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First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies

NDW4M

Contemporary Indigenous Issues and Perspectives in a Global Context

This course examines global issues from the perspectives of Indigenous peoples. Students will explore the depth and diversity of Indigenous cultures, traditions, and knowledge. Students will consider how diverse Indigenous communities persevere despite current global environmental and economic trends, and will investigate topics such as identity, social justice, human rights, spirituality, resilience, and advocacy for change.

Tuition

$580

One Ontario credit, enrolled online.

Grade
12
Credit
1.0
Delivery
Online

Prerequisite for this course: Any Grade 11 university, university/college, or college preparation course in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit studies, Canadian and world studies, or social studies and humanities

Tuition

$580

About this course

This course examines global issues from the perspectives of Indigenous peoples. Students will explore the depth and diversity of Indigenous cultures, traditions, and knowledge. Students will consider how diverse Indigenous communities persevere despite current global environmental and economic trends, and will investigate topics such as identity, social justice, human rights, spirituality, resilience, and advocacy for change.

What you'll learn

  1. Examine global issues from the perspectives of Indigenous peoples across a range of nations and communities.

  2. Explore the depth and diversity of Indigenous cultures, traditions, and knowledge worldwide.

  3. Investigate how communities sustain identity and culture amid global environmental and economic pressures.

  4. Analyze social justice, human rights, and advocacy through the tools of political inquiry.

Curriculum expectations

The overall expectations set by the Ontario curriculum, grouped by strand.

A. Political Inquiry and Skill Development

  • A1use the political inquiry process and the concepts of political thinking when investigating contemporary issues, events, and developments relating to contemporary Indigenous peoples around the world
  • A2apply, in a variety of contexts, skills developed through investigations related to contemporary Indigenous realities and perspectives in a global context, and identify careers in which the knowledge and skills acquired in this course might be an asset

B. Indigenous Peoples and Perspectives

  • B1demonstrate an understanding of the global diversity of Indigenous peoples and cultures, and of how Indigenous identity and diversity may be defined, affirmed, or denied, distinguishing between the sociocultural practices and world views of a variety of Indigenous peoples
  • B2demonstrate an understanding of the significance of the land to Indigenous peoples around the world, analysing the consequences of displacement from traditional territories and the benefits of Indigenous perspectives on resource management
  • B3demonstrate an understanding of the role of Indigenous knowledge, storytelling, and storywork in fulfilling communal responsibilities, sustaining world views, and protecting cultural heritage

C. Global Trends and Cultural Survival

  • C1demonstrate an understanding of key global economic, social, and technological trends, issues, and developments related to the cultural survival of Indigenous peoples
  • C2demonstrate an understanding of various legal and social factors affecting the human rights of Indigenous peoples, including the role and rights of Indigenous women and children and the relationship between living conditions and human rights
  • C3demonstrate an understanding of the connections between political power and cultural survival, analysing the balance of power in a variety of interactions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups
  • C4demonstrate an understanding of the concept of self-determination, exploring a variety of perspectives on and arguments for Indigenous sovereignty / self-governance

D. Legal, Political, and Social Action

  • D1demonstrate an understanding of the role of international and regional law, and of associated bodies and legal instruments, in upholding or obstructing the rights of Indigenous peoples around the world
  • D2demonstrate an understanding of the responsibility of national governments and judiciaries to uphold Indigenous rights, analysing a range of legislative and judicial actions to define and support those rights
  • D3demonstrate an understanding of the significance of educational capacity, including capacity for language education, in protecting, preserving, and revitalizing Indigenous cultures
  • D4demonstrate an understanding of key factors that influence social action , and analyse various initiatives to support Indigenous aspirations and perspectives globally in terms of the leadership strategies they employ

How you'll study

DeliveryOnline
Delivered fully online through Vaughan College's learning platform, with live teacher support. Online students can also call into the live in-person classroom through Google Classroom anytime they want extra guidance.
Fast-trackAvailable
Complete the credit in a condensed schedule. Useful for upgrading, course recovery, or summer acceleration.
Credit value1.0 OSSD credit
Counts toward the 30 credits required for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

Assessment and evaluation

Every Vaughan College course follows Ontario’s Growing Success policy. Assessment is continuous: teachers gather evidence of learning through observation, conversation, and student work, and give feedback that helps a student improve before the work is graded.

Evaluation — the judgement that produces a mark — measures achievement of the Ontario curriculum expectations across four categories: Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking, Communication, and Application. A student’s grade reflects how well they have met the expectations, with greatest weight given to their most consistent and most recent work.

The final grade

The final percentage grade is based on two parts. Seventy percent comes from work completed throughout the course, weighted toward more recent and more consistent achievement. The remaining thirty percent comes from a final evaluation near the end of the course — an examination, performance, essay, or other culminating task suited to the subject.

Grades are reported against the provincial standard, where Level 3 (70 to 79 percent) represents the standard expected of students at that grade. A grade of 50 percent or higher earns the credit.

The report card

Achievement is reported on the Ontario Provincial Report Card, which records the percentage grade and the credit earned for each course. Grades for completed credits carry forward onto the Ontario Student Transcript, the official record used for graduation and post-secondary admission.

The report card also reports six learning skills and work habits, separately from the academic grade: responsibility, organisation, independent work, collaboration, initiative, and self-regulation. These describe how a student approaches their learning, and universities and colleges do read them.

Considerations for program planning

The Ontario curriculum asks every course to account for a set of cross-curricular considerations — the ways a subject connects to students’ broader development and to the world beyond the classroom. They shape how each course is planned and taught.

Students with special education needs

Teachers plan for the full range of learners. Where a student has an Individual Education Plan, the accommodations, modifications, or alternative expectations it sets out are built into how the course is taught and assessed, so the student can demonstrate learning in the way that works for them.

English language learners

Students who are still developing their English receive scaffolding — adjusted materials, extra time, and language support — while working toward the same curriculum expectations. Assessment separates what a student knows and can do from their stage of English acquisition.

Environmental education

Wherever the subject allows, coursework draws connections to the environment and sustainability, helping students understand how the topics they study relate to the natural world and their responsibilities within it.

Healthy relationships

Every course contributes to a school culture built on respect. Students practise the communication and collaboration skills that underpin healthy, equitable relationships with peers and teachers.

Equity and inclusive education

Materials and discussion reflect a range of experiences and perspectives so every student sees themselves in the work. An inclusive classroom holds high expectations for all learners and treats difference as a strength.

Financial literacy

Where it fits the subject, students apply mathematical and analytical thinking to real financial questions — budgeting, credit, and informed decision-making — so the skills carry into life after graduation.

Literacy, mathematical literacy, and inquiry skills

Reading, writing, oral communication, numeracy, and structured inquiry are developed in every subject, not only in English and mathematics. These are the cross-curricular skills that make learning in every other course possible.

Critical thinking and critical literacy

Students learn to weigh evidence, question assumptions, and interpret what they read, watch, and hear — distinguishing fact from opinion and recognising point of view and bias.

The role of the school library

Library and information resources support research and independent reading. Students learn to locate, evaluate, and use sources responsibly, building the research habits that post-secondary study assumes.

Information and communications technology

Technology is used to support learning and to build the digital skills students need, alongside an understanding of how to work online safely, responsibly, and with attention to their own well-being.

Education and career/life planning

Coursework helps students connect what they are learning to their goals beyond high school, so each credit is a step in a deliberate plan rather than an isolated requirement.

Cooperative education and experiential learning

Where a subject supports it, hands-on and experiential learning connect classroom study to real settings, giving students a clearer sense of how the material is used in work and in the community.

Health and safety

In any course involving activity, equipment, or materials, safe practice is taught and expected. Students learn the procedures that protect themselves and others.

Ethics

Many subjects raise questions of right and wrong. Students learn to examine ethical issues thoughtfully, consider more than one position, and support a view with reasons — including academic honesty in their own work.

Teaching and learning at Vaughan College

Courses are taught in small classes, which lets teachers adapt to how each student learns. A single lesson might combine direct instruction, discussion, independent practice, collaborative work, and hands-on or inquiry-based tasks, chosen to suit the material and the students in the room.

Students receive regular, specific feedback and can move at a pace that fits their goals, whether they are working ahead, recovering a credit, or balancing school with other commitments. The aim is that every student understands not just what they are learning, but why it matters and where it leads.

In-class learning, from anywhere

Be in the classroom from anywhere in the world.

Some of our online courses run alongside a live class in our Vaughan classroom, and which ones changes each semester. When a course offers it, you’ll see a Live now tag on the course or a Hybrid toggle on its page. Turn it on and you can join the real in-person lesson through Google Classroom instead of a separate online-only section, with the same teacher as it happens. Add it when you enrol or anytime after; in-person students can join the same way on the days they study from home.

How it works

Next Step

Ready to add this credit?

Add the course to your cart for enrolment, or speak with our admissions team about pathway sequencing, prerequisites, and credit equivalency from a previous school.

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