Native_Studies_Essay_Assignment

Before the implementation of treaties with the Canadian government in the late nineteenth century, traditional aboriginal law was the primary means of maintaining social order among the First Nations peoples. Passing these laws from generation to generation involved the telling of such oral traditions as prayers and narratives. These stories were focused around a cultural hero often known as “Elder Brother”. The Elder Brother stories formed a guideline from which aboriginal people lived their daily lives. In turn telling of these stories helped to reinforce the cultural identity of First Nations people. Legal scholars have linked these traditional narratives to the legal systems of aboriginal people. 1 Unlike traditional European culture, North American First Nation culture centers around the importance of kinship relationships, between two or more people, or between people and animals. Where European history and traditions are fact based and have been recorded in writing, First Nations culture is relayed via stories passed down through the generations verbally, thereby allowing for a wider range of interpretation. Animals played an important role in the spiritual side of aboriginals. The Dene believed that all members of creations, both animal and human, consisted of pure energy and the energy of particle animals could be invoked upon prayer towards a specific animal's spirit. 2 A person could also be chosen with a particular animal spirit which when summoned could aid the person in his or her band's survival. Living with nature was an important protocol in aboriginal culture. The act of the hunt had its own set of rituals and prayers to show honour for the hunter's prey. A common hunting practice was to find use for as much of his prey as possible. The Dene story involving Yamoria discussed the conference between man and animals. In this story man and animals held council on their relationships to each other. It was agreed that man could use animals as a source of food. In return man must treat the animals they hunted with great respect and honour the prey they procured. 3 Altering nature for one's own comfort often resulted in negative consequences. An example of this occurs in the Tree Holder story. In this story the cultural hero became distracted by noise made by a couple of tree branches. When he attempted to pull them apart he became trapped. As he was trapped some animals came across the food he prepared and ate all of it. 4 The loss of Nambozhu's food was the negative result from his decision to alter the environment around him. The structure of aboriginal bands focused more on kinship relationships rather language or culture. Survival of the band depended on the unity of its members more than what the individuals background was. Incorporation of a new band member could be a means of strengthening the band in the acquisition of game, increasing the military strength, or improving diplomatic relations with other bands. The Elder Brothers stories had many examples of admission into a kin group. For example, Elder Brother was accepted into a wolf pack as a brother even though the wolves knew Elder Brother was a human. 5 Another example was the Mudijukwis tale. In this story an aboriginal woman entered into the kin group via marriage. 6 The inclusion of new member, through marriage or adoption, was a means to bridge different religious/cultural groups. However, the inclusion of new members also meant assuming responsibilities based on the laws of the particular band. Each member of the group had responsibilities to ensure the survival of the band. Elder Brother stories were a method of reinforcing appropriate social behaviours. A husband's responsibility for his bride was expressed in the Mudijukwis story. In this story, the husband went after his fleeing wife ignoring advice from elders he met on his way. 7 These actions mirror the role of men in aboriginal society as providers and protectors. Elders where also very important in First Nation society. Since both adult men and women had their own responsibilities for the continued survival of the band, the role of educating of the children was the responsibility of grandparents. Through narratives such as the Elder Brother stories elders taught the young the bands guidelines and customs. This role of passing down the band's customs was held in great esteem by the tribe. This respect is reflected in the Elder Brother stories. The cultural hero always choose to be an older version of whatever animal he was to transform to. 8 Another example of showing Respect for elders occurred in The Elder Brother The Origin of Wisakejak. In this tale the antagonist Big Skunk showed pity when he came across a grandmother who was feigning death. He said “My grandmother is very poor when she is thrown away like this”. 