Girl Guides

These fact sheets and activities were designed for use in a training session for Unit Guiders on Scottish Gaelic language and culture, presented by Dr. Emily McEwan-Fujita and Terri M. Roberts to the Harbourside Area, Nova Scotia Council, Girl Guides of Canada, on January 24, 2015.

Through these training materials, Canadian girls who have Scottish roots in their
families, communities, and/or province can come to appreciate that they, too, have a
unique and precious culture and heritage. Unit Guiders can attend a Gaelic Cultural Awareness training session, and then use these materials to refresh their memory and select information and activities that are most suitable for the age level and interests of their unit.

At the time of Canadian Confederation in 1867, Gaelic was Canada’s third most widely-spoken language after English and French. The First Nations, French, and British are called the “founding peoples” of Canada, but a significant proportion of British immigrants were actually Gaels—that is, Gaelic speakers from Scotland. Therefore the Scottish Gaelic language and culture are a fundamental part of Canadian history and can play a proud role in the nation’s multiculturalism. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the British and Anglo-Canadians deliberately sought to eradicate Gaelic language and culture throughout Canada. However, the unique Canadian Gaelic legacy has survived into the 21st century and is being revitalized in Nova Scotia.