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Thinking about Evidence and Historical Perspective

Thinking about Evidence and Historical Perspective. vs. How do we know what we know?. If you were making a court case, which would you use? Why?. Primary Sources. Secondary Sources. First hand testimony Direct evidence Created at the time an event occurs.

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Thinking about Evidence and Historical Perspective

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  1. Thinking about EvidenceandHistorical Perspective vs. How do we know what we know?

  2. If you were making a court case, which would you use? Why? Primary Sources Secondary Sources First hand testimony Direct evidence Created at the time an event occurs Discusses information that originally was presented elsewhere Analyze, synthesize, interpret, evaluate, explain

  3. Primary Source Evidence • Record everything you did in the last 24 hours • Put a checkmark beside any item for which there will be a trace. • How many of the traces were accidental? (A) How many were purposeful? (P) • How many of these traces will likely be preserved? Circle those.

  4. Primary Source Evidence DISCUSS: • How well do those final traces represent your life? • What would someone determine about you if they only saw those traces that were purposeful? • What details are added in by your accidental traces? Consider this: What might be some of the challenges historians face when looking at evidence? TASK: As a group, generate a series of questions to ask as you examine primary sources "I left a trace" activity from The Big Six p. 50

  5. It can be a little unclear sometimes… • In what CONTEXT was the source written? • Who created the source? • When and where? • What was happening at that time and place? • Who was the intended audience? • AND, why are you using this source? Knowing the answers to these questions can help you decide HOW to interpret the information. Ex. Was it written to persuade people to think or act a certain way?

  6. Typical Examples: Primary Sources Secondary Sources Artifacts & Art Works Census data & Statistics Diaries, Letters & emails Legislation Policy documents Period Newspapers Photographs Treaties Speeches Current news Scholarly articles Documentaries Films Reference books Textbooks Most websites

  7. Primary or Secondary? Handwritten Letter, 19th C. Collection of Personal Letters George Washington (Lansdowne portrait) by Gilbert Stuart, oil on canvas, 1796 Biography of George Washington Birth Certificate, certified

  8. Primary or Secondary? A History of the British Isles 2009 Public School History of England and Canada 1886

  9. What can we do with Primary Sources? • We can make interpretations based on inferences made from primary sources. Can we infer that Chrétien was a racist? Can we infer that the government didn’t respect Aboriginal Peoples?

  10. How can you use Primary documents? Excerpt taken from ‘The Unjust Society: The Tragedy of Canada’s Indians’ by Cree leader Harold Cardinal: “It sometimes seems to Indians that Canada shows more interest in preserving its rare whooping cranes than its Indians. And Canada, the Indian notes, does not ask its cranes to become Canada geese. It just wants to preserve them as whooping cranes. Indians hold no grudge against the big, beautiful, nearly extinct birds, but we would like to know how they managed their deal. Whooping cranes can remain whooping cranes, but Indians are to become brown white men.” What do you think is the author’s purpose here? Who is the intended audience? What can you infer about Canada’s history by looking at this source? How could you use this as historical evidence?

  11. ‘Historical Perspective’ • How might public opinion differ on Chrétien as a racist in 1969 and now? • We have present day perspective of understanding the impact of residential schools and the current state of Aboriginal affairs

  12. “Presentism” – yup, it’s a word  • Sometimes we take the values of today’s society and judge life and decisions of the past using that perspective. • i.e. “That was so backwards/wrong/naïve.” • Now, just because it’s what “most people” believed in or did in the past doesn’t mean it was right – ex. residential schools BUT – we have to judge it through the lens of its time period, not the lens of today’s knowledge and values. • We will try very hard this semester NOT to be “present-ist”

  13. Canada’s Aboriginal History Developing your skills as historians

  14. Tell me what you can about this image. What do you see? What questions do you have? What inferences would you make?

  15. What’s in a name? • Indian-historical term, not politically correct • Native- a person who was born in a particular place • First Nations-refers to only certain groups, not including Métis or Inuit • Aboriginal Peoples-all encompassing

  16. Contact- 1700’s 1862-Small Pox WIPE OUT • Smallpox wiped out approximately 1/3 of Aboriginal populations The arrival of Samuel de Champlain, the father of New France, on the site of Quebec City

  17. 1867- Confederation (BNA Act) 1876-The Indian Act ‘Indian Agents’ assigned to First Nations people • Canadian expansion 1869 • Imposed Canadian sovereignty • 1869 Red River Rebellion • Led by Louis Riel, hanged for treason on November 16th, 1885

