The Lives of Native Peoples in Western Canada before and after Contact

THE LIVES OF NATIVE PEOPLES IN WESTERN CANADA BEFORE AND AFTER CONTACT
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The first established contact between native Canadians and Europeans took place in the 10th century in the Artic, Labrador, and Greenland. This occurred after the Vikings reached the Baffin Island that is located along the Atlantic Coast. A comprehensive account of the voyages made by Eric Thorvaldsson (or Eric the Red), Bjarni Herjolfsson, Leifr Heppni Eirksson, and other famous Vikings have been articulated in The Saga of Eric the Red. Information has been written about what took place during this time, and it is believed that Europeans held the natives against their own will. Hostilities mounted between the natives and the Vikings and this affected the abilities of the Europeans to establish a settlement in the ‘Canadian territory.’ After contact, various issues resulted from the voyages made by the Vikings in Canada, despite the fact that the attempts of Scandinavians to colonize northern Newfoundland continued for close to six decades (between 990 and 1050). This document critically analyzes the lives of Native People in western Canada before and after Contact.[Stonechild, Blair. Aboriginal Peoples of Saskatchewan. (2006) http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/aboriginal_peoplesof_saskatchewan.html (accessed October 21, 2015)]
Pre-colonial History (Pre-contact)
Before Europeans reached into what is currently called North America, the Natives were healthy and strong, with complex and diverse societies. Aboriginal hunter-gatherers living in western Canada are believed to have occupied the region for over 11,000 years. Archeological evidence on the use of fluted spear points dates back to 9,000 BC and it is believed that the early archaic eastern people moved towards the western plains around 6,000 BC and they met the Plano people. The locals valued their women and gave them leadership roles, while children were brought up in accordance to values and ethics of sacred circles. British Columbia was particularly rich in resources, where healthy foods were in abundance. Close to one-third of pre-contact Natives in Canada lived in what is currently referred to as British Columbia and they were represented by 7 language families and 24 languages. Variety of information has been compiled about pre-colonial Natives’ history, but there is a huge data concerning the early contact-period, particularly on the role played by women.[uottawa.ca. European Colonization and the Native Peoples. https://slmc.uottawa.ca/?q=european_colonization (accessed October 21, 2015)]
The traditional cultures of the First nations believed on ideologies that human beings were part of, but not essentially, central to creation. This implies that people existed within a network of life where all entities, whether animals, plants, inanimate, or natural had a specific spiritual dimension. Therefore, life was composed of processes of creating relationships and striving to develop the well-being of the circle of life. In addition, ceremonies involved reflection of this worldview, where for instance, sweet grass burning was a communication process with the spirits, sweat lodge was a spiritual cleansing, and th...