Grade 8 TEST BONUS QUESTION: Q: Why did the traditional way of life for the Metis begin to change in the 1830s?
A: Non-Aboriginal hunters began to slaughter buffalo for sport, resulting in a rapidly declining buffalo population. Since the Metis relied on the buffalo for food, as well as using buffalo meat for the pemmican trade, their main economic livelihood was disappearing. At the same time, a smallpox epidemic in Rupert's Land devastated entire communities of Metis people.
Grade 7 TEST BONUS QUESTION:
Q: Why did European settlers rely on First Nations peoples for basic survival?
A: By watching the First Nations peoples, European settlers learned what to eat, what to plant and when, what medicines could be obtained from plants, what to wear, and how to get around. |
