Aboriginal and Treaty Rights: Observing Practice Activity
Total Time: Approx. 60 minutes
Participants complete a 5Ws graphic organizer on treaties and Aboriginal rights. After viewing a 30-minute video of a Grade 9 Social Studies class on treaties, participants discuss the 5Ws information focusing on the misconceptions surrounding treaties and the significance of treaties today.
The strategies in this activity can be adapted for Observing Practice activities in other topic areas. Word documents may be revised as needed.
Activity 1: 5Ws Graphic Organizer
Handout: 5Ws Graphic Organizer: Aboriginal and Treaty Rights 
Ask participants to record their current knowledge about treaties and Aboriginal rights on the 5Ws graphic organizer.
- Who do the Aboriginal and treaty rights pertain to?
- What are Aboriginal and treaty rights?
- Where are these Aboriginal and treaty rights honoured?
- When were these Aboriginal and treaty rights agreed upon?
- How were these Aboriginal and treaty rights negotiated?
- Why were these Aboriginal and treaty rights created?
Activity 2: View the Video Treaties
Overview of video: In a Grade 9 Social Studies class on treaties, teacher Charlene Bearhead makes use of primary source video clips. (28:40 minutes)
Activity 3: Discussion
Ask participants to form groups of two or three. Using the 5Ws Graphic Organizer: Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, participants discuss the following questions:
- Were your perceptions of Aboriginal and treaty rights changed or validated? How so?
- What kinds of misconceptions do you think surrounded the Aboriginal and treaty rights at the time?
- What misconceptions surround them now?
- How do Aboriginal and treaty rights affect all Canadians?
- Why is it important for all Canadians to understand Aboriginal and treaty rights?
Ask participants to record on their 5Ws charts any new insights or information they have gained.
Closure
If time permits, have participants share with the large group what they found to be most significant about Aboriginal and treaty rights.
