Before the Confederation
What year did Canada become a country?
1867
What was a voyageur?
A worker who transported goods and furs by canoe
During which war were Black Loyalists promised freedom?
American Revolutionary War
What does Afro-Indigenous mean?
A person with both African and Indigenous ancestry
What does “No Record = Lost History” mean?
If history isn’t written down, it can be erased
Name one role Black people had before Confederation.
Fur trader / explorer / interpreter / labourer / enslaved person
Voyageurs often worked how many hours per day?
14
Over 3,000 Black Loyalists moved to which provinces?
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
What animal was especially important to Métis culture and economy?
Who were the “gatekeepers” of history?
Those who controlled official records (often European settlers)
What major economic system connected many communities before Confederation?
The fur trade
What is a portage?
Carrying a canoe and goods over land between waterways.
Name one Black Loyalist community.
Birchtown or Shelburne
What document attempted to define who was considered “Status Indian” under Canadian law?
The Indian Act (1876)
What type of historical source is based on community memory rather than official written records?
Oral History
Before borders were drawn, North America was connected by what?
Trade routes
Who was James Douglas?
A fur trade leader who helped bring Black settlers to BC
Why were Indigenous lands sometimes considered safer spaces?
US bounty hunters had no authority there
Why did the Canadian government try to define identity in the 1800s?
To control land, rights, and recognition
What 1850s law in Canada West helped protect formerly enslaved people from being returned to the U.S.?
The Fugitive Offenders Act
Who is considered the first known Black person to arrive in what is now Canada, and what was his role?
Mathieu Da Costa — he was an interpreter who worked between French explorers and Indigenous peoples
Which major river was important in the fur trade in central Canada?
The St. Lawrence River
What was the main occupation many Black Loyalists hoped to pursue after arriving in Nova Scotia?
Farming
What 1982 document officially recognized Métis people as one of Canada’s Indigenous peoples?
The Constitution Act, 1982
What year did Canada officially apologize for the Residential School system?
2008