lOMoAR cPSD| 62301842
NS 201 MIDTERM 1: INDEGENOUS PEOPLES, STORYTELLING, AND
FUR TRADE | VERIFIED STUDY SET | 2026 STUDY UPDATES |
100% CORRECT
Module 1
Classification and naming of Indigenous peoples has been a key tactic used in colonization
Three groups of Aboriginal people are recognized by the Canadian Constitution
1. Indian (preferably called First Nations)
2. Metis
3. Inuit
- Aboriginal, Indigenous, and Native are interchangeable terms – but certain terms may be
applied within specific contexts (i.e., the term Aboriginal is appropriate in the context of
constitutional rights)
Canada is in the Northern Hemisphere and inhabited for over 40,00 years by Indigenous
- Covers almost 10 million square kilometers
- Second largest country by area in the world
- Estimate of 6 million Indigenous people (population was ranging from 1.2 to 2 million)
Two types of Indigenous storytelling
1. Personal stories
- Include observations, accounts of places and experiences
- Evolves over time and is based on the needs and relevancy to the population
2. Creation or teaching stories (sometimes called myths or legends)
- Many of these stories are spiritual in nature and remain unchanged over time
Turtle Island Story
1. Sky Woman
- Lived in the sky world and fell through a hole in the sky
- Animals helped her land safely on turtle’s back
- Earth at that time was all water - Searched for Earth (dirt/soil)
- Needed just a handful of earth to create land
- Asked water animals to dive for it – beaver, otter and muskrat
, lOMoAR cPSD| 62301842
2. Beaver
- Strong swimmer and tried diving deep, but couldn't reach the bottom
- Eventually returned to rest on the turtle’s back from exhaustion
3. Otter
- Sleek swimmer and confident
- Dove deep but also ran out of air > returned unsuccessful
4. Muskrat
- Small and unsure of his strength, but was encouraged by Sky Woman
- Swam deep and nearly out of air
- Managed to successfully grab a few grains of earth before surfacing for help
- Sky woman used her magical power and blew on the grains > earth began to grow on
turtle’s back
Stories hold a lot of power
- Can elicit strong emotions from humans
- Make us cry, laugh, feel anger, relief, empathy and love
- Outsiders tend to see these stories as legends function, folklore myths or fairy tales
- For Indigenous people, these stories function in essential and thoughtful ways
Indigenous stories work to instruct and educate on how to behave properly
- Can act as guides for how to live and engage with the world
- Each nation has a creation story and its own distinct oral tradition
Four general components of storytelling for Indigenous people
1. Stories connect the past to the present into future generations
- I.e., Wisacejac creation story
- Stories are gifts to be shared and handed down generation to generation
2. While the sacred stories may not have changed, the personal everyday stories do change
- They integrate new information and new knowledge
- May evolve with changing surroundings, food source, supply in movement,
landscape reconfiguration and new encounters with foreign populations
- Change and evolve based on the needs of the population
3. While stories may sometimes be entertaining, there are also messages instructing people
how to live and behave
- Operates as a moral guide and socializing mechanism
, lOMoAR cPSD| 62301842
- Teaches the next generation how to behave and reinforce roles and responsibilities
- I.e., the Muskrat;s heroic action of diving for Earth demonstrates perseverance
and courage in the Wisacejac story
4. Include a specific geographical boundaries
- Rivers, lakes and mountains to define the territorial lines
- I.e., some Wisacejac story features the traditional territories of the Nehiyawak
- Stories have power and they embody complex worldviews associated with
Indigenous culture (i.e., Nehiyawak/Cree storytellers only tell the Wisacejac story
in the winter time)
- Is safer to tell certain stories when many creatures and spirits hibernate and sleep
in the winter (mentioning Wisacejac’s name in the summer is asking for trouble)
Indigenous ways of knowing are based on the idea that individuals are trained to understand their
environment land, according to teachings found in stories
The collective experience is made up of thousands of individual experiences (directly from the
land and help shape the codes of conduct for Indigenous societies)
- A key principle is to live in balance and maintain peaceful internal and external
relations
- Linked to the understanding that we are all connected to each other
- The hierarchical structure of Western worldviews that places humans on the top of
the pyramid does not exist
- The interdependence with all things promotes a sense of responsibility and
