Social Studies 20: Self-Determination and Nationalism

This video, created by an Alberta teacher, explores what national self-determination is and examples of peoples who have fought for self-determination.

This excellent video explores self-determination of Indigenous peoples in Canada over time. It raises the issues of forced migration, Oka Crisis, and living conditions. The video was created by an Alberta teacher for Social Studies 20.

This encyclopedia article describes the "White Paper, 1969" which was a Canadian government policy paper that attempted to abolish previous legal documents relating to Indigenous peoples in Canada, including the Indian Act and treaties

This excellent document explains the "Doctrine of Discovery" which was first proclaimed in Papal Bulls of the 1400s in Europe and was used to as the justification for colonial dispossession of lands.

Murray Sinclair, a former Canadian Senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, offers his opinions about Indigenous self-determination in a Canadian context.

Murray Sinclair, former Canadian Senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, addresses the need for research as part of self-determination for Indigenous peoples.

The Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) concerns government policy with respect to the original historical nations of this country. Those nations are important to Canada, and how Canada relates to them defines in large measure its sense of justice and its image in its own eyes and before the world.

Learn about the White Paper of 1969. This government report proposed unilaterally ending the legal relationship between the government of Canada and Indigenous peoples.

Exploring the issues of Quebec nationalism and the bid for independence, this excellent video was created by an Alberta teacher for Social Studies 20 classes.

Learn more details about the context of Bill 101 and how the Quebec government has fought to preserve it and other language laws.

This timeline explains the events leading to two French rebellions against Upper Canada in the time before Confederation, as well as events during the rebellions.

A CBC story about a 2015 book that revealed previously unknown information about what was happening between politicians during the 1995 referendum in Quebec. (20-min. video)

A very interesting paper from Europe that considers the Quebec experience with self-determinism as an example of what is possible for others seeking self-determinism in other parts of the world.

A 2017 Quebec government report on the policy on Québec affirmation and Canadian relations.

This article explains the discontent that led to the Quebec referendum on independence from Canada in 1980 and the events that eventually led to a second referendum

A history of French Canadians that documents their relationship with English Canada.

The situation in Egypt is extremely complicated and changing constantly. The arguments between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood go back over half a century and they are much more complicated than the press tends to give them credit for.

An article and a one hour documentary about the British government's expulsion of the entire population of the Chagos Islands, a crown colony in the Indian Ocean, in the late 1960s and early 70s to make way for an American military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island.

In which Hank discusses the situation in Syria as deeply and completely as he can in five minutes.

In which John explores historical and political context to understand what caused the Russian government's invasion of Ukraine, and how we arrived at this awful now.

In which John discusses the crisis in Ukraine, and how the influence of Russia and Europe have shaped Ukrainian politics for centuries.