Course Outline

Department of Environment, Culture and Society

Faculty of Arts

ANTH 2140-01
3-Credits

Indigenous Peoples in Canada

(2,1,0)

Winter Semester 2024

Class Time:
Lecture: Wednesday 12:30-2:20 in House of Learning 190
Seminar: Wednesday 10:30-11:20 Arts and Education (A&E) 162

I welcome students to this class and look forward to the time that we will share as we come
together on the unceded territories of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc ne Secwepemcúl'ecw. We
open this class with an acknowledgment of this territory and the generosity of our Tk'emlúps te
Secwépemc hosts as we gather to join the traditions of research, teaching, and service that have
been happening on, and with, these lands since time immemorial.

Thompson Rivers University campuses are on the traditional lands of the Tk'emlúps te
Secwépemc (Kamloops campus) and the T’exelc (Williams Lake campus) within
Secwépemc'ulucw, the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwépemc. The region TRU
serves also extends into the territories of the St’át’imc, Nlaka’pamux, Tŝilhqot'in, Nuxalk, and
Dakelh.

Kukwstsétsemc

With great thanks, Lisa

Instructor: Dr. Lisa Cooke Phone/Voice Mail: 250.852.7290

Office: AE 143 E-Mail: lcooke@tru.ca

Office Hours:
Monday 12:00-1:00 via Teams (link posted on Moodle) or by appointment

1
Calendar Description

An introduction to the present situation of Canada's Indians, Métis and Inuit, interpreted on the
basis of contemporary and historical political, economic and cultural developments. Major topics
include: the Indian Act, the reserve system, land claims, directed culture change, social
consequences of paternalism.

** please note that this TRU Calendar Description is outdated in the language used to describe
this course and is in the process of being formally revised and updated. It is also important to
note that “Canada’s Indians” refers here to Indians as defined by the Indian Act.

New Calendar Description (pending approval):

In this course students are invited to consider how the place most dominantly known as Canada
came to be and their place in it. Taking an Indigenous and Settler Colonial Studies approach that
recognizes all ways of knowing on equal footing, students will explore how colonialism operates
as project of cultural domination and how settler colonialism presents as a particular articulation
of it. Topics may include: The Indian Act, the Reserve System, Residential Schools, Treaties and
Land Claims, Forced Relocations, First Nations self-government and Indigenous self-
determination and nationhood, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to
Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and students’
own role in decolonization and reconciliation in settler colonial Canada.

Course Description:

In this course students are invited to consider how the place most dominantly known as Canada
came to be and their place in it. Taking an Indigenous and Settler Colonial Studies approach, we
will explore how colonialism operates as project of cultural domination and how settler
colonialism presents as a particular articulation of it.

Looking to an Indigenous Studies framework to ground this course, we understand all ways of
knowing and being to stand on equal footing as we consider how Canada happens as a structure
of cultural domination premised on the historical and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous
peoples from land. We will start the course exploring what it means to think about colonialism as
a project of cultural domination and how settler colonialism manifests as a particular articulation
of this. From there, we will consider the importance of land, place, and territory from both
Indigenous and Settler ways of knowing as the starting point for conversations about the ongoing
dispossession of Indigenous peoples from land in Canada. In so doing, we will examine how
technologies such as treaties, the reserve system, the Indian Act, residential schools, the 60s-
Millenial scoop, and forced relocations work as articulations of settler colonial power,
dispossession, domination, and racism. We cannot understand how we might as a collective want
to move forward differently if you do not understand how we got here.

2
When we know better, we can do better. This course aims to nurture a conversation about how
we got here, and where we might want to go as a collective from here. We will close the course
pondering what the notions of “Truth” and “Reconciliation” mean to us as individuals and as a
collective.

Prerequisites ANTH 1210 recommended but not required.

