NBE3UE
Digital
ThoughtBook
Hannah Faruqi
Once Upon a Time
Two Things I am Excited to Learn About in This Course:
● The cultures and traditions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. After experiencing a
glimpse of Indigenous culture through the TV show ‘Anne with an E’, I have become
increasingly curious about their culture, traditions, and way of life.
● Any methods we can use to connect with Indigenous Peoples, as they are the
original inhabitants of Canada.
One Question I Have About This Course:
● For assignments such as formal paragraphs, essays, and media projects, will we
have several days to work on them while also managing our daily tasks, or will we
only receive the project assignments the day before they are due?
A Difficult Past
1. Early Indigenous-Settler Relationships
- Indigenous peoples: embraced the arrival of European settlers with
openness (mutual sharing of the land with a new people)
- European settlers: imposed control (Indian Act, displacement,
suffering).
2. Causes and Consequences of Treaties
- Causes: Colonial policies: Residential schools, forced assimilation, land
stealing, ensurance of resources for Europeans, Doctrine of Discovery
- Consequences: Cultural genocide, intergenerational trauma, poverty,
loss of language
3. Ongoing Implications of the Indian Act
- Colonial policies replacing Indigenous traditions (e.g. band councils)
The Impact of Language
1. How does Rita Joe reclaim her identity and culture through the poem?
Rita Joe reclaims her identity through her poem by refusing to stay silent about happened to
her residential schools and what they took from her. She confronts those who caused the loss
of her language and uses her own language to do so to show that despite their efforts to erase
her language, it has lived on.
2. How does loss of language impact one’s identity?
Language is how people interact and communicate. Loss of language causes distance in
generations, usually between grandparents and grandchildren, since grandparents often
speak only the native language and the grandchildren speak only english or might be able to
speak the native language but in very broken sentences. Media from one’s native land is also
usually their native language and media is where you can learn about your culture even if
youre living abroad. When a person cannot even understand their own language and their
country’s media, they completely lose the ability to know and understand their culture.
The Art of Stories
Why is it important to look beyond the single story?
It is important to look beyond the single story because no one person or
people are accurately defined by a single story. We are all made of many
diverse stories that shape our identities. To reduce us to one single story is to
completely diminish the other equally important stories that also play a role.
Sometimes one of our stories provides context to another, but if we choose to
tell a single story, we also lose context.
The Song on Kinship
How does the group connect the ideas of culture, kinship, and resilience?
Snotty Nose Rez Kids connect ideas of culture, kinship, by turning hurtful
stereotypes into a source of power. Their song highlights how despite poor
treatment they have recieved over centuries, their bonds and culture have remained
and kept them resilient in the face of injustice . The group also emphasizes the need
for Indigenous peoples to continue sticking together as a community.
Satire
This cartoon uses ‘satire’ to mock the way that Indigenous
voices are never consulted in decisions about their own
land. The text in the bubble, “That’s odd, still no invitation
to discuss who owns my Arctic,” is heavily satirical and
sarcastic. It highlights the absurdity of settlers who barge
into a country that they don’t own, “discover” the original
inhabitants, and then make important decisions about the
land without even asking the Indigenous people. There is
tension created from the contrast between the cartoon’s
joke and the actually concerning message behind it. It
ridicules the colonial mindset by pretending to be
“surprised” about being excluded from the meeting.
My Homeland
Reconciliation
Why reconciliation is an important focus for us today.
Reconciliation is important for us to focus on today, so we can repair our
relationships with Indigenous peoples and attempt to compensate for what
occurred with them and is still affecting them today. It’s not just about
saying sorry but also about making a collective effort to listen to what they
have to say, to avoid generalizing and getting caught up in being an “ally.”
The Resilience in Stories
Explore the website Indigenous Storytellers and learn about three storytellers and explain how
their stories demonstrate resilience.
Anna Lambe - After having felt a lot of internalized racism and anger due to the negative
depictions of Indigenous people in media, Anna Lambe confronted her negative feelings and went
on to act in TV shows that beautifully represented Indigenous culture. Her story demonstrates
resilience because instead of cowering in fear due to judgment and prejudice she had faced, she
decided to team up with her community to properly represent Indigenous people in Grizzlies, and
she hopes to impact the Indigenous youth with the show.
Tracey Deer - After having her dreams in filmmaking almost crushed by the Oka crisis, Tracey was
resilient and chased her dreams. She was inspired by movies and the “emotional freedom” she felt
when watching them. She went on to use her inspiration to create beautiful representations of
Indigenous peoples through documentaries and TV shows.
Meegwun Fairbrother - Despite his being from an average background, Meegwun didn’t stop
himself from dreaming big. He developed a love for acting and stories in high school and went on
to use that love to represent Indigenous people in mainstream media.
The End
