Residential Residential

LESSON PLAN
BEFORE (ACTIVATION):
1. Before the lesson, the teacher should collate and post the students’ ideas about why the
government controlled the First Nation families’ customs - that you collected at the end
of the previous lesson. Ideas could be posted in a list on the SmartBoard or on an anchor
chart for easily visible reference.
2. Start by sharing the question that ended the previous lesson: Why did the government
control the First Nation families’ customs and ways of life? Share the students’ possible
ideas and explain that our goal is now to understand why, from history.
3. Project and read aloud together the Colonial Clash article together and summarize its key
points together. Focus on how it answers our “why” question. Encourage students to
raise and record other wonder questions.
4. Explain the goal: We are going to explore two parts of the Indian Act to better
understand how the Canadian government controlled the First Nation people.
(Remember that Mr. Harper referred to the Indian Act in his apology!) You and a peer will
study two excerpts from the Indian Act to identify a law about children, and what
happens if the law is not followed i.e. the punishment. Provide an organizer for students
who need it and post the questions on the SmartBoard as a reference. Some of these
answers will be on-the-page and others will require you to infer. (Students now have
background knowledge from Shi-shi-etko and Secret of the Dance that will help them
interpret the text clues so that they can accurately infer.) Organizer Questions: Who is
this about? What is the Act saying? What is the law? What is the punishment for
breaking the law?
5. Also briefly discuss with students what type of source this is: a primary source, unlike
the stories we have read, which are secondary sources of information. Discuss: What is
the value of using a primary source for this study?
6. Using the SmartBoard page, give students a brief background of the Indian Act and read
together parts from the Chapter 43 of Canada's Indian Act.
THE INDIAN ACT
• The Indian Act is a statute or law created by the federal government that gives rules
about First Nation people (not Métis or Inuit)
• The Indian Act was first introduced in 1876, and is still in effect today, with some
changes over the years
• Included in the Indian Act were laws about Residential Schools, as well as:
9 the government’s obligations to First Nation people, such as the creation of
reserves that restrict people to small pieces of land and take away their
traditional territories
9 making it illegal to practise religious ceremonies such as the potlatch
(1884 until 1951)
9 defining what First Nation “status” means
9 status First Nations were not allowed to vote until 1960
9 to leave the reserve, a person needed to find and get a “pass” from an
Indian agent (until 1951) 8
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