Aboriginal Spirituality Test

Question 1

What does indigenous mean?

Answer 1

Originating naturally in a region (born in a region)

Question 2

What does wampum mean?

Answer 2

A belt of colored beads used to confirm a treaty

Question 3

What does Inuit mean?

Answer 3

The people

Question 4

What are the 6 distinct cultural groups of aboriginal culture?

Answer 4

The Subarctic

The Arctic

The Plateau

The Northwest Pacific Coast

The Great Plains

The Northeast Woodlands

Question 5

What is the subarctic? (2)

Answer 5

Runs all across Canada from northern BC to Northern Quebec

Nomadic hunters of deer and caribou

Question 6

What is the Arctic? (2)

Answer 6

Inuit live in a region above the tree line that is snow covered for 8 months of the year

Depended on seal for food, heat (oil) and clothing (skin)

Question 7

What is the Plateau? (2)

Answer 7

Lived in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains

Nomadic hunters of elk, bear and caribou

Question 8

What is the Northwest Pacific Coast? (3)

Answer 8

Depended on the sea, harpooned whale and trapped salmon

Used cedar to make houses and canoes

Carved totem poles

Question 9

What is the Great Plains? (3)

Answer 9

Depended on the buffalo

Nomadic hunters

Used all parts of the buffalo

Question 10

What is the Northeast Woodlands? (3)

Answer 10

Lived in long houses

farmed corn, squash and beans (three sisters

Iroquois and Algonquin nations a part of this group

Question 11

What are totem poles?

Answer 11

Carved long poles often in the forms of an animal that is associated with a cultural group or nation

Totems are protective entities like a plant animal or mythological being connected to a clan

Question 12

What is animism?

Answer 12

All things human and non-human have spirits or souls, and that the person/animal lives on after death through the presence of that spirit

Question 13

What do most aboriginals believe in?

Answer 13

A supreme creator

Question 14

What else is power in the universe given to?

Answer 14

Other personified spirits who guide human activity (Inuit call sea “Sea Woman”, Iroquois call sky “Sky Woman”)

Question 15

What are creation stories?

Answer 15

Often told orally; offer a response to questions of existence, such as where we come from, why certain things in the environment are the way they are, and where we go when we die

Question 16

What is reincarnation?

Answer 16

The belief in the rebirth of the soul in a new body or farm

Many aboriginal legends speak about reincarnation

Question 17

What do the Iroquois believe about souls? (2)

Answer 17

Believe souls can re-enter man-made objects like a spear or fishing net. Some believe souls inhabit the stars of the Milky Way

Question 18

How do Inuit pay respect to the souls of seals they’ve killed?

Answer 18

They give it a drink of water so that it’s spirit can return to the sea

Question 19

What is the morning dance? (4)

Answer 19

Also known as Wabeno

Every spring the Ojibwa pay homage to the “tree of the universe”

They fast and cleanse themselves then the male elder plays a drum and leads the dance around a selected tree

each dancer touches the trunk to give thanks

Question 20

What is the Sun Dance? (4)

Answer 20

Ceremony that identifies the circle as an important symbol and acknowledges the sun as a giver of life

They dance around the “tree of the universe” and pay homage to the suns life giving powers

Some dancers embed sharp wooden hooks into their chest and as they dance they pull back on the hooks and tear their own flesh as an offer of sacrifice to the creator

The resulting scars bear witness to their faith

Question 21

What is a shaman?

Answer 21

A spiritual leader

Question 22

What are sachems?

Answer 22

Clan chiefs

Question 23

What is a sweat lodge? (5)

Answer 23

Common amount Great Plains nations

Renews the soul and helps regain focus

Under direction of a shaman, participants make a sauna like dome, animal skins and cedar making it air tight

Heated stones are placed in the center and water is sprinkled on the stones. The extreme heat causes them to perspire profusely cleansing them spiritually and physically

Prayers and scared pipes are shared

Question 24

What is the shaking tent? (2)

Answer 24

Ceremony that takes place at night, which allows communications between shaman and the supernatural world

The shaman asks the spirits to solve problems such as finding a missing person, talking to a deceased relative or predicting the outcome of an event

Question 25

What is a vision quest? (4)

Answer 25

A coming of age ceremony common to most aboriginals

Seeker is first purified in a sweat lodge, which involves confession, then the youth goes to a place far from camp and prays

They fast from water and food, and endures the elements for days while awaiting a vision

Seeker hopes to receive a message from a guardian spirit who may be an animal, object or other natural form. The shaman helps interpret the message

Question 26

How are prayers and stories passed down?

Answer 26

Prayers are passed from generation to generation by the telling and retelling of events

Elders and shamans memorize the stories

Question 27

What is oracy?

Answer 27

The ability to communicate their stories and lessons by speaking fluently, listening and understanding

Question 28

Briefly describe aboriginals and the justice system.

Answer 28

Residential schools traumatized aboriginals causing them to act out at the government and resulting in them being put in jail. They were also left in poverty so arresting them was “cleaning up”.

Aboriginals were treats badly in the justice system, being put in jail more easily, less chance of bail, less attention from lawyers, less likely to be hired, etc

We’re trying to fix things by giving them free education and keeping the conversation going but aboriginals are still going to jail

Question 29

Describe Inuit culture. (7)

Answer 29

All objects and living things have a spirit

Found in Arctic, Northwest Territories, Labrador and Quebec

Travelled using kayaks and bigger boats called Umiaq on water

Ate whales, walruses, seals, caribou, fish and other animals they hunted

Had to dress in thick warm clothing

Inuit language is a huge part of their tradition

Elders taught the young various skills

Question 30

describe confederation and its effect on First Nations. (5)

Answer 30

• before confederation, there were peace and friendship treaties which showed that there was agreements that allowed them to live in coexistence
• confederation brought separation as First Nations weren’t included and were forced onto reserves
• federal Indian act (1876) controlled most aspects of aboriginal life and forced into residential schools
• when Newfoundland and Labrador entered confederation, aboriginals weren’t even considered therefor didn’t have access to any resources as they didn’t have a status
• Relationship today has improved but is still troublesome

Question 31

Describe the first contact aboriginals and Europeans had. (5)

Answer 31

Jacques Cartier met them in 1534

Europeans thought the land was completely empty but the First Nations were there. The First Nations welcomed them and thought they were gaining a new ally

The families of the Europeans began to come to Canada as well as Europe was undergoing various wars and diseases, which they brought with them to Canada

First Nations were infected by the diseases and the population declined 50-80%

When the Europeans no longer relied on the aboriginals for navigation or survival, they distanced themselves and decided to get rid of the aboriginals

Question 32

What is the Oka Crisis? (6)

Answer 32

• Mohawks trying to get land rights
• government built a golf course on Kanesatake reserve and wanted to expand it over the Mohawk burial ground
• Mohawks protested this and constructed a barricade which resulted in police being called. They used tear gas and grenades but the Mohawks fought back. 30 Mohawks grew to 600.
• barricade expanded and strung with barbed wire. Other Mohawk villages aided in this
• other Canadians held protests in support and stoned near 75 cars
• federal government purchased land to stop development after 78 days which was seen as a victory for Mohawks as it brought attention to native people and made them feel stronger and prouder

Question 33

Describe residential schools. (4)

Answer 33

• children were removed from their homes and placed far from their communities in boarding schools run by catholic, Anglican and united religions
• they were forced to forget their culture. They couldn’t contact relatives, speak their native language, practice their culture or do anything that wasn’t Christian
• consequences included physical, sexual and mental abuse
• The last residential school closed in 1996, not too long ago, and it’s estimated that around 150,000 aboriginal children were forced into residential schools