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Aboriginal Financial Management Educational Program

AFM On-line Courses
Aboriginal History & Developments [AFM 6]

Prerequisites: None

Course Description:         

This course is a survey of the history of Aboriginal Peoples. Because the breadth of the course is substantial, i.e., from pre-contact to the present, ten modules are insufficient to permit a comprehensive and detailed study of the chronological history of Aboriginal Peoples.  This course does enable a study of several significant periods in the political and economic history of Aboriginal Peoples sufficiently that one’s understanding of a general history of Aboriginal Peoples is enhanced.

This course is intended to provide students with an understanding of a range of events and issues that impacted Aboriginal Peoples, either positively or negatively from early contact with the Old World to the present. 

The cost for this course is:
Members: $535 (plus applicable taxes)
Non-members: $645 (plus applicable taxes)

For course start dates and to register, click on Register for courses.

Textbook Requirements:

Course

Textbook

ISBN

AFM 6: Aboriginal History & Developments

Sweet Promises: A Reader on Indian-White Relations in Canada

0-8020-5945-9

AFM 6: Aboriginal History & Developments

Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens: A History of Indian-White Relations in Canada 3rd Edition

0-8020-8153-3

Module One – Towards and Understanding of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Relations

Lesson One:  The Importance of Reflecting on History

Lesson Two:  A Framework for Reflecting on History:  A Cycle of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal Relations

Lesson Three:  Whose History Has Been Documented and Explored?

Lesson Four:  Is History Important and Why do we Study It?


Module Two – Pre-Contact – Before 1500

Lesson One:  A Survey of Tribal Societies and Nations and their Distribution in North America before contact, including the Arctic Inuit

Lesson Two:  A Review of the Distinguishing economic, political and social features of the Aboriginal People before contact

Lesson Three:  An Examination of selected Nations and their economic, political, and social structures: (Several nations will be selected, depending on easy access to references. They might include those listed here)

  • The Inuit
  • The Blackfoot
  • The Mi’kmaq
  • The Salish

 
Module Three – Contact:  The Fur Trade, Explorers and the Military

Lesson One:  The Impact of the Fur Trade on First Nations –

  • Why Did the Fur Trade emerge as a dominant economic activity in North America?
  • Understanding the role of the First Nations in the Fur Trade and their participation

Lesson Two:  European Exploration of the New World

  • An examination of the importance of exploration in North America
  • The impact of the European presence on First Nations and their political status
  • An appreciation of European dependency of First Nations
  • The emergence of the Mètis – who are they?

Lesson Three:  The Importance of European conflicts on First Nations

  • A review of European conflicts and their impacts in North America
  • Understanding the strategic importance of First Nations in the balance of power among the competing European nations
  • The importance of strategic alliances between First Nations and European powers

Lesson Four:  A Golden Age of European-First Nations relationships: 1650-1815

  • Assessing the role of First Nations between 1650-1815
  • Did a partnership between equals exist during this period?
  • An appreciation of the efforts Europeans expended to maintain alliances


Module Four – Treaties, Disease, and Declining Fortunes

Lesson One:  An Examination of Treaties:

  • Their purposes:
  • For Europeans
  • For FNs
  • Was the treaty process understood by FNs?

Lesson Two:  Examining the role of Disease on FNs:

  • What were the critical infectious diseases on FNs?
  • Why were FNs unable to maintain their health?
  • Understanding the effects of widespread disease on FNs
  • An assessment of the links between treaties and the onset of diseases

Lesson Three:  The Loss of Strategic Roles:

  • An appreciation of the dissolution of the importance of FNs as military allies
  • Assessing the War of 1812 as the final gasp of FNs strategic military importance
  • Understanding the impact on FNs of their lost strategic value
  • The significance of reserves and FNs’ declining fortunes

Lesson Four:  A New Beginning – Dependency:

  • An appreciation of the decline of FNs’ status
  • An understanding of the role of the military and the emergence of reserve communities


Module Five – Reserves and the Indian Agent: Wards of the State

Lesson One: The Importance of Farming and Agriculture in the New Relationship:

  • What challenges faced FNs to become farmers?
  • An appreciation of the legal and political impediments to wide-spread agriculture among FNs

Lesson Two:  The Role of the Indian Agent

  • Understanding the power and authority of the Indian Agent
  • Was the Indian Agent system created as a measure to ensure marginality of FNs?
  • The Indian Act and the Indian Agent – Insurmountable challenges

Lesson Three:  Residential Schools

  • An assessment of the objectives of the Residential School program
  • An appreciation of the impact of residential schools on the health and well-being of children
  • Did the Indian Agent and the Indian Act enhance the introduction of residential schools?

