We Stand Together Fact #3

Here is one perspective on deep Canadian history, brought to us by Free the Children's "We Stand Together" campaign. (I have heard some Indigenous voices push back against the "Bering Straight Theory".) -- Sheena

Hi Sheena,   Thanks for choosing to stand together! Here is Daily Fact #3:   Inuit culture and history in North America dates back over 8500 years. Share this fact to educate others, then join the discussion on Facebook or on Twitter (@FreeTheChildrenand @MAboriginalEdu) using #westandtogether. At the end of the campaign, create your own Daily Fact and share it with Free The Children and MAEI here. Remember, there are also issues backgrounders, lesson plans and other great resources on the We Stand Together Resources webpage! People have lived in the arctic region of North America for thousands of years. Roughly 8,500 years ago, small settlements dotted the coast of the Bering land bridge. This stretch of land connected Asia and North America. As these communities grew, they travelled eastward, reaching as far as northern Greenland. The ancestors of today’s Inuit People were known as “Thule,” who originated in north-western Alaska 1,100 years ago. As they migrated across Canada over the following centuries, they replaced the region’s previous inhabitants, the Dorset people. Parts of the language, culture and even biology of today’s Inuit Peoples were passed down from the Thule. Although the Inuit People first met European explorers in the late 1500’s, it would be 400 years before they were in constant communication with “the south.” For the fur traders, whalers, missionaries and government officials who did visit during that time, the Inuit People acted as guides and established trading relationships. One of the most significant impacts of contact with Europeans was the introduction of new diseases, such as tuberculosis and measles, which had a devastating effect on the Inuit population. As the North became more connected to the rest of Canada, the Inuit People put modern technology to use in their homes and workplaces. Despite the evolution of their ways of life, Inuit communities have maintained the roots of their identity through language, art, customs and an oral tradition that has preserved their history across generations. Today, the Inuit regions in Canada are known as Inuit Nunangat, meaning “homeland” in Inuktitut. These include Inuvialuit in the western Arctic (the Northwest Territories and Yukon), Nunatsiavut on the coast of Labrador, Nunavik in northern Quebec and Nunavut, which became Canada’s newest territory in 1999. Land claims negotiations led to the establishment of Nunavut and provided a framework for the region’s economic development to be driven from an Inuit perspective. For more information, check out: https://www.itk.ca/publication/5000-years-inuit-history-and-heritage http://www.inuitknowledge.ca/ http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/inuvial/indexe.shtml http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/inuit

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