In our grade 11 History course, the topic of Leaders came up
when talking about the First Peoples. As we learned about the ways of the First
Peoples, I couldn't help but notice how similar their societies functioned to
ours (in the sense of "government" or "leadership"). In
Canada, we have what is called a democracy. We as people, have a lot of
freedoms in speech and are free to speak our opinions. Different areas also
happen to have personal representatives, chosen by voting. Although our country
does happen to be represented by one person (prime minister), it doesn't
necessarily mean that we are controlled.
The First Peoples also happened to
have someone to represent their groups. This person was elected through various
ways, but often in a group decision. In order to be a leader nowadays, you have
to have something to offer. It’s more than just randomized choosing. This was
the same back when the First Peoples were around too. Things like family ties,
area, physical abilities, and other things played a role in who would be
appointed to be the leader. We look for different things in a leader, but the
idea if having some type of plan or direction for the group remains the same.
We as people try to find someone who will benefit everyone. Not only that, but
we look for someone to represent us in a good way. Things like gender roles
have no real meaning back when the First Peoples were still around. In our
communities and work places, gender roles aren't a big deal (anymore). The
whole idea of government and working together for the people's benefits happens
to also be a similarity.
Both we as
people now and back then focused hard on making sure that everything stayed in
working order and that everyone was happy. In both people, the majority of
decisions are/were made in the hopes of bettering both the community and the
people who live in it. To be important in the community back then, you had to
be smart. The same idea applies now. There are certain qualifications as to who
gets chosen to represent the peoples. Which happens to be very smart if you
think about it; it shows that the First Peoples and our societies are alike in
a good way. Governing a town or city is quite difficult and stressful, as would
governing a colony or group of people. The person in charge would have a lot of
responsibilities. This didn’t change over time ether, because our government is
very important nowadays and are needed for decision making. Without a type of
government or system, both peoples would have struggled greatly to strive.
Things like when to hunt, who hunts, where they hunt, what animal to hunt, etc...
Are the types of decisions that the leader of the group may have had to make. For
our society it would be things like: making/enforcing laws, politics, taxes,
etc… Both peoples had a very organized system, and everyone is open to helping.
When I hear leaders I think of the government as well. I think of this for the same reasons you do. You have to meet a certain standard to become a Prime Minister (or any government official for that matter). The standards to become a government leader include a certain degree, honorable (to keep promises), have to be an adult, and you have to be elected. When it is election time there is no rubric that says that "you have to vote for your Prime Minister based on this..." but there are a few unwritten characteristics that people go over in their heads before they go up to the ballot and lock in there vote. Does he/she engage citizens, making them feel that they have a voice? Is he/she responsible? What is his/her reasoning for wanting to become a leader? What are the things the he/she wants to change about our country, and what things are going to stay the same? Does he/she have good relationships with the other government leaders? If you go to this link you will see a picture of an aboriginal man voting http://www.communitynewscommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/AlexJacobs2-2.jpg
ReplyDeleteIf you were a leader for the First Peoples it did not matter if you had a degree in something, or how old you were. Men and women were allowed to be a leader if they were considered member in their tribe. If you were a leader there would not be an official party/celebration of becoming a leader. IT was just something that happened naturally. Kind of like that one smart kid in the class that everyone goes to for help. There is no smart kid that everyone gets help from celebration, just like there is no leader celebration.