Performance+Task

__**Performance Task - Unit One﻿﻿**__
//﻿You are a reporter for the Globe and Mail, your boss has asked you to run an exclusive story on the people and paradigms that existed at the time of European arrival to North America. The history of Canada is rarely told and it's high time that it got the attention that it deserves. Your editor is hoping that you can provide insight into these events as well as investigate their importance to modern day Canada.// //-A successful result will include your discussion and in-depth look at the people and paradigms that existed in Canada at the time of first contact. Include the following concepts: 1) A Collision of Peoples and Paradigms: The Arrival of the Europeans, 2) The People and the Land, 3) Decision Making in Colonial North America.// //You must demonstrate your understanding of how these events shaped Canada and helped build our __national identity__.//

**//Globe and Mail: Canadian History Special Edition//**
__**Editorial**__ Canada has not always been the way it is today - it took hundreds of years of changes to create the nation we have here. From first coming to this land, to having a Responsible government, was a huge change in how things were run. With these articles and editorials, we hope to show Canadians the true battles our ancestors had to fight to have the government structure they wanted, and how this government helped shape our national identity. Below consists of letters and journal entries of people living here during earlier times. They express the hopes, fears, and frustrations they had shaping this land, with a wide range of perspectives and thoughts about their country. These excerpts from their lives only scratch the surface of how they truly felt during this time.

__A Collision of Peoples and Paradigms: The Arrival of the Europeans __ During this time, there were many issues in Europe. Problems such as over-population meant people had trouble obtaining land. Europeans were also in a mood for exploration - they wanted to explore the world to go with their scientific discoveries and theories. They wanted to explore for three main reasons, which were new land, more resources, and new goods. Europe also possessed the technology to acquire those distant lands, they were advanced in navigation, weaponry, and ship-building, and these helpful advancements made them more capable to gain sovereignty over the people living in those lands.

Already living in these areas, though, were First Nations people. These tribes had evolved societies that had much different principles than Europeans. For an example, the Iroquois people didn't have a hierarchy, where hierarchies were popular in Europe. They also had a much different religion and lived much differently than Europeans - they were mainly nomadic, and believed in the Creator and believed they were one with the land.

The clash of these two peoples and their world views was what really set everything in motion,

__//Journals: A Collision of Peoples and Paradigms //__ Fall, 1643 Strange people came here today. They're the white man. Normally they do not wander far onto our territory, and they normally leave before winter, but my tribe has been helping them - giving them tools and furs and knowledge on how to survive the harsh winters here. I do not know why. We have lived fine without them before. They are only getting in the way of our hunting -- they are taking over our lands and not giving anything back to it. They kill for sport and they seem savage and unintelligent. They waste animal parts. I want them to leave soon. I fear they will only hurt my tribe and my family, but I should give them the benefit of the doubt. I hope they turn out to be good people, and keep to their word always.

April 6, 1644 I see now that the white people are helpful to us, too. They give us guns, blankets, and pretty goods from Europe in exchange for our help and furs. I hope to see our relationship with these men to grow and that we can help eachother advance far in our lives, but I also fear the tempers and their need for fighting and arguments. I hope that we can both exist peacefully.
 * Sammy Whitecalf **

September 8, 1644 This is week two that I've been in the settlement on the St. Lawrence river. I was sent here to gather resources and I had heard the fur trade was starting to become a wealthy business. Aside from that, I honestly wanted to come here, since I didn't have much land left in Europe from over-population and I was worried that I wouldn't have much of a future there, or much money. This seemed like a good alternative.

The natives are coming through this area soon for the third time since I arrived here, and this will be when our earlier discussions about trading will turn into true agreements. We'll give them blankets, weapons, and small luxuries like chocolate or sweets from Europe, and they'll give us fur, tools, pemmican, and anything else we come up with, and the same for them. This seems like an unfair trade to me, but at least we are the ones benefitting the most. They've also given us tips as to how to live through the winter, and they've been showing us trails across the land. Trying to communicate with these people is the most frustrating thing I have ever encountered in my life, since we only have one translator and many trades going on at once. French and the language they speak are very, very different.

I was told a story about how the First Nations helped some of my colleagues through the scurvy they had in the winter and showed us what berries to eat to cure future cases. They have truly been good people to us, and vital to our surival in this unbroken land. I hope that things will be better here than in Europe, and that I can create a home here for myself and my future family. I know it will be hard at first, but I pray things will get better over time. Building a house here will be difficult - cutting down enough trees to build a house is hard enough, but there is an abundance of land. I hope to have a little farm much like the one I owned back home.

