Course:LIBR548F/2009WT1/Early Canadian Aboriginal Communication Devices

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Long before first contact with Europeans, Canadian First Nations communities employed communication systems through various means [1]. Although Aboriginal cultures have often been described as “pre-literate” due to their reliance on graphic tools as opposed to alphabetized symbols [2], First Nations peoples were actually highly literate in their own scripts [3]. While the First Nations communities across Canada did not use the same types of communication devices, many groups used some type of written devices to compliment their oral and memory based cultures. Although most devices did not resemble anything like European writing, it is clear that the Aboriginal peoples of Canada used symbols to convey messages and, as such, possessed a form of literacy before contact with Europeans.


Communication Devices

Wampum belts

Wampum Belts[4]

Wampum belts are a traditional Iroquoian communication tool or, as Gemraine Wakentin writes, “belts of diplomacy.” Used by the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora, wampum belts were mnemonic devices used to record speeches, negotiations, treaties, and important events [5]. The belts were typically made out of whelk shells and clamshells. The transfer of a wampum belts between two parties symbolized an agreement that the message depicted on the belt was suitable for both sides [6]. The “writing” on these belts was not representational in the sense that there was a prescribed alphabet or word structure [7]; however, the belts represented the process of communication through the use of slanted lines, diamond shapes, hexagons, and depictions of human figures [8].

Birch Bark Scrolls

The Ojibwa peoples of the Great Lakes region historically used birch bark to keep records for instructional and guidance purposes [9]. Songs and healing recipes were readable by members of the tribe [10]. Either through engraving or with the use of red and blue pigment, scrolls could contain any number of pictorial representations [11]. Birch bark scrolls could measure anywhere from centimeters to several meters [12].

Winter Counts

Winter Count[13]

Traditionally used by Plains Indians, winter counts were drawings on hide or cloth and acted as a calendar or history for specific tribes [14]. Each winter, a tribe member, deemed “Keeper of the Count,” would paint a symbol that would be representative of the previous year [15]. As such, the count acted as a living chronicle or visual history for the community. Updated yearly, some counts contain imprints for 150 years or more [16].

Mi’kmaq Hieroglyphics

Both First Nations oral histories and the writings of French missionaries attest that writing to the existence of writing traditions among Mi’kmaq and other eastern Algonkian speaking peoples (Edwards, 11). Derived from a pictograph and petroglyph tradition, Mi’kmaq hieroglyphics, or komqwejwi’kasikl, are the First Nations form of written communication most comparable to European writing [17]. While there is hard evidence of pre-contact variations of this script, a view expressed by several book historians postulate that when the Mi’kmaq were introduced to European writing systems, they appeared to have an “inherent literacy” [18].

Pictographs and Petroglyphs

Pictographs (rock paintings) and petroglyphs (rock carvings)have been found across all of Canada. This “rock art” is another form of Aboriginal communication that required a level of literacy to comprehend[19]. Rock paintings and rock carvings allowed indigenous communities to record clan symbols, prayers, important events and rituals [20]. Another form of traditional rock art is the inukshuk of the Inuit peoples. The inukshuk was used by the Northern Aboriginal people as a travel guide that assisted in the caribou hunt. [21]


History of the book?: The debate over early Aboriginal "writing"

While it is clear that Aboriginal peoples used various materials to convey message, there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not this early form of communication should be considered “writing.” Many of the devices used by First Nations peoples, Germaine Warkentin writes, require a “mediating element of performance.”[22] For instance, a symbol may rekindle a memory, but the reader must first know the story before understanding the symbol. Some argue that this mediating element is counterintuitive to the criteria of a writing system, necessitates writing signs be readable without intervention from another party. Warkentin counters this opinion by noting that the prevailing opinion in book history is that, “In the area of language, the categories of writing and painting or carving do not seem to be mutually exclusive.” [23]

While these early forms of communication may seem rudimentary, viewed in the context of Aboriginal culture, these devices may indeed be a form of literate writing. As Brendan Frederick R. Edwards notes, “Aboriginal cultures have also placed a far greater value on the ability of the spoken word to perpetuate knowledge than have contemporary Western cultures.”[24] Early communication tools complimented this oral culture and necessitated that the reader of the material be literate in the “writings” of the community. [25]


Notes

  1. ↑ Warkentin, Germaine. (1999). “In Search of ‘The Word of the Other’: Aboriginal Sign Systems and the History of the Book in Canada.” Book History. Volume 2.
  2. ↑ Edwards, Brandan Frederick R. (2005). Paper Talk: A history of libraries, print culture, and Aboriginal peoples in Canada before 1960. Toronto: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., p.4
  3. ↑ Edwards, p.8
  4. ↑ http://www.flickr.com/photos/unforth/3413962638/sizes/l/
  5. ↑ Edwards, p.9-10
  6. ↑ Edwards, p.10
  7. ↑ Warkentin
  8. ↑ Edwards, p.10
  9. ↑ Edwards, p.11
  10. ↑ Moore, Sabra. (2003). Petroglyphs: Ancient Language/Sacred Art. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers, p.4
  11. ↑ Edwards, p.11
  12. ↑ Edwards, p.11
  13. ↑ http://www.flickr.com/photos/whistlepunch/
  14. ↑ Moore, p.4
  15. ↑ Moore, p.4
  16. ↑ Moore, p.4
  17. ↑ Edwards, p.11
  18. ↑ Warkentin
  19. ↑ Edwards, p.9
  20. ↑ Edwards, 9
  21. ↑ Edwards, 9
  22. ↑ Warkentin
  23. ↑ Warkentin
  24. ↑ Edwards, p.4
  25. ↑ Edwards, p.4


Recommended Sources

Edwards, Brandan Frederick R. (2005). Paper Talk: A history of libraries, print culture, and Aboriginal peoples in Canada before 1960. Toronto: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.

Edwards’ book is a comprehensive account of Aboriginal literacy and literacy. The author challenges the belief that Aboriginal communities are solely pre-literate, oral cultures by providing pre- and post-contact examples of different forms of First Nations literacy including all of the different communication devices listed in this wiki entry.

Moore, Sabra. (2003). Petroglyphs: Ancient Language/Sacred Art. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers.

While Moore’s book focuses on the artistic aspect of the early Aboriginal communication devices, his book includes information on the various methods of writing used by different First Nations communities.

Warkentin, Germaine. (1999). “In Search of ‘The Word of the Other’: Aboriginal Sign Systems and the History of the Book in Canada.” Book History. Volume 2, pp. 1-27.

Similar to the Edwards text, Warkentin’s work examines the role of traditional Aboriginal communication devices in the wider scope of Canadian book history. He goes into great detail about the different uses of sign systems and examines what it meant to be literate in pre-contact Aboriginal society.

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