Gwangju International Center

GIC Talk volunteers started wrting a review of the lecture in English. GIC hope this review would be useful for the people who missed the prior GIC Talk or who are interested in the lecture or getting a new knowledge. Also, if you are iterested in being a volunteer or giving a lecture, please do no hesitate to contact us. Thank you so much. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oct. 8th GIC Talk Review Written by Keonhee KIM Edited by Hughie Samson First Nations Culture of Canada - Past to Present Oral information passed from generation to generation provides historians with a detailed description of the recent past. The language and context used in the telling of the story is vital to understanding its meaning and purpose. The analysis of similar stories from different cultures creates a historical framework for the story and its relevance within that culture. The Blackfoot elders would appoint certain individuals to remember an incident or circumstance. The elders emphasized first and foremost that people should remember the truth and not merely focus upon the pleasant or profane. Mongolian Mothers The Beringia land bridge is widely accepted as the most probable migratory route of humans into the Americas. Geologists estimate that this land bridge formed during the Wisconsin glaciation period, which began 75,000 years ago and ended approximately 14,000 years ago. Deep-sea soil cores taken from beneath the waters of the Bering Strait provide evidence that the landscape during the time of exposure would have consisted of a dry tundra plain environment. The climate might have been similar to the climate of present-day tundra or grassland plains environments, with short summers, extremely long cold winters, and perpetual winds. Remains of large mammals such as mammoth, mastodon, giant bison, and saiga antelope have been found, suggesting that the first North Americans were big game hunters. These Stone Age hunters followed the herd migrations across the Beringia plain to North America. But evidence also suggests they were foragers of sea mammals, fish, and vegetation. It is estimated that Beringia was capable of supporting fifteen to twenty-five people per 386 square miles, which is similar to the lifestyle of modern-day Inuit. Continental Migration In 1995, Deloria disputed the Beringia theory based upon his hypothesis that the ocean's water levels had to drop sixty meters in order to fully expose a land bridge. He believes that this was impossible and that the climate would have been uninhabitable for humans due to the glacial landscape. Ultimately, if Deloria is correct in his evaluation of the Beringia environment, humans must have come by a different route to the Americas.   Dene - Creation of Seasons The Dene (Dené) is an aboriginal group of First Nations who live in the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dené speak Northern Athabaskan languages. Dene is the common Athabaskan word for "people" (Sapir 1915, p. 558). The term "Dene" has two usages. More commonly, it is used narrowly to refer to the Athabaskan speakers of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada, especially including the Chipewyan, Tlicho Yellowknives Slavey, and Sahtu. But it is sometimes also used to refer to all Northern Athabaskan speakers, who are spread in a wide range all across Alaska and northern Canada. Earth Mother and "Turtle Island" Turtle Island is a term used by several Northeastern Woodland Native American tribes, especially the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy, for the continent of North America. Haida Gwaii The Raven and the First Men The great flood, which had covered the Earth for so long, had at last receded and the sand of Rose Spit lay dry. Raven walked along the sand; his eyes and ears were alert for any unusual sight or sound to break the monotony. A flash of white caught his eye and there, right at his feet, half buried in the sand, was a gigantic clamshell. He looked more closely and saw that the shell was full of little creatures cowering in terror in his enormous shadow. He leaned his great head close and with his smooth trickster's tongue, he coaxed, cajoled and coerced them to come out and play in his wonderful shiny world. These little dwellers were the original Haidas, the first humans. Bison Hide with hair: floor coverings, beds, clothing, and moccasins / Hide, no hair: soft clothing, moccasins, tepees, and baby blankets / Hide, no hair: stiff quivers, parfleches, and rigid containers / Bladders: waterproof bags / Brains and liver: product to tan leather / Stomach: cooking pots and watertight containers / Bones: scrapers, knives, awls, and arrow shafts / Rib bones: sleigh runners for children's toys / Skull: ceremonial object / Horns: cups and spoons / Sinews: bowstrings, threads, lashing cords, and ropes / Tail: fly swatter / Hair: stuffing, paintbrushes, ornaments and cords / Teeth: necklaces / Dewclaws: rattles / Hooves: glue / Dung: fuel for fires -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------