Myth Perceptions

In Socials 10, we spend some time talking about stereotype and caricature as it applies to First Nations people in Canadian history.

I came across this website today that has some simple resources on the topic. Created by the MCC (mennonite central committee), the website is about deconstructing myths about First Nations people. There are some usable clips that one could use to generate discussion.

Pocahontas

I have previously made a post about the movie Pocahontas, but since I have now figured out how to post documents on blogger I decided to attach these files:

Pocahontas - What really happened
Pocahontas - Assignment

In the cartoon, we are presented with this narrative:

•Big Bad Europeans vs. Noble Savages

•The American Hero saves the day!

•Natives beliefs lead to compromise

•Peace wins out over conflict

In reality, I propose that the history of Eastern North America went more like this:

•Good/Bad Europeans vs. Good/Bad Natives

•The “American” immigrants were often worse than their leaders in Britain

•Mutually beneficial relationship?

•Brief peace, but conflict won out

Pocahontas

Pocahontas (Two-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition)

Amazing how much we can learn by studying a kid's cartoon. This movie is based the true story of John Smith's encounter with Pocahontas, but of course the story has been disneyfied to make it appropriate for kids and to convey a certain message. However, what message are kids getting by watching it? What themes does the movie promote? How does it interpret history?

I taught a few semesters of Humanities 9 and this was my favorite assignment that met criteria for English in terms of interpreting media and caricature and met criteria for Social Studies in terms of First Nations history in North America. It doesn't fit directly into the time period for Socials 10, but I like the assignment so much that I still include it at the beginning of the course. I use it as a) review b) examining stereotypes c) context for why North America was like it was by 1815. 

I have to admit that the most common confusion students have by the end of the course in term of Pocahontas is that story happened in Canada. No, it happened in the United States. How does it relate to Canadian history then? Well, it is the story of contact between the English (who later conquered Canada) and the First Nations people. Of course, part of the reason why the people of Virginia later rebelled against Britain to help form the United States was because they didn't agree with Britain's policy towards the First Nations people (the Royal Proclamation of 1763). 

Pocahontas (Two-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition)