Status: Tags: Links: Social Studies 30
Altitudes, Land and Power Reading and Questions
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Describe the general attitude Europeans had towards non-European cultures.
- The Europeans believed they were stronger in comparison to non-European cultures, which led to their dominating mindset and controlling the First Nations as they viewed them to be inferior.
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What is Terra Nullius in your own word?
- Terra Nullius was a term coined by Europeans to describe areas of land that were unoccupied and supposedly free for claiming.
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How did the definition of Terra Nullius change over time?
- To advance their power and greed, they also considered land that was used/developed ineffectively by primitive people as “Terra Nullius”.
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How did supporters of the European takeover of Aboriginal land justify their actions?
- Since they viewed the lifestyles of the Aboriginals as primitive and uncivilized, they used their new definition of Terra Nullius as a justification for conquering their lands.
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What do you think is used today to justify the loss and destruction of Indigenous land in Canada?
- In the modern day, ignorant people may use the modern, “inferor” circumstances and statistics of Indigenous people (education, crime) as proof of their irresponsibility and inefficiency with developing land. This argument isn’t really fair when considering their unjust history, but some people are too ignorant to see both sides of the story.
First Descriptions
- The Aboriginal people described the Europeans using natural aspects of the earth:
1. Their boats were compared to islands, and sails as trees
2. The men on the boats were compared to bears due to their fur/skinned clothing
- Overall, the descriptions depicted them to be peaceful with their intentions
- If I heard this decription, I would feel bad for my tribe as their perceived good intentions of the Europeans led to their eventual exploitation and downfall.
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