Origins & Settlement Patterns INFORMATION

More than one thousand nations lived in North America when the first Europeans arrived.  Each had it's own culture with particular rituals, ceremonies and beliefs that tied them to the the land the people called home.  Creation stories explain how the world and all of its parts began.  This explanation for the origin of the world can help people understand and accept things that cannot be seen or touched, including their own identity, purpose and place in the world.

An individual’s understanding of their place and purpose in the world is part of their spirituality.  The traditional spirituality of First nations and Inuit people is a way of life infused with the belief that existence includes both a physical world and a spiritual world. Creation stories describe the origin of and the reason for the rituals, ceremonies and spiritual beliefs that celebrate the renewal of creation. 

Watch this video presentation which tells one version of the aboriginal story of creation.