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

BODY EMOTIONS MIND SPIRIT

EARTH WATER AIR FIRE

HEALER TEACHER WARRIOR VISIONARY

AUTUMN SUMMER WINTER SPRING

SWEETGRASS SAGE CEADAR TOBACCO

WOLF BUFFALO BEAR EAGLE

YOUTH PARENTS ELDER CHILDREN

Mathias, Alex. “Back to the Medicine Wheel”. A Brand New Day Blog. May 22, 2009. May 12, 2013. http://keepupwithdon.blogspot.ca/2009/05/back-to-medicine-wheel.html .

DID YOU KNOW?INUIT CULTURE AND HISTORY IN NORTH AMERICA DATES BACK OVER 8500 YEARS.

The Inuksuk is an Inuit symbol and landmark. The long arms points North, directing travellers when the stars cannot be seen.

DID YOU KNOW?IN USE SINCE 1816, THE MÉTIS FLAG IS ONE OF THE OLDEST CANADIAN FLAGS.

DID YOU KNOW?THERE ARE OVER 50 FIRST NATIONS LANGUAGES IN CANADA. The number of Aboriginal people able to

conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language is declining.

2006

21%

2011

0.17

DID YOU KNOW?

LAST SUMMER WAS THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF KAHSWENHTHA, THE TWO ROW WAMPUM

KAHSWENHTHA Recorded on a beaded Wampum Belt,

one of the first treaties between First Nations (Haudenosaunee – Iroquois Confederacy) and Europeans (Dutch) in North America.

It dates to 1645 and was called Kahswenhtha, or “Sharing the same river; steering our own boats.” It represents the principles of peace, harmony and non- interference between the two Nations.

DID YOU KNOW?

LACROSSE WAS INVENTED AS EARLY AS THE 12TH CENTURY BY FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES AND WAS PLAYED ACROSS NORTH AMERICA.

The game originally involved hundreds of players and would continue for several days. In 1843, a group from Montreal became the first settlers to challenge a First Nations team in the First Nations sport of lacrosse.

The Mohawk players won!

DID YOU KNOW?

ABORIGINAL PEOPLES ARE THE YOUNGEST AND FASTEST GROWING POPULATION IN CANADA.

DID YOU KNOW?WE ARE ALL TREATY PEOPLE! First Nations people

have never been conquered. They negotiated a series of treaties with the British, French, and later, the government of Canada.

These treaties enabled settlers to create communities and cities.

WORKS CITED Dion, Susan. “ We are all treaty people”. PDSB Invitational Talk. David Suzuki Secondary

School. Brampton, Ontario. March 2013.

“Eighth Fire: It’s Time”. CBC Original Series. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 2011. Mar 10, 2013. http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/8thfire//2011/11/its-time.html .

History of the Two Row Wampum. Two Row Wampum Festival 2013 Online. Beacon, New York, USA. May 12 1023. http://beacontworow.org/about/ .

“Honor the Treaties”. Girldoggie Blog. June 10, 2011. May 02, 2013. http://gurldogg.blogspot.ca/2011/06/honor-treaties.html .

Mathias, Alex. “Back to the Medicine Wheel”. A Brand New Day Blog. May 22, 2009. May 12, 2013. http://keepupwithdon.blogspot.ca/2009/05/back-to-medicine-wheel.html .

Mc Devitt, Neil. “Aboriginal Awareness Week: Getting Bigger and Better All the Time.” McGill Reporter. Sept 15 2012. May 17, 2012. http://publications.mcgill.ca/reporter/2012/09/15616/ .

National Household Survey: Graphics. The Star Online. May 17, 2013. May 19 2013. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/05/08/national_household_survey_graphics.html .

“We Stand Together Initiative”. Free the Children Online. Feb 2013. Feb 27, 2013. http://www.freethechildren.com/get-involved/campaigns/we-stand-together/ .