Course Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to

1) Reflect upon and identify how and what they know about Indigenous peoples in Canada,
and where that knowledge has come from and what it has been used for.
2) Describe the ways the colonialism operates as a project of cultural domination and how
settler colonialism manifests as a distinct articulation of this.
3) Apply the tenants of Indigenous Studies (multidisciplinary, critically engaged, and
honours all ways of knowing on equally footing) in practical terms to their professional
and personal practices.
4) Recognize the cultural, linguistic, and political diversity of Indigenous peoples
throughout the territory most dominantly known as Canada.
5) Identify the political and legislative tools that have been used in Canada to identify,
manage, and contain Indigenous peoples and how these tools continue to serve the
ongoing structure dispossession of Indigenous peoples from land.
6) Reflect upon their place as active participants in decolonization and reconciliation in
settler colonial Canada.

Evaluation:

Midterm Assignment 30%

Media Assignment 35%
Final Take Home Assignment 35%

A detailed description of each project/assignment will be posted on Moodle and discussed in

class.

Handing in Assignments:

All assignments will be handed in digitally on Moodle in the designated Dropbox space.

Academic Integrity:

3
Students are advised to become familiar with TRU policies on academic honesty and plagiarism
at http://www.tru.ca/staffairs/policies.html.

Classroom Conduct and Respectful Communication:

Our collective goal in this course is to learn together and from each other. Throughout the course
we will discuss difficult matters. We have a responsibility not to shy away from these issues and
to approach them gently, respectfully, and with compassion.

I welcome email communication or using the message forum on our course Moodle page if you
have questions about the course, assignments, or related matters. When communicating by email,
please practice professional writing. Always include the course number in the subject line so that
I know which course you are referring to. I ask that you also include a simple greeting, avoid
using slang or abbreviations, and sign off with your full name.

As a collective, we will work together to create a safe, judgement-free, inclusive, and respectful
learning environment. We welcome diverse perspectives and experiences. Our goal is to nurture
a space of learning, growth, and belonging.

Course Delivery and Moodle:

TRU, in stride with the BC Public Health Orders, does not require masking indoors. That said,
the choice to wear a mask is entirely individual. Everyone is welcome and invited to make
decisions based on your personal preference and comfort.

We will use our course Moodle Page to communicate throughout the term. Week by week lecture
slides will be posted along with links to other supplementary material.

Given the complexities of navigating the uncertainties of so many aspects of our lives, lecture
classes will be delivered simultaneously in person and virtually. I will post a Teams link each
week for those wanting to join lectures remotely. This allows us to come together synchronously
each week from wherever serves you best. These face to face / virtual link lectures will not be
recorded but rather will run synchronously during our scheduled class times.

Seminar classes (Wednesday 10:30-11:20) will be a combination of in person class times and time
allocated for independent work. Some weeks we will use this class time for in class discussion.
Some weeks we will use seminar class time for watching assigned films on our own time. Some
weeks seminar times are allocated for completion of assignments with extended office hours
available during that time for any questions that you may have as you are working.

Links for the films will be posted on Moodle. The schedule for seminar delivery is noted below in
the Lecture and Reading Schedule and will be posted week by week in Moodle. Teams links will
be provided for those preferring to join in person seminar classes remotely.

4
Please ensure that your email address noted in Moodle is the one that you use the most often. I
will communicate any changes to class via Moodle Announcements that will come to you
through your email.

Required books:

Bussidor, Ila and Bilgen-Reinart, Üstün. 1997. Night Spirits: The Story of the Relocation of the Saysi
Dene. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press.

Merasty, Joseph Auguste. 2015. The Education of Augie Merasty: A Residential School Memoir.
Regina: University of Regina Press.

** Books are available through the TRU Bookstore.

Required Articles

Harding, R. 2005. The Media, Aboriginal People and Common Sense. The Canadian Journal of
Native Studies XXV(1): 311-335.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 2015. “Introduction” of the Executive Summary and
“Calls to Action” – available at http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/index.php?p=890
(specific links found in Lecture and Reading Schedule of this document).

** Links to these readings will be posted on the Moodle page

Lecture and Reading Schedule

A detailed breakdown of each week will be posted on Moodle. This will include lecture slides,
links to selected readings and films; discussion questions where applicable; and any other
relevant information. The following outlines the general themes for each week of the course.
Please use the detailed information on Moodle as your guide through course content throughout
the term.

