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Distinctly Canadian

Distinctly Canadian


Canada, federated country of North America, bounded on the north by the
Arctic Ocean; on the northeast by Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, which separate it
from Greenland; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by the United
States; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean and Alaska. Canada is the world's
second largest country, surpassed in size only by Russia. Canada has a total
area of 9,970,610 sq. km (3,849,652 sq. mi), of which 755,180 sq. km (291,575 sq.
mi) is covered by bodies of fresh water such as rivers and lakes (Canadian
Encyclopaedia, 1988).
Canada contains great reserves of natural resources, notably timber,
petroleum, natural gas, metallic minerals, and fish. The name Canada is derived
from an Iroquoian term meaning "village" or "community."
In Canada we have many images, practices, and items that make us one of
the best, younger countries in the world. In such a short time for a country to
exist, we have many images that make us very culturally rich in everyway.
Probably the most important images, practices, and items come for our friend,
the American Indians (or Native Americans). They were a definite asset to
Canada's cultural growth.
The American Indians came into Canada in a series of migrations that
occurred during the last stages of the Pleistocene Ice Age, Mongoloid peoples
from Asia entered North America, probably crossing the Bering Strait. Gradually
they spread over the continent and into South America. By 1600, more than
250,000 of their aboriginal descendants inhabited what is now Canada. Developing
a Stone Age economy, they hunted, fished, and gathered food and, in warmer areas,
also farmed. The basic social unit was the band, which varied from a few
families to several hundred people. In areas of higher settlement density, bands
were organized into tribes and even larger units.
The largest linguistic group was the Algonquian, which included
migratory hunting tribes such as the Cree and Naskapi in...