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AFM 6 - Aboriginal History & Developments

This course examines the current issues, developments and concepts affecting Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Through this course you will be able to gain a deeper understanding of the essential knowledge and values required to work effectively within an Aboriginal context. It covers the following subjects:

• Historical and contemporary relationships
• Aboriginal People and communities
• Ethical standards and spirituality
• Organizational structures and stakeholders
• Decision-making and accountability
• Social Interactions
• Economic Activity

The cost for this course is:
Members: $650 (plus GST)
Non-members: $760 (plus GST)

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

Course Description

This course examines the current issues, developments and concepts affecting Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Through this course you will be able to gain a deeper understanding of the essential knowledge and values required to work effectively within an Aboriginal context.

It would be impossible to make sense of the current issues and developments in Aboriginal communities without an understanding of the history of these communities and their relationships with the state. This course is designed to give you the opportunity to expand your knowledge of: the history of relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal societies, and their institutions; current issues, both within Aboriginal communities and with regard to the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal societies and governments; and the unique context of these histories, and current realities and initiatives, considering Aboriginal culture.

Given the great diversity in Aboriginal cultures within Canada, their diverse histories and the current paths to self-determination, it would be impossible to consider all of these diverse aspects within one course. What is offered instead is an overview of the commonalities with regards to shared histories and common core aspects of Aboriginal cultures. An attempt is made to include a wide variety of perspectives. The information offered throughout this course is based on generally accepted understandings by Aboriginal leaders and non-Aboriginal peoples, working in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples, of the course topics.

Take time to reflect on the information offered throughout this course and on its meaning with regard to your own and your community’s unique history and culture. A deeper understanding of these histories, cultures, and current initiatives will help financial officers better fulfill their roles within their Aboriginal community and organization.

Course Learning Objectives

Upon completing this course, you will be able to:

Toward an Understanding of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal Relations in Canada

• reflect on the importance of considering history when attempting to more deeply understand current realities; when developing visions of the future; as well as when thinking about the path needed to reach our visions;
• understand the importance of looking at history within a framework which considers not only events, but the thinking behind the actions and events, and includes Aboriginal peoples as active participants (not as passive victims);
• gain insight into the different approaches to history taken by Aboriginal and Western cultures; to provide context for discussion of current thinking concerning policies affecting the relationships within Aboriginal communities, and between Aboriginal communities and the state;
• gain a theoretical understanding of social policies and the processes of their development;
• gain an understanding of how social policies and practices define the structures, relations, values and dynamics of social groups’ ways of life;
• gain an understanding of a conceptual model of social policies as a first step in becoming competent in using this model to analyze the historic and contemporary policies which have had an impact on the internal and external relations of Aboriginal communities.

Phase 1 - The Pre-Contact Era

• become aware of historic population levels and how they compare to current population levels of Aboriginal peoples;
• gain an understanding of Aboriginal culture, traditions and values through an examination of pre-contact community life, social practices and institutions.

Phase 2 - Contact and Cooperation; Cross-Cultural Coexistence 

• gain an understanding of the early policies developed by the two cultures to maintain cooperation and decrease conflict;
• gain an understanding of traditional Aboriginal community structures, functioning and relationships through an examination of early treaty-making processes;
• consider the meaning and intent of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 as a policy for defining cross-cultural relations with the state.
• consider the experience and reality of your own community during these early phases of contact.

Phase 3 - Active Internal Colonialism; Displacement and Assimilation

• understand how the cross-cultural relationship moved from one of general cooperation and respect to one of oppression by the colonial state;
• gain an understanding of the goals, objectives, and thinking of the colonial state as it embarked on its “nation-building” project;
• gain an understanding of the strategies and tactics (implemented through social policies) of the colonial state as it attempted to deal with Aboriginal peoples;
• gain an understanding of the key social policies used by the colonial state (which continue to impact on contemporary Aboriginal community life): the Indian Act; residential schools; and community relocation;
• consider how the culture, values and thinking of the Euro-Canadian peoples impacted on and changed traditional Aboriginal treaty-making practices and intent, and resulted in non-fulfillment of the treaties by the colonizing group;
• deepen your knowledge of the inter-relationships among traditional Aboriginal cultures and values, through an examination of how and why Aboriginal peoples resisted colonial policies during this era;
• gain an understanding of the unique history and developments of Metis people during this phase of history;
• deepen your understanding of your own community’s experience during this era.