accountability – greater complexities and rich diversities within each nation in
Indigenous worldviews
Four different worldviews
1. Inuit
2. Nehiyawak
3. Kanyen’keha:ka or Mohawk
4. Tlingit
- Their unique worldviews are often reflected by the land and territory that they
occupy
- Commonalities between these Indigenous nations is that…
- Indigenous worldviews often have the philosophy of interconnectedness and
belonging (understanding that we are all related, and to all life on Earth)
, lOMoAR cPSD| 62301842
- The phrase “all my relations” – relies on a respect for all living things
- The governing principles of peace and harmony are highly valued, and each
person is expected to have accountability for their actions and words - There
is a unity through collaboration
- Group becomes accountable for each of their actions
- Each child, youth, adult and elder has a role and a responsibility to each other and
to the community, ensuring there is peace and harmony
- There is a distinct relationship with the land extending to environmental
stewardship (based on the belief that land is the heart of creation)
- The idea that land is a commodity to be exploited or owned could not be
conceived – land is only borrowed from future generations
Inuit Worldview
- Northern region of the globe
- The term Qaujimajatuqangit (or IQ) is used to explain Inuit philosophies and
worldview
- Means that which Inuit have always known to be true
- Nunavut government has adopted this wording to describe Inuit worldview
- Important to realize that the Inuit occupies a large span of the circumpolar north,
circumstances which necessitate variations in the culture
- Four Inuit region (called Nunangat)
1. Inuvialuit settlement region
2. Nunavut
3. Nunatsiavut
4. Nunavik
- An arctic environment with vast shelves of seasonal ice and marine waters
- A traditional homeland territory that includes sea ice and other marine water is vital to
Inuit worldviews
- Rely heavily upon on each other for survival (because of the harsh Arctic climate)
- Each person had value and contributed to the community
- This reliance established codes of ethics and behaviours (Maligait)
- Maligait has many meanings and translations, but to Inuit people it means, ‘things that
had to be done’ – includes four main principles
1. Work for the common good
2. Respect all living things
NS 201 MIDTERM 1: INDEGENOUS PEOPLES, STORYTELLING, AND
FUR TRADE | VERIFIED STUDY SET | 2026 STUDY UPDATES |
100% CORRECT
Module 1
Classification and naming of Indigenous peoples has been a key tactic used in colonization
Three groups of Aboriginal people are recognized by the Canadian Constitution
1. Indian (preferably called First Nations)
2. Metis
3. Inuit
- Aboriginal, Indigenous, and Native are interchangeable terms – but certain terms may be
applied within specific contexts (i.e., the term Aboriginal is appropriate in the context of
constitutional rights)
Canada is in the Northern Hemisphere and inhabited for over 40,00 years by Indigenous
- Covers almost 10 million square kilometers
- Second largest country by area in the world
- Estimate of 6 million Indigenous people (population was ranging from 1.2 to 2 million)
Two types of Indigenous storytelling
1. Personal stories
- Include observations, accounts of places and experiences
- Evolves over time and is based on the needs and relevancy to the population
2. Creation or teaching stories (sometimes called myths or legends)
- Many of these stories are spiritual in nature and remain unchanged over time
Turtle Island Story
1. Sky Woman
- Lived in the sky world and fell through a hole in the sky
- Animals helped her land safely on turtle’s back
- Earth at that time was all water - Searched for Earth (dirt/soil)
- Needed just a handful of earth to create land
- Asked water animals to dive for it – beaver, otter and muskrat
, lOMoAR cPSD| 62301842
2. Beaver
- Strong swimmer and tried diving deep, but couldn't reach the bottom
- Eventually returned to rest on the turtle’s back from exhaustion
3. Otter
- Sleek swimmer and confident
- Dove deep but also ran out of air > returned unsuccessful
4. Muskrat
- Small and unsure of his strength, but was encouraged by Sky Woman
- Swam deep and nearly out of air
- Managed to successfully grab a few grains of earth before surfacing for help
- Sky woman used her magical power and blew on the grains > earth began to grow on
turtle’s back
Stories hold a lot of power
- Can elicit strong emotions from humans
- Make us cry, laugh, feel anger, relief, empathy and love
- Outsiders tend to see these stories as legends function, folklore myths or fairy tales
- For Indigenous people, these stories function in essential and thoughtful ways
