The study of history is an essential part of modern education. As a field of knowledge about the past, history is the foundation of the social sciences and, together with the other sciences, forms the human worldview. Without it, it is impossible to build a scientific theory of social development, which is especially important in developing new approaches to solving modern society’s diverse problems. History performs several socially significant functions. One of them is cognitive, consisting of studying the historical path of countries and peoples and the reflection of all phenomena and processes. Another is education: knowledge of the history of its people shows its role in the development of society. It is essential to understand the new generation who will shape their country’s fate in the future.
Indigenous peoples live all over the world, speaking an overwhelming number of the world’s languages and representing a variety of cultures. Indigenous knowledge systems may also generate new attitudes and practices in public education. All public education takes place on indigenous lands and must therefore necessarily promote respect for those lands, indigenous peoples, and tribal sovereignty. Indians shall have the right to pursue their avocations of hunting and fishing throughout the tract surrendered, subject to such regulations as may be made by Her Government of Her Dominion of Canada. As a result of indigenous peoples’ representatives’ efforts over the past 30 years, indigenous peoples’ rights are now receiving more attention at the United Nations and in the international community.
Wanuskewin is a pristine testimony to the settlement of people on the northern plains. The Park is located 2.5 kilometers north of the town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Wanuskewin’s archaeological resources are an example of the Great Plains of North America’s pre-contact occupation and exceptional evidence of traditional human settlement on the Northern Plains. Archaeological excavations tell the story of peoples who came to hunt bison, plant plants and settle in different seasons. Wanuskewin provides a snapshot of Indigenous cultural development in the Great Plains region over 6,000 years.1 To live in this region requires equipment for hunting and gathering, shelter, flora, fauna, and coastal habitat. These features are present in Wanuskewin and are universal historic heritage values.
Wanuskewin, the word Nēhiyawēwin (Cree), roughly translated as a sanctuary, is considered a sacred place and gathering place and continues to be relevant for education, ceremony, peaceful coexistence, and reconciliation of all peoples. The tribes, now known as the Cree, who have inhabited north-eastern North America for several millennia, are located throughout the region and do not form large populations. The Cree name comes from a tribe of Indians who lived in an area near the South Saskatchewan River. The Cree language, using its alphabet, became a component of the language spoken by the Métis Canadians. Over the years, Saskatchewan First Nations will have contributed to the development of the province and Canada.2 Thus, compared to the First Nations history, recent history is only the tip of the iceberg.
In the modern understanding, history is the science of the past of human society and its present, of the patterns of development of social life in specific forms, in spatial and temporal dimensions. Knowledge of the history of indigenous peoples gives a person the opportunity to see the prominent trends that will determine the development of science and society in the future. Knowledge of the development of historical science helps one become an intelligent person and contributes to the development of a civic and patriotic attitude.
Bibliography
Canada. Saskatchewan. Parks Canada Agency, Wanuskewin UNESCO Petition, 2018.
Cuthand, Doug. “Star – Phoenix; Saskatoon, Sask.” Postmedia Network Inc., 2009.
Duhame, Roger. Copy of Treaty No. 6 between Her Majesty the Queen and the Plain and Wood Cree Indians and Other Tribes of Indians at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt and Battle River with Adhesions, Queen’s Printer and Controller of Stationery, 1964.
Jacob, Michelle M., Leilani Sabzalian, Joana Jansen, Tary J. Tobin, Claudia G. Vincent and Kelly M. LaChance. “The Gift of Education: How Indigenous Knowledge Can Transform the Future of Public Education,”International Journal of Multicultural Education 20, no. 1 (2018): 157-85. Web.
Footnotes
- Canada, Saskatchewan. Parks Canada Agency, Wanuskewin UNESCO Petition, 2018.
- Doug Cuthand, “Star – Phoenix; Saskatoon, Sask.” Postmedia Network Inc., 2009, 2.