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Lesson 1A - Part 1: Language

Teacher Information

(adapted from Laura Okemaw's Bush Land People Teacher's Guide)

There are approximately one million Canadians who claim Aboriginal descent. The Canadian Constitution outlines three categories of Aboriginal People: Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis. Aboriginals represent the most varied of the three groups with several separate languages and cultures. This lesson segment focuses primarily on Aboriginal languages and dialects. For the remainder of the lessons, Aboriginal People will be referred to interchangeably as Aboriginal, Native or First Nations.

The exact number of Aboriginal languages spoken at the time of European contact is unknown. This is for a number of reasons, including the fact that Aboriginal People did not communicate at this time using letters or numbers. In addition, early European traders often kept biased accounts of interactions with Aboriginal People and it is unlikely that they would have been able to record language dialects at that point. Many Aboriginal languages exist in a wide range of similar dialects, making classification a confusing and subjective task. However, at present time it is accepted that approximately 53 distinct Aboriginal languages exist in Canada. Many of these are related and are subsequently grouped into eleven language families.

The Algonquian language family is reportedly the largest language family and consists of language groups such as Cree, Blackfoot, Algonquin and Micmac. Each individual language group can have separate dialects, as is the case with Cree which contains five dialects. For the purpose of the lesson, the main focus will be on the Algonquian language family as it geographically covers a large portion of Southern Alberta, with the exception of the Micmac language group. It is important to note that only Cree, Ojibwa, and Inuktitut are currently considered to be flourishing with chances of survival.

The Cree language has five dialects. The first dialect students will be introduced to is the Plains Cree dialect 'Y'. The Cree language is a descriptive language, so often there is no way translate certain words. Students will have an opportunity to learn a few Cree words just for comparison and to grasp basic understanding of the language.

Main Lesson

Distribute a 'Blank Map of Canada' worksheet to students. They will use an atlas and/or the 'Aboriginal Language Groups Map' worksheet to locate and map the 11 language families. Have students research the approximate numbers of people who speak the various languages.

On a 'Blank Map of Alberta' worksheet, have students label (draw and designate) all of the languages spoken throughout the province.

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