Native Studies Final UPDATED Actual
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
What 2 events led to a renewed interest in Indigenous concerns and ways of knowing? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. In 1963, when the university of Minnesota founded a Native
Studies department
2. Leroy Little Bear and David Bohm (Einstein) met and initiated a series of 4 dialogues in
Michigan between Native and non-Native scholars to discuss the principles of the cosmos
What is the difference between the way Western people and Indigenous people see the land? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Western depictions suggest that God provided the land as a
resource to be used to fill their economic and social desires, Indigenous scholars tend to
present the land as the heart of creation, a realm where humans are one among a vast array of
creatures.
What is the source of Native identity? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The Earth
How do Indigenous cultures measure their existence? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- In terms
of how well they ensured the land's health and safety, as opposed to how well they acquired
wealth and personal gain
What are the 5 tenets in Native science? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. Space/land
2. Constant motion/ flux
3. All things being animate and imbued with spirit
4. Relationship
5.Renewal
,What are songs/stories used for? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Address human evolution;
they encapsulate people's histories; they hold instructions that have guided people in their day
to day activities, and emphasize the need to become and remain socially, politically and
economically adaptable
What are songs/stories perceived as? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Came to be perceived as
conscious beings with their own powers of thought that could inform humans. Most often,
strict rules were closely associated with storytelling
What is the best known manifestation of this constant flux? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The
Trickster
What is the central tenet? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Relationship
Why is relationship the central tenet? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The relationship between
land and humanity is one that defines each person in relation to the surrounding environment
and all of the beings inhabiting that territory. In a universe in constant flux, relationships must
constantly be renewed
What did the Cree do renew relationships with the animals they hunted? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- Acknowledged the animals sacrifice in the hunt by giving away the food and
by following strict rules structured to ensure the conveyance of respect. When the animal
spirit has been pleased, it may once again give itself to the humans. An individual prior to
hunting must ask the animal being sought to share its life, for that is one of its roles in
Creation - an animal giving itself to human is a responsibility
What role did Creation give to humans? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Guardians to animals
How do humans renew their relationship with Creation? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The
renewal ceremonies, the telling and retelling of the creation stories, the singing and re-singing
of songs, which are the humans' part in the maintenance of creation.
How are words percieved? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Central to promoting healing and
spirituality, as well as for speaking the land. Words became entities that could alter the reality
in both positive and negative ways. It was believed that, to maintain balance, one must
,discipline one's thought and show proper respect with words in both thoughts and actions.
Improper thoughts could result in imbalance and damage in the community.
What are the categories of Creation stories? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. The earth diver
story (after 3 previous failed attempts, an animal dives below the recently flooded Earth,
returning with mud that will be used to once again establish a habitable world)
2. The emergence story (chronicling the movement of all life from an underground cave to
the world as we know it)
3.The two creators story (the universe is created by two entities who then feud with each
other, resulting in a flux-filled environment that is uniquely balanced owing to competing
interests.)
Why must a nations' stories be heard in chronological order? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
The literary tradition of each indigenous nation tells that nation's story from early times to
present, which suggests that to understand the essence of a given community, an individual
must hear all of its stories in the proper context.
Why was the late 1960's an important time for Indigenous written literature? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- The 1968 release if N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn opened the
door to a host of Native writers whose work led to what has been described as the Native
literary renaissance
What was the Native literary renaissance? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Starting in 1968, it
was a 3 decade period during which hundreds of Native authors produced thousands of titles.
Dominated largely by nonfiction accounts of daily life in Canada.
Why could singing songs without permission be a bad thing? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
Songs were animate beings, acknowledged as gifts of the Creator. Songs were often part of
particular ceremonies and had to be sung by specific individuals.
What type of ceremonies is dance usually associated with? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
Ceremonies of renewal and healing. Some are celebratory and performed after a great
military victory or successful hunt
, What does the word powwow mean? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A gathering of medicine
men and spiritual leaders
What is visual art used for? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Addressing political and social
issues, expressing one's culture, and aesthetic pleasure
How did the Plains people make visual art? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The highly mobile
Plains nations needed art to be portable. Small-scale works included painted shields, as well
as garments decorated with paint, beads, quilts, hair, feathers and fur. Tipis were adorned with
images that conveyed stories telling visitors about the residents they would soon be meeting.
Buffalo hides were used to make clothing and shelter. Sinews were used to sew items
together; horns were used to make jewelry and utensils.
What was the understanding of the treaties negotiated between 1851 and 1859? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- The communities' leaders willingly engaged in negotiations, during which
they surrendered traditional lands in their entirety on the understanding that each treaty would
make their village sites and enclosed fields available for their use, so that they would be able
to freely "hunt over the unoccupied lands, and to carry on fisheries as formerly. Reserve sites
were established on the promise that traditional means of subsistence would continue.
How were the number treaties perceived? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Treaties were
considered an effective means to protect Native peoples and to extinguish their existing
Aboriginal title, thereby promoting westward expansion into Alberta and Saskatchewan, and
Canadian sovereignty.
What was agreed to in the 1-7 treaties? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Native leaders received
protected reserves in exchange for ceding vast tracts of land. They believed this would enable
their people to remain economically independent while continuing their traditional pursuits.
They also received up-front payment and perpetual annuities (many of which have long
ceased being distributed), along with further government assistance in forms of schools to
ease the transition to European society
How do Indigenous people and Canadian officials view treaties differently? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- First Nations leaders insist that the treaties are nation-to-nation agreements
assigning responsibilities to the signatories that last in perpetuity; Canadian officials insist
that the treaties are simple land cessions.
