| Vocabulary
List
Aboriginal:
(adj.) having existed in a region from
the beginning
Acquisition: (n.) something
gained or acquired
Aggrieved: (adj.) treated
wrongly, offended, treated unjustly
Alliance: (n.) an agreement
or union between nations or individuals
for a shared benefit
Boundary: (n.) something
that indicates a border or a limit
Annuity: (n.) the annual
payment of goods or income
Annuity cloth: the black,
red or blue cloth annually given to Native
people as part of the State of Maine’s
treaty responsibilities
Appoint: (v.) to select
or designate to fill an office or a position
Archaeologist: (n.) an
anthropologist who studies past people
and their culture
Archaeology: (n.) the
study of past human life and culture by
examining objects such as tools, pottery
or buildings
Artifact: (n.) anything
made or produced by humans
Assert: (v.) to state
or express positively, to act boldly or
forcefully, especially defending one’s
rights or stating an opinion
Assimilate: (v.) to become
similar, or absorb a culture
Bounty: (n.) a reward
or payment offered by a government
Cede: (v.) to surrender
possession of, especially by treaty
Census: (n.) a complete
count of a population
Confederacy: (n.) a group
of people who have united for political
purposes
Decry: (v.) to condemn
openly, belittle, minimize, degrade or
devalue
Deed: (v.) to transfer
property with a document or contract
Depiction: (n.) a graphic
or verbal description
Derogatory: (adj.) expression
of low opinion, belittling, or diminishing
Encroach: (v.) to take
another’s possessions or rights
Entrepreneur: (n.) a
person who organizes, operates, and takes
the risk for a business project
Epidemic: (n.) a rapid
spread, growth, or development, i.e. disease
or infection
Excavation: (n.) the
act of digging; the site of an archaeological
exploration
Exemption: (n.) free
from responsibility, obligation or duty
Expropriation: (n.) taking
out of an owner’s hands, to deprive
of possession
Heritage: (n.) something
that is passed down from previous generations;
a tradition
Homeland: (n.) one’s
native land; a state region or territory
that is closely identified with a particular
people or ethnic group
Human remains: (n) the
physical remains of the body of a person
of Native American ancestry
Instill: (v.) to introduce
by gradual, persistent efforts
Legislative: (adj.) having
the power to create laws
Ojibwe: (n.) one of the
most populous and widely distributed Indian
groups in North America, with 150 bands
throughout the north-central United States
and southern Canada. “Chippewa”
is more commonly used in the United States
and “Ojibway” or “Ojibwe”
in Canada, but the Ojibwe people themselves
use their Native word Anishinabe meaning
“original people.”
Oral tradition: (n.)
the communication and maintenance, from
one generation to the next, of a people’s
cultural history and ancestry, by a storyteller
in narrative form
Proclamation: (n.) a
formal public statement
Provision: (n.) a stash
of needed supplies
Refuge: (n.) a safe place,
protection or shelter from danger
Regalia: (n.) fine or
decorative clothing, including objects
and symbols of office or society
Reliniquish: (v.) to
give up, release, let go.
Reservation: (n.) a section
of land set apart by the federal government
for the use of Native American people
Revitalize: (v.) to give
new life and vigor to
Sagamore: (n.) chief
or counselor
Self-determination: (n.)
freedom of the people of a given area
to determine their own political status;
free will
Self-sufficiency: (n.)
personal independence; able to provide
for oneself without the help of others
Settlement: (n.) a community
of people who settle far from home but
maintain ties with their homeland
Sovereignty: (n.) the
right of a people to self-government;
complete independence and self-government
Technology: (n.) the
scientific method of achieving a practical
purpose; the body of knowledge available
to a society used to produce items, practice
manual arts and skills, and extract and
collect materials
Toolkit: (n.) a set of
weapons and tools created and used by
a person or group of people
Trading post: (n.) a
station or store in a thinly settled area
established by traders to barter supplies
for local products
Treaty: (n.) a contract
or agreement made by negotiation, especially
between two or more nations or governments
Tuberculosis: (n.) infection
of the lungs transmitted by breathing,
eating or drinking of tubercle bacilli;
noticeable as fever and small lesions
Wares: (n.) products
or merchandise
Wigwams: (n.) the Algonquian
word for “home”; a housing
structure commonly having an arched or
conical framework overlaid with bark,
hides, or mats
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