Week 1 January 3rd

 Lecture:
o Intro to course – Welcome.
o What we’re doing here and how
 No Seminar Class this week

Week 2 January 10

5
  Lecture:
o Indigenous Studies / The Study of-with Indigenous Peoples
o Colonialism and Settler Colonialism
o What’s in Name?
 Seminar:
o No in person seminar this week. Class time allocated to watching the
film Babakiueria (link posted on Moodle)

Week 3 January 17

 Lecture:
o Welcoming Secwépemc Storyteller Kenthen Thomas to our class
 Seminar:
o No in person seminar this week. Class time allocated for watching the
film Reel Injun (link posted on Moodle)

Week 4 January 24

 Lecture:
o Library Instruction Session (Location TBA)
o The Politics of Representation and Media Assignment Discussed
 Seminar:
o Meet in person for seminar class this week – Media Assignment Discussed

Week 5 January 31

 Lecture: Media Assignments and the Politics of Representation

 Seminar:
 No in person seminar this week. Class time dedicated to reading
Harding (2005) link to the article posted on Moodle
 Please watch Matika Wilbur “Surviving Disappearance, Re-
Imagining & Humanizing Native Peoples” TedxSeattle (link posted
on Moodle)
** these resources are important as you prepare for your media assignments
which we will discuss in more detail in lecture class this week.

Week 6 February 7

 Lecture:
o Land and People
 Seminar:

6
 o No in person seminar this week. Class time allocated for watching the
film Angry Inuk (link posted on Moodle)

Week 7 February 14
 Lecture:
o Media Assignment Discussion and Midterm review
 Seminar:
o No in person seminar this week. Class time allocated for getting started
on your midterm assignments.

 Midterm Take Home Assignment will be posted on Moodle before Seminar on

Wednesday February 14th and reviewed together in lecture class.

Winter Term Reading Break – No Class February 19-23

 Midterm Take Home assignment Due Friday February 23rd in Moodle

Week 8 February 28

 Lecture
o Introducing “The Indian Problem”
o Settler Colonialism’s “Indian Problem”
o Dealing with “The Indian Problem”
o The Indian Act
o Reserves
o Treaties
 Seminar:
o No in person seminar class this week. Class time allocated for watching the
film Trick or Treaty (link posted on Moodle)

Friday March 1st the last day to withdraw from a semester course with no academic penalty

Week 9 March 6

 Lecture:
o Dealing with “The Indian Problem”: Residential Schools
o Please read The Education of Augie Merasty
 Seminar:
o No in person seminar this week. Class time allocated for watching the
film We Were Children (link posted on Moodle)

Week 10 March 13

7
  Lecture:
o Dealing with “The Indian Problem”: Forced Relocations
o Please read Night Spirits

 Seminar:
o No in person seminar this week. Class time allocated for watching the
film Broken Promises (link posted on Moodle)

Week 11 March 20

 Lecture:
o Catching up and bringing it together
o Media Assignments – it’s time to start writing – we’ll talk about how.
 Seminar:
o No in person seminar class this week. Class time allocated for working
on your media assignments. Extended office hours will be held during
seminar class time for any questions that you may have as you work on
your media assignments.

Week 12 March 27

 Lecture:

o Truth and Reconciliation – what does this mean?

o Please read the Executive Summary of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission paying extra attention to the Introduction and the Calls to
Action (a link to the document will be posted on Moodle).
 Seminar:
o No in person seminar class this week. Class time allocated for working
on your media assignments. Extended office hours will be held during
seminar class time for any questions that you may have as you work on
your media assignments.

Week 13 April 3

 Lecture:
o Bringing it all together
o Preparation for the take home final assignment

8
 o Take Home Final Assignment Posted on Moodle and reviewed
together in class.
 Seminar:
o No seminar class this week. Class time allocated for working on
media assignments. Extended office hours will be held during
seminar class time for any questions that you may have as you
are working.

Media Assignments Due Monday April 8th in Moodle

Take Home Final Assignment Due Monday April 15th in Moodle

Policies and Procedures:

Students are encouraged to make themselves aware of important TRU policies and procedures.
For a complete list of policies see http://www.tru.ca/policy/allpolicy.html