Blog

In August 2018, the federal government announced it would declare a federal statutory holiday to mark the legacy of the residential school system. The date and name of the proposed holiday to be chosen in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples.

In declaring a federal statutory holiday to honour the survivors, their families, and communities the federal government will be fulfilling #80 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 calls to action:

The definition of “myth”, according to the Oxford Canadian Dictionary, is “a widely held but false notion.” When it comes to the topic of Indigenous Peoples there are many widely held but false notions or myths.

A reader recently asked us a question about talking sticks.  We changed the question up a little so as to preserve the confidentiality of the questioner.  

Contributed by: Wedlidi Speck

Edwin Cook was born in Alert Bay, the home of the Namgis First Nations in 1897. He was the fifth of 16 children born to Jane and Stephen Cook. Jane was a noble woman from the Kwaguł tribe and Stephen was thunderbird clan from the Namgis.

Randomly plucking “popularized” images of a marginalized culture for entertainment without respect for or an understanding of the culture is culturally disrespectful.

Canada’s historical reputation is of a country where living conditions were good, and there were ample economic opportunities - a “land of milk and honey.” Europeans were wooed to come to Canada, settle, and reap the benefit of its vast resources. And come they did, and reap the benefits they did.

It has been over three years (June 2, 2015) now since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada released its summary report and 94 calls to action for reconciliation. Testimony gathered during a six-year period from over 7,000 survivors of the residential school system, forms the basis of the report.The calls to action (CTAs) targeted key institutionsincluding child welfare, health, justice, education, and business.

The announcement on August 30, 2018, that the Federal Court of Appeal had quashed the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion due, in part, to faulty consultation with Indigenous Peoples, has many Canadians puzzling over what meaningful consultation means.

The severity and impact of forest fires dominate the headlines every summer. In 2016, the Fort McMurray, Alberta, wildfire invoked the largest mass evacuation in Canadian history, with nearly 90,000 people forced from their homes. Many of the evacuees were Indigenous from urban areas and reserves.