9 Even though Big Skunk was the villain of this particular story he still showed remorse for the what he saw as the casual discarding of an elder. The Elder Brother narratives also reveal the importance of heeding the advice of elders. In the White Lynx story a negative consequence occurred when the wolf nephew did not heed Elder Brothers advice resulting in the capture and death of his wolf nephew. 10 Conversely, the story of Mudijkwis showed an example of a positive result from following elder advice. In this story the husband came across four grandmothers who in turn offered the husband a talisman and advice to aid him on his journey. As the husband encountered seemingly impassible obstacles he used each of the grandmother's gifts and was able to continue his quest to catch up with his wayward wife. 11 The importance of diplomatic negotiation with other groups was expressed in the plains Cree tale of the dwarfs. In the story a Cree man came across a group of dwarfs that were robbing his fishing nets. When the Cree and his companions confronted the dwarfs they shared some of their own meat but also asked the dwarfs not to steal any more fish. 12 The story reflects the need of diplomacy in conflict resolution between different bands as often open warfare was not a viable option. Sharing of resources was a method often used instead of an aggressive ultimatum. As unity of band members was necessary for its survival trust in one's kin was an important virtue. Wemicus is the story of an old man and a son in law with a distrustful relationship. The son in law was suspicious of his father in law intentions and during the evening switched positions of his and the elder's clothes. Later in the evening the old man destroyed what he thought was his son in laws clothing. When morning came the elder realized he in fact destroyed his own clothes and requested some of his companions clothing. However, the son in law refused the request and left the elder to fend for himself resulting in the freezing death of the father in law. 13 The negative result of the father in law freezing reinforced the consequence of being deceptive towards a fellow band member. It can be difficult for one from a European society to understand aboriginals. Historically, European culture tended to be less flexible than First Nation due to less of a reliance on nature. An example of the difference in flexibility was the methods of passing on social guidelines. The written word was the means of transmitting social guidelines and laws for Europeans in contrast to the use of oral traditions by aboriginals. However, a common theme of First Nation peoples was the importance of finding similarity between different groups. Even though the physical methods of sharing knowledge was different between the two cultures, a similarity existed as both used stories to different degrees in portraying acceptable social practices. Narratives were a social tool used to reinforce the practices and beliefs of aboriginals. Hunter-gather society nature was essential for survival, and most of their stories were focused on human interaction with the environment. These narratives also expressed the importance of kinship and the responsibilities each member was expected to follow. Aboriginal bands used the narratives as a guideline to maintain social order among a multicultural group. A major theme of these stories was the link between consequences and actions. Finally, while it at times is difficult to understand aboriginal culture from a European perspective the common use of stories to pass on social guidelines was a means of better relating to First Nation peoples. Robert Innes, “Elder Brother, the Law of the People and Kinship Practices of the Contemporary Members of the Cowessess First Nation,” Lecture, University of Saskatchewan, 2007, 2. George Blondin, “Medicine Power, Yamoria the Lawmaker: Stories of the Dene,” Edmonton: Newest Press, 1997, 50. Blondin, 48. Alanson Skinner, “Plains Ojibwe Tales,” The Journal of American Folklore. University of Illinois Press, April-June 1919, 288. Innes, 3. Alanson Skinner, “Plains Cree Tales,” The Journal of American Folklore. University of Illinois Press, July-Sept 1916, 344. Skinner, “Plains Cree Tales,” 354. Skinner, “Plains Cree Tales,” 356-357. Skinner, “Plains Cree Tales,” 349. Innes, 3. Skinner, “Plains Cree Tales,” 343. Skinner, “Plains Cree Tales,” 357-358. Skinner, “Plains Cree Tales,” 362. Bibliography: Blondin, George. Medicine Power. Yamoria the Lawmaker: Stories of the Dene. Edmonton: Newest Press, 1997. 43-67 Innes, Robert. “Elder Brother, the Law of the People and Kinship Practices of the Contemporary Members of the Cowessess First Nation.” Lecture. University of Saskatchewan, 2007. Skinner, Alanson. “Plains Cree Tales.” The Journal of American Folklore 29 (113). University of Illinois Press. July – Sept. 1916: 314-367. Skinner, Alanson. “Plains Ojibwe Tales.” The Journal of American Folklore 32 (124). University of Illinois Press. April-June 1919: 280-305.