Course Description
Native issues are quite regularly on the front pages of Canadian newspapers and on the TV screens in front of Canadian viewers. Understanding these issues requires the comprehension of much more than what appears in the media. Most of the story is untold for the great majority of Canadians. In this course the important background information is presented and discussed. We look at the incredibly long period that Native people have been in Canada, and what that signifies. We see how stereotypes created by non-Natives when they first came to Canada influence what has been taught in schools and what we see and hear in the news and in films. We delve into the roles played by language, spirituality and by the complex intricacies of the legal picture surrounding Native people in Canada. All of this is then applied to the specific contexts of the residential schools and modern education, the adopting of Native children by non-Natives and its impact on the Native family, the Metis Nation and Canada's future in the north.