Indigenous stories work to instruct and educate on how to behave properly
- Can act as guides for how to live and engage with the world
- Each nation has a creation story and its own distinct oral tradition
Four general components of storytelling for Indigenous people
1. Stories connect the past to the present into future generations
- I.e., Wisacejac creation story
- Stories are gifts to be shared and handed down generation to generation
2. While the sacred stories may not have changed, the personal everyday stories do change
- They integrate new information and new knowledge
- May evolve with changing surroundings, food source, supply in movement,
landscape reconfiguration and new encounters with foreign populations
- Change and evolve based on the needs of the population
3. While stories may sometimes be entertaining, there are also messages instructing people
how to live and behave
- Operates as a moral guide and socializing mechanism
, lOMoAR cPSD| 62301842
- Teaches the next generation how to behave and reinforce roles and responsibilities
- I.e., the Muskrat;s heroic action of diving for Earth demonstrates perseverance
and courage in the Wisacejac story
4. Include a specific geographical boundaries
- Rivers, lakes and mountains to define the territorial lines
- I.e., some Wisacejac story features the traditional territories of the Nehiyawak
- Stories have power and they embody complex worldviews associated with
Indigenous culture (i.e., Nehiyawak/Cree storytellers only tell the Wisacejac story
in the winter time)
- Is safer to tell certain stories when many creatures and spirits hibernate and sleep
in the winter (mentioning Wisacejac’s name in the summer is asking for trouble)
Indigenous ways of knowing are based on the idea that individuals are trained to understand their
environment land, according to teachings found in stories
The collective experience is made up of thousands of individual experiences (directly from the
land and help shape the codes of conduct for Indigenous societies)
- A key principle is to live in balance and maintain peaceful internal and external
relations
- Linked to the understanding that we are all connected to each other
- The hierarchical structure of Western worldviews that places humans on the top of
the pyramid does not exist
- The interdependence with all things promotes a sense of responsibility and
accountability – greater complexities and rich diversities within each nation in
Indigenous worldviews
Four different worldviews
1. Inuit
2. Nehiyawak
3. Kanyen’keha:ka or Mohawk
4. Tlingit
- Their unique worldviews are often reflected by the land and territory that they
occupy
- Commonalities between these Indigenous nations is that…
- Indigenous worldviews often have the philosophy of interconnectedness and
belonging (understanding that we are all related, and to all life on Earth)
, lOMoAR cPSD| 62301842
- The phrase “all my relations” – relies on a respect for all living things
- The governing principles of peace and harmony are highly valued, and each
person is expected to have accountability for their actions and words - There
is a unity through collaboration
- Group becomes accountable for each of their actions
- Each child, youth, adult and elder has a role and a responsibility to each other and
to the community, ensuring there is peace and harmony
- There is a distinct relationship with the land extending to environmental
stewardship (based on the belief that land is the heart of creation)
- The idea that land is a commodity to be exploited or owned could not be
conceived – land is only borrowed from future generations
Inuit Worldview
- Northern region of the globe
- The term Qaujimajatuqangit (or IQ) is used to explain Inuit philosophies and
worldview
- Means that which Inuit have always known to be true
- Nunavut government has adopted this wording to describe Inuit worldview
- Important to realize that the Inuit occupies a large span of the circumpolar north,
circumstances which necessitate variations in the culture
- Four Inuit region (called Nunangat)
1. Inuvialuit settlement region
2. Nunavut
3. Nunatsiavut
4. Nunavik
- An arctic environment with vast shelves of seasonal ice and marine waters
- A traditional homeland territory that includes sea ice and other marine water is vital to
Inuit worldviews
- Rely heavily upon on each other for survival (because of the harsh Arctic climate)
- Each person had value and contributed to the community
- This reliance established codes of ethics and behaviours (Maligait)
- Maligait has many meanings and translations, but to Inuit people it means, ‘things that
had to be done’ – includes four main principles
1. Work for the common good
2. Respect all living things