//<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Andre Girard //
__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The People and the Land __ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">There were many differences between the Europeans and the First Nations people, but one of the largest was how they viewed the planet earth. First Nations people believed they were created from the earth and had a strong connection to the land. They farmed, hunted, and lived in this country well before Europeans set foot on it. They felt that the land belonged to everyone and you could not own it.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The land was also seen as a religious object - Mother Earth. Mother Earth was giver and sustainer of life, she could avert disaster, and they treated earth as if it was another living person. You could take from her, but you have to give back and give thanks for all you took.

__//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Journal: The People and the Land //__ Summer, date unknown Today we performed the sun dance -- the symbol to connect the earth and the heavens. We have danced for hours and today I was allowed to be a part of the group that killed the tree. The buffalo was again our choice, and we incorporated it into many aspects. It is our giver of life and what we use for our standard of life, so its head was placed on the top of the pole and it was used to give virility to the sun dancers. The Land was what gave us our buffalo, which is where we get many things -- tipis, clothing, weapons, tools, and food. We praise the sun and the earth for all it gives us. The Land is our home and we take a lot from it, although we always give back and give thanks to it for all it has done for us. I feel refreshed after this religious encounter and cannot wait to give my thanks to the Creator and the Land once again. Kiwidonok Whitehead

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Summer, 1689 <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I do no understand the native's fascination with land. They also do not understand that our land is our land and we have rights to privacy. They cannot just waltz into our settlements or fenced property without permission, yet we catch them hunting on our land every day! Land is something to OWN and SELL to make MONEY. Not to have natives running around on! We've settled here, therefore it is ours and we need not to share it. If I have to brave the harsh winters, I should have my own little patch of land to do so on. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Name unknown

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Decision Making in Colonial North America __ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Over hundreds of years, decision making processes in Canada were changed time after time. There was much debate over who would have the power to makes choices in Canada, and many forces, both internally and externally, influenced what happened in this country.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The changes, along with the influences and frustrations that caused change: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-- Seignorial System: French representatives handled everything <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-- Royal Proclamation of 1763: established a basis of government administration in North America. This was also an assimilation attempt by swamping French-Catholic population with English speaking Protestants. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-- Acts: Acts were put into place (mainly the Coercive Acts) that caused frustrations among the population <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-- American Revolution: tried to convince Canadians to become independent <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-- Constitutional Act: created Upper and Lower Canada <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-- New Government Structure: represented by a lieutenant governor, assisted by an executive council, a legislative council, and a house of assibly was appointed to every province. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-- Oligarchies: believed Canada should be run by the elite <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-- War of 1812: a war mainly between Britain and the United States. This brought on the Treaty of Ghent that ended fighting, and the Rush-Bagot Agreement that stettled the boundary between the United States and British North America. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-- Lord Durham's Report and Union Act of 1840: The two provinces were finally reunited again, and they each had 42 members in the new legislature.

__//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Journals: Decision Making in Colonial North America //__

July 17, 1814, //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The war is finally over, after two years of fighting. I'm glad we left America before more problems arose -- we left and came to Upper Canada just as the American Revolution was beginning. My land had been horribly vandalized, since I'm a Loyalist, and I wanted to keep my family safe. So, my family and I, along with many other Loyalists, fled to Upper Canada, and I'm glad we did. I see myself as part of Canada, now, no longer an American and I renounce all ties or relations to that mess of a country. I am loyal to Britain and I did not support the American's cause in the war at all. // Milford Richardson

//<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Continuation, April 1817: At least some good came of this whole ordeal. We finally have a defined country, which means Canada is safer from the American trying to take land, and it defines us as a real country, and not just vast land. We are finally our own place, and can no longer be accidentally mistaken for part of America. That, and no more fighting between countries. We can focus our efforts on other things, such as our government and the citizens, so this place flourishes. I can see myself having a great life here, me and my family, and I hope only to see things get better from here on out. //

//Article: Lord Durham's Report!: Outcomes! (excerpt from 1847 newspaper)// //Lord Durham was sent here to investigate the causes of all the rebellions that have been popping up all over the country, and to propose solutions. Durham had sent in his ideas for our country, and he had come up with a few different thoughts. First, he thought it would be beneficial to unite the provinces under one legislature. Second, he came up with the idea of "Rep by Pop". The British government has spoken, and we have our Responsible government! We now have a system where both Upper and Lower Canada have 42 members in the legislature, and we are both a part of the same legislature. Canada finally has its Responsible Government it has been waiting for. This country has finally begun to come together and be a unique nation - we can finally govern ourselves and speak for what we want in our lives.//

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Conclusion __ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The path to a good government and who has the decision making power in Canada has changed many times over hundreds of years. The national identity people have has turned from being a harsh land that can kill off a whole settlement, to something that has been tamed. We, as Canadians, have our own style of thinking and life, and we are proud of who we are and where we have come over these years. No one else can say they have been anything like us, to have braved the things we have to live here, thrive here, and have the sophisticated government we have here.