In today’s class we discussed the First Peoples and their relationships. We talked about their Leaders, Trade, Peace & Conflict & Haudenosaunee Confederacy/Grand Council.
Leaders:
They did not just pick randomly as they were picked through various different ways dependant on their ability in certain areas. For example, they needed excellent hunting skills and strong negotiation skills. They were also picked depending on their family ties. However, leaders could change very often depending on the season it may be, if whomever had the powerful community confidence and if they had a good standing in their communities status!
“A First Nations leader works with the people, rather than commanding or having power over them”.
Reference:
First Nation chiefs Traditional or Elected Roles and Responsibilities. Uploaded by; Indigenous Corporate Training INC, 2017. Available @: https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/first-nation-chiefs-traditional-or-elected-roles-and-responsibilities
Trade:
We learned that trade is what brought together several First Nation Groups together. They would trade things that were accessible to them and that they had a lot of in return for goods that they may not have enough of or at all. These trades included items such as, canoes, arrowheads, silica & obsidian. Trades were often turned into social events that could include rituals such as, marriages, military alliances & ceremonies. Did you know that, the Forks has been a trading site for over 6000 years !!!!!!
“The treaties and alliances between the Europeans and First Nations people in the 17th century show the mutual respect for each other's sovereignty, and recognize each other's right to maintain their own customs.”
Reference:
The Beginnings of the Fur Trade- First people of canada, uploaded by; anonymous, 2007. Available @; http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_furtrade/fp_furtrade2.html
Peace & Conflict:
The alliances and friendships benefited all the people. For example, we learned that the Nehiyewak & Nakota peoples, hunting territory overlapped so they work together. Also some formal confederacies were created amongst several groups. These people would get together to trade in summers, marry and to hunt. Also treaties were used to maintain peace !!! War was only used for a last resort.
Haudenosaunee Confederacy/Grand Council:
The Haudenosaunee was the earliest known peace treaty within the past 5 major Iroquois nations. This was established in 1142 and caused a stop to history of warfare alongside the Great Lakes Region. The Grand council had 50 chiefs who made the decisions and kept peace !!! As a matter of fact, the council still meets to this day!!!!!
I believe leaders in the First Nations community are not necessarily old people. Leaders are often the elders but this does mean age. A person who demonstrates wisdom, knowledge and is able to create a bond with others would be considered an elder. I agree with Blaze’s statement “needed excellent hunting skills and negotiation skills and picked according to family ties”. I believe that someone in the community would have been better at certain skills and would be admired by others.
ReplyDeleteI agree that First Nations groups would come together to trade supplies. This would be a form of survival that developed over time because of where these First Nation groups were located. The respect and trust between First Nations groups would help in this process. This was demonstrated when the Nehiyewak & Nakota peoples worked together while hunting.
On pg. 50 of our textbook it tells us that the Grand Council consisted of 50 chiefs representing the Nations of Confederacy. Their purpose was to vote on issues of peace, social and political disputes. This would be a difficult committee because there would be many opinions and disagreements. The First Nation culture is often to consult and think so this would take a long time. The textbook tells us that the Grand Council meets today this is a good thing for society. As all people should be happy and have peace no fighting.
BY: KEENAN