Indigenous Resources

Foundation

Websites/Blogs:

• âpihtawikosisân — Blog

  ⇢ Indigenous Issues 101 – Myth Debunking

  ⇢ Hall of Shame – An Open Letter on Cultural Appropriation

• Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society — Interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, Open Access journal committed to the work of decolonization

  ⇢ Be sure to check out the site’s blog

• Indigenous Foundations at UBC — Information resource on key topics relating to the histories, politics, and cultures of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada

  ⇢ Dialogue on the History and Legacy of the Indian Residential Schools

• Legacy of Hope Foundation — Charitable organization with the mandate to educate and create awareness and understanding about the Residential School System

  ⇢ Legacy of Hope Foundation – Facebook Page

• Métis Museum — Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture
• Turtle Island Native Network — Daily news updates on Aboriginal and First Nations issues and topics of interest
• Where Are The Children? — Virtual exhibit and interactive website about Residential Schools

Multimedia:

• 8TH FIRE — Four-part CBC documentary series that provides a “provocative, high-energy journey through Aboriginal country showing you why we need to fix Canada’s 500 year-old relationship with Indigenous peoples; a relationship mired in colonialism, conflict and denial. With its energetic pace and stunning HD landscapes, 8TH FIRE propels you past prejudice, stereotypes and misunderstandings, to encounters with an impressive new generation of Aboriginal Canadians who are reclaiming both their culture and their confidence. … The title for the series draws from an Anishinaabe prophecy that declares now is the time for Aboriginal peoples and the settler community to come together and build the ‘8th Fire’ of justice and harmony.”

  ⇢ Episode 1: Indigenous in the City (43:24); Episode 2: It’s Time (43:29); Episode 3: Whose Land is it Anyway? (43:14); Episode 4: At the Crossroads (43:20)

• Reel Injun: On the Trail of the Hollywood Indian (86:00) — Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond’s documentary “takes a look at the Hollywood Indian, exploring the portrayal of North American Natives through a century of cinema. Traveling through the heartland of America, and into the Canadian North, Diamond looks at how the myth of ‘the Injun’ has influenced the world’s understanding — and misunderstanding — of Natives.”

  ⇢ See NFB’s Reel Injun Teacher’s Guide & Docs for School’s Reel Injun Educational Resource

• Stolen Children (48:24) — CBC documentary that “explores the impact of residential schools on former students and their children and grandchildren. Survivors share their harrowing experiences and discuss the legacy of fear, abuse and suicide being passed down from generation to generation. The words of successive Canadian politicians and bureaucrats are revealed against a backdrop of archival footage, a chilling reminder of the policies and convictions that drove the government of the day to seek ‘a final solution to the Indian problem.’”

Context

Websites/Blogs:

General

• Assembly of First Nations — A “national advocacy organization representing First Nation citizens in Canada, which includes more than 900,000 people living in 634 First Nation communities and in cities and towns across the country.” Describes the Indian Residential Schools Agreement, action taken, and future action to be taken.
• CBC News: Aboriginal — The latest news relating to indigenous people and issues
• Ontario Institute for Studies in Education: Resources for Teachers — Website with curriculum resources for teachers engaged in inclusive education and indigenous issues
• Rabble: Indigenous — Alternative news source in Canada. Blogs, articles, podcasts and more
• The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA) — An independent news outlet “committed to facilitating the exchange of information reflecting Aboriginal culture to a growing and diverse audience. AMMSA is dedicated to providing objective, mature and balanced coverage of news, information and entertainment relevant to Indigenous issues and peoples while maintaining profound respect for the values, principles and traditions of Indigenous peoples.”
• Windspeaker.com — “Canada’s national Indigenous news source. Published since 1983, Windspeaker.com is the most critically acclaimed Indigenous source of news in the country. It covers the top news stories of relevance to Indigenous Peoples and their communities throughout Canada. Windspeaker.com also includes regular columns and features on culture, opinions, sports, entertainment, education, health and careers.”

Indian Act

• Indian Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I-5) — Full document by the Government of Canada
• Kelowna Accord (Never implemented) — The Canadian Encyclopedia

  ⇢ Learning from the Kelowna Accord — Article by Christopher Alcantara and Zachary Spicer

• Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples — The Canadian Encyclopedia
• The Indian Act — Indigenous Foundations (UBC)
• The Indian Act: Historical Overview — Mapleleafweb
• The Indian Act in Plain English — Blogpost by Nora Loreto

Representation

• Native Appropriations — Forum discussing “representations of Native peoples, including stereotypes, cultural appropriation, news, activism, and more.”
• Who Owns Native Culture? — Website designed to “complement the book Who Owns Native Culture? (Harvard UP, 2003), has for more than a decade served as an informal clearinghouse for information on efforts to defend indigenous cultural and intellectual property from unwanted appropriation by others.”