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
What 2 events led to a renewed interest in Indigenous concerns and ways of knowing? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. In 1963, when the university of Minnesota founded a Native
Studies department
2. Leroy Little Bear and David Bohm (Einstein) met and initiated a series of 4 dialogues in
Michigan between Native and non-Native scholars to discuss the principles of the cosmos
What is the difference between the way Western people and Indigenous people see the land? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Western depictions suggest that God provided the land as a
resource to be used to fill their economic and social desires, Indigenous scholars tend to
present the land as the heart of creation, a realm where humans are one among a vast array of
creatures.
What is the source of Native identity? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The Earth
How do Indigenous cultures measure their existence? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- In terms
of how well they ensured the land's health and safety, as opposed to how well they acquired
wealth and personal gain
What are the 5 tenets in Native science? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. Space/land
2. Constant motion/ flux
3. All things being animate and imbued with spirit
4. Relationship
5.Renewal
,What are songs/stories used for? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Address human evolution;
they encapsulate people's histories; they hold instructions that have guided people in their day
to day activities, and emphasize the need to become and remain socially, politically and
economically adaptable
What are songs/stories perceived as? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Came to be perceived as
conscious beings with their own powers of thought that could inform humans. Most often,
strict rules were closely associated with storytelling
What is the best known manifestation of this constant flux? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The
Trickster
What is the central tenet? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Relationship
Why is relationship the central tenet? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The relationship between
land and humanity is one that defines each person in relation to the surrounding environment
and all of the beings inhabiting that territory. In a universe in constant flux, relationships must
constantly be renewed
What did the Cree do renew relationships with the animals they hunted? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- Acknowledged the animals sacrifice in the hunt by giving away the food and
by following strict rules structured to ensure the conveyance of respect. When the animal
spirit has been pleased, it may once again give itself to the humans. An individual prior to
hunting must ask the animal being sought to share its life, for that is one of its roles in
Creation - an animal giving itself to human is a responsibility
What role did Creation give to humans? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Guardians to animals
How do humans renew their relationship with Creation? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The
renewal ceremonies, the telling and retelling of the creation stories, the singing and re-singing
of songs, which are the humans' part in the maintenance of creation.
How are words percieved? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Central to promoting healing and
spirituality, as well as for speaking the land. Words became entities that could alter the reality
in both positive and negative ways. It was believed that, to maintain balance, one must
,discipline one's thought and show proper respect with words in both thoughts and actions.
Improper thoughts could result in imbalance and damage in the community.
What are the categories of Creation stories? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. The earth diver
story (after 3 previous failed attempts, an animal dives below the recently flooded Earth,
returning with mud that will be used to once again establish a habitable world)
2. The emergence story (chronicling the movement of all life from an underground cave to
the world as we know it)
3.The two creators story (the universe is created by two entities who then feud with each
other, resulting in a flux-filled environment that is uniquely balanced owing to competing
interests.)
Why must a nations' stories be heard in chronological order? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
The literary tradition of each indigenous nation tells that nation's story from early times to
present, which suggests that to understand the essence of a given community, an individual
must hear all of its stories in the proper context.
Why was the late 1960's an important time for Indigenous written literature? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- The 1968 release if N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn opened the
door to a host of Native writers whose work led to what has been described as the Native
literary renaissance
What was the Native literary renaissance? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Starting in 1968, it
was a 3 decade period during which hundreds of Native authors produced thousands of titles.
Dominated largely by nonfiction accounts of daily life in Canada.
Why could singing songs without permission be a bad thing? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
Songs were animate beings, acknowledged as gifts of the Creator. Songs were often part of
particular ceremonies and had to be sung by specific individuals.
What type of ceremonies is dance usually associated with? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
Ceremonies of renewal and healing. Some are celebratory and performed after a great
military victory or successful hunt
, What does the word powwow mean? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A gathering of medicine
men and spiritual leaders
What is visual art used for? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Addressing political and social
issues, expressing one's culture, and aesthetic pleasure
How did the Plains people make visual art? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The highly mobile
Plains nations needed art to be portable. Small-scale works included painted shields, as well
as garments decorated with paint, beads, quilts, hair, feathers and fur. Tipis were adorned with
images that conveyed stories telling visitors about the residents they would soon be meeting.
Buffalo hides were used to make clothing and shelter. Sinews were used to sew items
together; horns were used to make jewelry and utensils.
What was the understanding of the treaties negotiated between 1851 and 1859? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- The communities' leaders willingly engaged in negotiations, during which
they surrendered traditional lands in their entirety on the understanding that each treaty would
make their village sites and enclosed fields available for their use, so that they would be able
to freely "hunt over the unoccupied lands, and to carry on fisheries as formerly. Reserve sites
were established on the promise that traditional means of subsistence would continue.
How were the number treaties perceived? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Treaties were
considered an effective means to protect Native peoples and to extinguish their existing
Aboriginal title, thereby promoting westward expansion into Alberta and Saskatchewan, and
Canadian sovereignty.
What was agreed to in the 1-7 treaties? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Native leaders received
protected reserves in exchange for ceding vast tracts of land. They believed this would enable
their people to remain economically independent while continuing their traditional pursuits.
They also received up-front payment and perpetual annuities (many of which have long
ceased being distributed), along with further government assistance in forms of schools to
ease the transition to European society
How do Indigenous people and Canadian officials view treaties differently? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- First Nations leaders insist that the treaties are nation-to-nation agreements
assigning responsibilities to the signatories that last in perpetuity; Canadian officials insist
that the treaties are simple land cessions.