  18. Residential Schools • Established 1870’s • Assimilation • Church run • We will talk more about these later

  19. 35% of Aboriginal men enlist for WW1 The 1911 census shows Aboriginal population at their lowest recorded point in history (106,000) 1910s

  20. 1920s & 1930s Ceremonies banned (potlatch and sun dance) No national Aboriginal organization allowed Longhouse government banned and elected band council was imposed 70 residential schools in operation

  21. 1940s & 1950s Aboriginal participation in WWII is high Tommy Prince (shown right) becomes most decorated Aboriginal soldier in WWII 1950- Indian Act overhauled with Aboriginal participation

  22. 1960s & 1970s “Indians” get the right to vote (1960) Creation of National Indian Brotherhood (later Assembly of First Nations) Federal White Paper recommends termination of treaties and Indian status

  23. White Paper- 1969 • Minister of Indian Affairs Jean Chrétien proposes the abolition of the Indian Act • Rejection of all land claims • Assimilation of First Nations people • Status the same as other ethnic minorities rather than a distinct group

  24. 1982- Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrines Aboriginal rights Text Reading: pg343-349 (skip 346-47): Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Oka and Self Government.

  25. Land disputes:1990- Oka crisis, QuebecOka - dramatic showdown 1995- Ipperwash crisis, Ontario 1 OPP officer killed by Mohawk Dudley George killed by OPP

  26. Land disputes cont’d -Self Determination • 2000 - Nisga’a land claim settlement • 2,000 square kilometres of land in the NassValley • 3 000 000 cubic meter water reservation • First formal treaty signed by a First Nation since the Douglas treaties of 1854

  27. 2007 • Saskatchewan became the first province in Canada to proclaim June as Aboriginal History Month

  28. UN Declaration 2006 - Canada votes against adopting the draft document: “vague and ambiguous, leaving it open to different, and possibly competing, interpretations.” 2007, Canada is 1 of 4 countries to vote against adopting document 2010 Canada signs on despite noting that its “concerns are well known and remain” The document is non-binding

  29. It isn’t over. Attawapiskat → October 2011 Watch - NIR Feb. 2012

  30. IDLE NO MORE- 2013 NIR: March 2013: Idle No More Started in response to Bill C-45 which weakened Environmental laws Chief Theresa Spence 6-week hunger strike on Parliament Hill Harper meets with AFN and some other chiefs

  31. Issues today:Sean Atleo on “The Hour” January 27, 2012 http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/canada/shawn-atleo-the-complete-interview.html And read the article- 9 Questions about ‘Idle no more’

  32. CASE STUDY: Evidence, Perspective and the Ethical Dimension

  33. Minds On: Let’s add Ethical Dimensions What do we owe the people of the past?

  34. Ethical Dimensions Does the government have a moral responsibility to address the problems facing many of our aboriginal communities? Students in a classroom in Resolution NWT (Nathional Archives)

  35. Let’s talk about these 2 photos. What do you see? Describe the child in each photo. What could you infer from these photos? Now let Ms Howie give you some more context. (legacyofhope p.93) )

  36. Using the photos as evidence; • What do you think are some things that were lost in the process of assimilation? • What effect do you think this could have had on aboriginal culture across time?

  37. Historical Perspective • Read the first account of residential schools from 1907. • As a historical thinker how would you interpret residential schools from this account? • In 1907 Dr. P. Bryce, Chief Medical Officer of the Dept. of Indian Affairs, reports that at least 25% of students who have attended residential schools have died • From 100 Years of Loss p.Welcome, & 65-66 Now read the second account. How does this account add to or change your interpretation of residential schools? Does it influence your thinking to know both of these written accounts were selected by a Canadian organization whose purpose is to share the experiences of residential schools, teach non-Aboriginal Canadians about the wrongs of the past and also set a foundation for healing?

  38. The last Government-run residential school closed in Saskatchewan in 1996

  39. 2008 • $2 billion dollar compensation for survivors of residential schools • Official apology by Prime Minister Stephen Harper Read the excerpted apology and response by Matthew Coon Come (handout)

  40. You have examined 5 sources about residential schools from 1897 to 2008 • What have these sources taught you about residential schools? • Did adding on sources change your earlier interpretations of information? • What have you learned about being a historian and looking at evidence?

  41. Action: 4 Corners What now? How should we as a country move forward with Aboriginal issues? Be prepared to explain why you chose that corner using EVIDENCE and demonstrating awareness of PERSPECTIVE and the ETHICAL dimension

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