Roots of Reconciliation
Foundations
Treaties
Renewal and Reconciliation

T11: Otia! Cause and Effect Game

Overview

In this gamified LE, learners think through the consequences of key parts of the Treaty Denial period. Teams of learners will compete to identify possible outcomes of various events of the time period between 1795 and 1985. The word otia is an affirmative “Wow!” in Mi’kmaw.

Learners will...

  • ork together to think about the Treaty Denial period in a (mildly) competitive game environment.
  • Be exposed to a range of issues Mi’kmaq faced during the Treaty Denial period.
  • Be encouraged to think about how the challenges of Treaty Denial reverberated through communities and through generations.
  • Encounter Mi’kmaw agency and efforts to change the conditions of this difficult time.
  • See that oral histories were integral to Mi’kmaw identity and culture through Treaty Denial.

Focus

Divide learners into two or three groups. Working together, learners will identify the consequences of facts about the Treaty Denial period, calling out their answers as they agree upon them. A few examples are shown below. Each impact identified gives that team a point. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.

This LE is envisioned as an oral activity, but it could be organized in various ways and have a written component as well.

Printable Learning
Experience (pdf)

PE!

It is important that learners engaging in this experience have a clear understanding of the following content:

  • The Mi’kmaq as the indigenous people of Nova Scotia and the Atlantic region.
  • Mi’kma’kik as the ancestral homeland of the Mi’kmaq.
  • The family as the heart of Mi’kmaw culture and practice.
  • Understand the concepts of netukulimk and msɨt no’kmaq. (See LE F4)
  • Mi’kmaw core cultural values. (See LE F8)
  • The oral traditions inherent in Mi’kmaw culture and practice. (See LE F10)
  • That the Treaty Denial period is defined by British governance and culture that denied treaty agreements and by an overwhelming colonial experience of environmental and cultural disruption.
  • Any content learners carry about the details of Treaty Denial with help them in this LE, but simply thinking carefully is sufficient to participate fully.

LE Materials

COMING SOON!