Lesson Four:  The Inuit (Eastern Arctic)

  • An appreciation of the emergence of permanent settlements for the Inuit
  • Compare the role of the RCMP amongst the Inuit and the Indian Agent amongst FNs.
  • Understanding the role of disease and residential schools among the Inuit

Lesson Five:  The Métis

  • The Political Emergence of the Mètis
  • The role of the Métis in western Canada


Module Six – Political Renaissance

Lesson One:  A Review of the 1969 White Paper:

  • An Assessment of the content of the White Paper
  • Understanding of its Intent and Purposes

Lesson Two:  FNs and Métis Responses:

  • Assess the various regional responses to the White Paper
  • Manitoba
  • Alberta
  • Ontario
  • Review the Métis response
  • Identify key potential changes to First Nations if White Paper had become legislation

Lesson Three:  The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline and the Berger Commission

  • An Appreciation of the Pipeline project and the Berger Commission
  • What did the Berger Commission offer to First Nations in the NWT?

Lesson Four:  Charlottetown and Meech Lake

  • An Assessment of the critical elements for Aboriginal people in the Charlottetown and Meech Lake Accords
  • Did the two Accords represent progress or that status quo for Aboriginal people?


Module Seven – The Growth of Aboriginal Political Organizations
 
Lesson One:  A Brief History of the Aboriginal Political Organizations

Lesson Two:  The Emergence of National Aboriginal Political Organizations:

  • The National Indian Brotherhood and The Assembly of First Nations
  • Métis and Non-Status Organizations
  • Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITC)

Lesson Three:  The Emergence of Regional Aboriginal Political Organizations:

  • First Nations regional organizations
  • Métis and Non-Status organizations
  • Inuit organizations

Lesson Four:  The Native Women’s Association of Canada

Lesson Five:  Other Key Organizations:

  • National Association of Friendship Centres
  • Cultural Education Centres


Module Eight – Towards Self-Government

Lesson One: An Assessment of several Self-Government Initiatives and Modern Treaties

  • The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA)
  • Sechelt and Westbank
  • COPE and the Inuvialiut Agreement

Lesson Two:  An Appreciation of several key court decisions:

  • Delgamuukw
  • Sparrow
  • Van der Peet
  • Powley 

Lesson Three:  New Legislation and Economic Self-Sufficiency:

  • An Understanding of the First Nations Land Management Act (FNLMA)
  • An Assessment of the First Nations Statistical and Fiscal Management Act (FSMA)

Lesson Four:  A Review of Aboriginal Economic Infrastructural Support:

  • Aboriginal Financial Managers Association (AFOA)
  • National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA)
  • Indian Taxation Advisory Board (ITAB)
  • Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK)


Module Nine – New Directions

Lesson One:  The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP):

  • Understanding the connection between the Oka Crisis and RCAP
  • Assessing RCAP’s legacy
  • RCAP:  Has it made a Difference?

Lesson Two:  New Governments:

  • Understanding the importance of the 2000 Nisga’a Agreement
  • Assessing the Nisga’a Agreement
  • Does the creation of Nunavut in 1999 signal a new beginning?

Lesson Three:  The Residential School Resolution:

  • An assessment of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation
  • A Review of  “The Apologies”
  • Understanding the Legacy of Residential Schools

Lesson Four:  Demographics Don’t Lie:

  • Understanding the role of population growth for Aboriginal people
  • Aboriginal Youth:  Opportunity or Status Quo?
  • Aboriginal Seniors:  We can’t all be Elders


Module Ten – New Developments

Lesson One: New Economic Initiatives:

  • Assessing the importance of new economic developments:
  • Fish Farms
  • Eco-Tourism
  • Co-Economic projects
  • Tourism
  • Green initiatives

Lesson Two: Urban Reserves:

  • Reviewing the emergence of urban reserves
  • Assessing their economic potential for FNs
  • Urban reserves vs urban challenges

Lesson Three:  New Directions-Same Social Problems:

  • Review selected social challenges:
  • Family violence
  • Drug and Alcohol abuse
  • Poverty
  • Capacity and Education
  • Can chronic social challenges be met through economic success?

Lesson Four:  The Next Generation:

  • Assessing the emergence of an Aboriginal middle class
  • An appreciation of a new Aboriginal Economic Order
  • The Road Ahead


AFM 6 Grading Structure:

AFM 6 will include two assignments, two tests and one final exam that will scheduled during the course.  A candidate’s final grade will be based on a total score from all of the above.  The value of each of the requirements is:

Participation/Discussion Questions         20%

Assignment #1                                        15%
Assignment #2                                        15%

Test #1                                                   15%
Test #2                                                   15%

Final Exam – 25 marks                           20%

Total                                                     100%