A History of Indigenous Magic in Canada
Magic has existed in the Americas ever since the tail end of the last Ice Age when man crossed the ice bridge across the Bering Strait and moved into what is now called Alaska, eventually migrating down into Canada and into the upper United States. For millennia afterwards, the majority of the various Indigenous tribes and cultures held magic as something central to daily life with both Muggles and Magical folk seeing it’s importance and power, something which stands in stark contrast to how magic was seen by European Muggles after the 11th Century A.D. Magic users were often referred to as shamans or medicine men rather than witch or wizard and were generally held in high regard by their various tribes and seen as incredibly important to the survival of their people in Canada’s harsh climate, particular during its cold, barren winters where food was scarce, often forming the backbone of their tribe’s social structure. However, unlike their European counterparts, the indigenous medicine men of Canada largely did not exist within a singular “magical community” due to the fact that magic was largely embraced by Muggles and because pf the differences in language, religion, and culture between the numerous different tribes which they belonged to, though that is not to say that they were completely isolated as alliances and cooperation between tribes did allow many medicine men to meet and interact with one another. It was only in modern times when the indigenous magical community formed in one, somewhat-unified whole as a way of protecting itself and its culture not only from the attacks of Muggles, but also from the European magical community.
There are many misconceptions around the indigenous model of magic, but these are largely misinterpretations made by European witches and wizards who fail to look beyond their own culture and history. Overall, wands were often not used, but they were present in some tribes while other tribes were known to use staves or amulets to focus their magical abilities, others even using elaborate rituals or simply performed magic without any channeling aide, so wide generalizations can often not be made. Wands have become used by many a modern indigenous witch or wizard, but Four Waters Academy in particular advocates for the study of wandless and non-traditional styles of magic as a way to preserving indigenous magic in the face of the European majority. Indigenous magic did not, of course, use European style spells spoken in European languages, though those are indeed used by modern Indigenous witches and wizards, but chants, phrases, and words have been used by many tribes across the country so, once again, generalizations can not be readily made. Indigenous magic is as varied and as diverse as any other style of magic, but what often causes the belief that it is “less advanced” or that things such as Charms or Transfiguration are more difficult for indigenous witches and wizards is simply the fact that indigenous magic does things differently than European magic. Charms and Transfiguration are not overly difficult for indigenous witches and wizards as shown by the sheer number of Animagi among the indigenous magical community, they are both simply done in a way that is different from how a European witch or wizard would execute them and may seem difficult to the European eye. And, as stated previously, Animagi are found both among ancient indigenous tribes and the modern indigenous magical community, though there were a handful of tribes who saw it as a sign of an evil witch, but most tribes found it perfectly normal and even important for their shamans and medicine people to be able to turn into animals. To this day, Four Waters Academy is renowned for its teachings on Animagism and regularly offers courses on the subject to those who show particular affinity for Transfiguration with it not being uncommon for entire graduating classes to be Animagi, much to the chagrin of the Department of Magical Affairs.
The indigenous peoples of Canada had, of course, known of other peoples throughout the North America and even from Europe for centuries with the trade networks between various tribes that linked one coast to the other and spanning across the continent from Canada’s south all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention the arrival of the Vikings over a thousand years ago, but it was with the arrival of Europeans to the shores of Canada when the history of the indigenous peoples would change forever, both for the muggle world and for indigenous magical world.
While the indigenous magical community has managed to endure into modern times with a good amount of its traditions, culture, and practices intact, it has still lost much over the years and has seen itself sidelined not only by the tribes which had once embraced it, though that is slowly beginning to change, but also by the European magical community who are supported by institutions such as the Canadian Magical Parliament and the Department of Magical Affairs. It is now is working diligently in order to protect what fragments of itself do remain which has caused Four Waters Academy to become a hub of the indigenous magical community, serving as a repository of history, traditions, language, and culture as well as a safe haven for indigenous and non-indigenous students to learn the old ways and to connect with a heritage which dates back tens of thousands of years. Four Waters Academy has also provided an axis around which the indigenous magical community can revolve around and has provided it stability and a foundation, allowing it to avoid some of the problems which have plagued Canada’s indigenous muggle communities, though they have certainly still had more than their share of trouble.