Fact Sheet

The First Peoples Hall

The Story

The First Peoples Hall occupies 2,000 square metres (20,000 square feet) of Level 1. This is larger than many museums in Canada. The actual footpath from start to finish is half a kilometre long. A quick visit will take one hour, but a more detailed visit could last half a day.

A greeting by the Algonquin people of Kitigan Zibi and images of many Aboriginal peoples introduce visitors to the First Peoples Hall. This is the start of a voyage that explores Aboriginal cultures, history, ways of living and community experience.

This zone establishes the four themes of the Hall: We are still here, We contribute, We are diverse and We have an ancient relationship with the land. The themes are explored through mini-biographies of Aboriginal people from the past and present; historical and contemporary objects and works of art; photographs, videos and maps that show the homelands of the many Aboriginal peoples in Canada; and Aboriginal place names which have changed, disappeared and re-emerged over the last five hundred years. The long history of Aboriginal settlement is evoked in a reconstruction of the archaeological dig at Blue Fish Caves in the Yukon Territory, while the creation narratives told in Aboriginal communities for centuries are told once again, both in story form and in works by contemporary Aboriginal artists.

This zone recreates five environments from pre-European times that reveal the Aboriginal relationship to the land in greater depth. We move from the mixed hunting and fishing economies on the Atlantic Coast, to whale hunting in the Arctic, communal hunting on the Plains and in the sub-Arctic forests, and the farming of the Iroquoian nations of the Eastern Woodlands. The exhibits show economic techniques, systems of family relationship and beliefs that developed over thousands of years. The last component is a trade fair set on the edge of the Great Plains five hundred years ago. It is a dramatic recreation of the trade relationships that connected peoples from distant homelands and brought together hundreds of people at particular times.

Beginning with the arrival of Europeans and first contact - an event that actually took place in different parts of Canada at various times between the eleventh and twentieth centuries - the fourth zone explores the history of Aboriginal people over the past five hundred years. The first modules present the impact of European colonization, the establishment of early trade and social relations, the coming of epidemics, the decline and death of the Beothuk, the development of the concept and word "Indian," and the birth of the Métis. This zone explores the impact of Christian missions on Aboriginal beliefs, the changing relationships between Aboriginal governments and the emerging Government of Canada, and the impact of both on Aboriginal economies and relationships with the land. The concluding modules of the Hall reaffirm Aboriginal identity, culture and creative and political forces, exploring contemporary beliefs, social gatherings, political and legal affirmation and the rise of contemporary Aboriginal art.

The First Peoples Hall brings together approximately 2,000 historical objects, contemporary works of art, historical illustrations, photographs and videos from the Canadian Museum of Civilization collection and other public and private collections.

There are several videos, background audio-visual programmes and three theatres in the First Peoples Hall. The first theatre presents the Mi'kmaq creation story. An audio theatre offers visitors six Aboriginal narratives. Finally, a small theatre near the exit of the Hall presents a video on contemporary Aboriginal people and perspectives.

The First Peoples Hall ends with the words of Georges Erasmus:

"The history of our people needs to be told. We need to present accurately what happened in the past, so that we can deal with it in the future... I don't like what has happened over the last 500 years. We can't do much about that. But what are we going to do about the next 500 years? What are we going to do about the next ten years?" - In Canadian Forum, 1992