Residential Schools

• Aboriginal Healing Foundation: Residential School Resources

  ⇢ See ahf.ca for updates, announcements, and a list of publications

• A History of Residential Schools in Canada — FAQs on Residential Schools, compensation and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• Indian Residential Schools — An article by Wayne K. Spear providing an overview of the history of policy leading to Residential Schools in Canada

Multimedia:

• Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) — Indigenous news, shows (and scheduling), and films
• Against the Grain: The Legacy of the Indian Residential School System (23:35) — Film by Métis director Curtis Mandeville exploring “the legacy of the Indian Residential School system by looking at its history, present conditions and hopes for the future. It focuses on the varying social and political challenges facing former students, their families and communities, and highlights various attempts to cope and overcome the impacts.” This powerful film has raised some controversial discussions about responsibility
• Breaking Down the Indian Act with Russell Diabo (35:03)
• Chief Wilton Littlechild – Truth and Reconciliation: What does the Future Hold? (1:13:23) — Presentation on Residential Schools. One of the commissioners of the TRC, and a Residential School survivor, Chief Littlechild presents on the history of residential schools; His talk begins at about 08:25
• Russell Diabo: A Chronology of Canada and First Nations Relationships (53:01)
• Indian Residential Schools Student Documentary (12:58) — A short video by Arnell Tailfeathers on Residential Schools and generational impacts
• Inuit Broadcasting Corporation — This corporation produces programming about the Inuit of Canada in Inuktitut
• IsumaTV — A “collaborative multimedia platform for indigenous filmmakers and media organizations. … The collective platform currently carries over 6000 videos, and thousands of other images and audio files, in more than 80 different languages, on 800+ user-controlled channels, representing cultures and media organizations from Canada, U.S.A., Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and all over Latin America.”
• Legacy of Hope Foundation — A “national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for more than 19 years. The LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential School System (RSS) and subsequent Sixties Scoop (SS) on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Survivors, their descendants, and their communities to promote healing and Reconciliation.” On the site, you will find numerous videos, teaching resources, access to workshops/trainings, access to mobile exhibitions, and reports on the impacts of Residential Schools
• mediaINDIGENA — A “weekly Indigenous current affairs podcast. [Their] website also features Aboriginal news, views and creative expression.”
• ReVision Quest with Darrell Dennis – A radio documentary show that aired from 2008 to 2011 on CBC Radio One. The show “mixes personal storytelling, current affairs interviews and comedy to explore [contemporary] issues affecting Native peoples.” Episodes are available on ReVision Quest’s website and other steaming platforms
• Symposium on Reconciliation — Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, speaks at the Symposium on Reconciliation in Ontario in Toronto, February, 2011. The talk is split up into 5 short videos

  ⇢ Part 1 (5:05); Part 2 (5:01); Part 3 (5:07); Part 4 (3:45); Part 5 (3:41)

  ⇢ Search “Murray Sinclair” on Youtube for other relevant videos

• The Experimental Eskimos (43:29) — Film documenting “an extraordinary attempt at social engineering. The film follows Peter Ittinuar, Zebedee Nungak and Eric Tagoona, who, as 12-year-old boys, were shipped South in the early 1960s from their homes in the Canadian Arctic to attend public schools in Ottawa. All three went on to become activists and leaders, paving the way for aboriginal rights in Canada and around the world. However the social experiment deprived the children of home, family, language and culture.”

  ⇢ See Docs for Schools’ The Experimental Eskimos Educational Resource

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Videos — Ceremonies, testimonies, events, hearings, forums
• Unrepentant: Kevin Annett and Canada’s Genocide — “A never before told history as seen through the eyes of this former minister (Kevin Annett) who blew the whistle on his own church, after he learned of thousands of murders in its Indian Residential Schools.”

Action & Education

Websites/Blogs:

• @decolonizemyself — Instagram account. “2Spirit. Cree. Treat 4. First Nations Personal journey. Exploring colonization, decolonization, healing & culture.”
• GC Indigenous — “Gov of Canada Instagram account for & about First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada.” @gcindigenous & @gcautochtones (Français)
• Idle No More — Official website for the Idle No More Movement: “A peaceful revolution” intended to “honour Indigenous sovereignty [a]nd to protect the land & water & sky”
• kolonial q: ALLIES PUTTING AN END TO COLONIALISM — Blog with information on the history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous action and activism. Includes the history of the Idle No more movement, educational resources, archived talks/panel discussions and documentaries
• Reconciliation Canada — Website; Indigenous-led organization intending “to promote reconciliation by engaging Canadians in dialogue that revitalizes the relationships between Indigenous peoples and all Canadians in order to build vibrant, resilient and sustainable communities”
• Russ Diabo — Twitter page for @RussDiabo, Kahnawake Mohawk, Indigenous Policy Analyst. Editor & Publisher of the First Nations Strategic Bulletin. 2018 AFN National Chief Candidate
• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) — Website; As of 2015, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) has transferred its work to the NCTR. The resource includes teaching resources, virtual/material exhibits, and a history of the TRC