Phase 4 – Contemporary Relations; Conflict and Crisis versus Negotiation and Renewal

• gain an understanding of the factors (local, national and global) leading up to both the development of contemporary Aboriginal peoples movements, and the opening up of mainstream political and social realms to these movements;
• gain an understanding of the framework within which the Canadian government currently addresses the concerns of Aboriginal peoples - the thinking behind the approaches;
• gain an understanding of the state’s policies, policy making processes and practices currently being relied upon to address long standing disputes with Aboriginal peoples;
• gain an understanding of some of the structural, cultural, and ideological barriers to resolving disputes between Aboriginal peoples and the state.

The Impact of the Colonial Relationship

•  gain an understanding of the impact of colonial policies through an examination and analysis of current demographic and socio-economic data relating to Aboriginal peoples;
• gain a deeper understanding of the impact of colonial policies through consideration of a “theory of internal/internalized colonialism”;
• use the “theory of internal/internalized colonialism” to understand: at the macro level, the historic oppressive relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the state; at the micro level, the problems faced by Native individuals as they interact within their communities, with their community institutions, and with mainstream society; and on the personal level, the impact of a history of colonial actions on the identity of many self-identified Aboriginal individuals;
• think about the important issues in your own community which are a result of colonial policies.

An Aboriginal Response to Government Policy - Aboriginal Organizations

• gain an understanding of the deep tradition of political organizing within Aboriginal communities, and of the history of resistance to colonial action;
• gain an understanding of the history of development of Aboriginal organizations;
• gain an understanding of the different types, goals, political activities and issues surrounding contemporary Aboriginal organizations;
• gain an understanding of some of the strengths, weaknesses, barriers and opportunities of Aboriginal organizations as social movements.

Self Determination - The Goal

• gain an understanding of the development and meaning of the ideology of self-determination;
• gain further understanding of traditional Aboriginal culture and values through an examination of the historical development of the expression of self-determination as a goal;
• gain an understanding of other concepts often part of discussions concerning self-determination: self-government, sovereignty, autonomy, and Aboriginal rights;
• gain an understanding of the different thinking, approaches and means of achieving self-determination currently being proposed or used by Aboriginal communities and organizations;
• gain an understanding of the approaches - and thinking behind the approaches - taken by the Canadian government to address self-determination concerns;
• think about the self-government pathway that your own community is on/or considering taking.

 
The “Big” Study – The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

• gain an understanding of the vision, mandate and approach of RCAP;
• increase your knowledge of the scope and content of RCAP;
• become aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach, analysis and recommendations of RCAP and its report.

Contemporary Issues and New Directions in Social Policy

• become aware of the diversity of perspectives currently being voiced in Aboriginal communities;
• become aware of some of the more recent approaches to social policies addressing Aboriginal concerns in a variety of realms of Aboriginal community life;
• think about the perspectives and approaches of importance to your own community in terms of those of other Aboriginal communities across Canada.

Information on how Course is completed and graded

The course material is broken down into ten lessons. Within each lesson, specific learning objectives as noted in the previous section are listed. Directions are provided to guide you through the readings, lesson notes, other references, and work to be completed.

This course consists of ten lessons that run over a 14-week period. Although a suggested schedule follows, we urge you to make up your own schedule, paying close attention to assignment due dates. These will be confirmed at the start of the course. It is recommended that you complete one lesson a week. Be sure to allow yourself ample time to complete your assignments

Course Assignments and Grading 

You will be evaluated in this course as follows:

Participation                         20%

Assignment 1                       30%       

Assignment 2                       50%

Participation

Participation accounts for 20% of the course grade, and has various elements: Group Discussion Participation, Web Searches, and sharing of practices and tools. If you want full marks for participation and the enriched learning experience which this brings you should do the following:

• provide a quality response to each discussion question;
• inquire, share information, comment, or challenge the responses of at least one other student per question; and
• complete the web searches and information sharing as required.

The mark for participation is determined on the day the final assignment is due.