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This is another installment in our series on the people behind the transformational court cases that affect Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Please visit Delbert Guerin Defender of the Musqueam Nation and Delgamuukw and Gisday’way to learn about the men behind those court cases.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many stories have emerged about the amazing selflessness of the front line workers, about patients who against all odds survive the ordeal, about artists in numerous genres sharing their art to buoy up the spirits of those quarantined, about neighbours helping neighbours, and about strangers helping strangers. These are stories about sacrifice, strength, courage, kindness of heart, and generosity of spirit. 

When Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the death of an Elder from Alert Bay, I was struck by her compassion, her understanding of the enormity of the immediate and long-term loss to the Elder’s family and her community, the loss to the greater society, and the deep emotion in her voice.

"Included in the deaths in the last 24 hours, is our first death in one of B.C.’s First Nations communities. Along with the many lives we have lost to COVID-19, this is a tragedy that’s beyond just us. This is a tragedy for all of us. Our Elders, in particular, in our First Nations communities are culture and history keepers.

When they become ill and when they die, we all lose and I want you to know that we feel that collective loss today. My thoughts are with her family and her entire community as I recognize the tragic impact this has on all of them.

It is particularly a challenging time to not be able to come together physically, in the normal way that we would, to respect the customs that we have in communities at this time and my condolences and my heart goes out to this community and to the family.”

You can listen to Dr. Henry by clicking this link; her above comments are in the first 100 seconds.

We are in uncharted waters these days as countries around the world scramble to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are all at risk and all have a role in helping minimize the spread of this virus, some are at heightened risk, due to age, underlying health, geographic locations, or a combination of all those factors.

Indigenous Peoples believe they have held title to their traditional lands or territories from the moment their Creators placed them on that land (time immemorial) and bestowed them with the responsibility to care for it... forever. But then European explorers arrived, planted flags, and laid claim to all they saw. How was that possible?

Every June 21st, thousands of Indigenous Peoples celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day (NIPD). This is a special day to acknowledge the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. Joining in the celebrations is a wonderful way to learn more about Indigenous Peoples and cultures in your area.

• 10 Ways to Virtually Celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day

June is National Indigenous History Month - a time for all Canadians - Indigenous, non-Indigenous and newcomers - to reflect upon and learn the history, sacrifices, cultures, contributions, and strength of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. It’s important to keep in mind that First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples each have their own unique histories. And within each group, there are distinct histories.

Read:
• 10 Ways to Virtually Celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day
• How did we get here? A concise, unvarnished account of the history of the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Canada

Canada is renowned for the wealth and diversity of its natural resources and has long relied on royalties from extractive industries to contribute to the gross domestic product.  

“Governments derived $22 billion annually on average from the natural resource sectors during 2012-2016. There are 418 major resource projects under construction or planned over the next 10 years in Canada, worth $585 billion in investment.” [1]

Agility, strength, balance, reflexes, hand-eye coordination, accuracy, strategy, intuition, and patience. These are skills Indigenous hunters and fishermen relied on to feed their communities. And those skills were learned at an early age through games and maintained throughout adulthood through play.