Spirit | Be a ConnectR

Watch HeartSpeak TV to learn the history of Residential Schools

Head, Health & Wellness, Learn/Education, Listen, Reconciliation 101, Spirit, Watch, Youth Perspective

Heartspeak is about sharing stories that inspire and providing inspirational educational media to support well-being and success. In this segment, Senator Murray Sinclair (Chair, Truth & Reconciliation Commission) provides background on the history of residential schools and the work of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. He highlights the need to teach the history and intergenerational impact of residential schools and our shared responsibility to forge a new relationship of mutual respect and trust.

Learn Indigenous Teachings About Plants

Food, Health & Wellness, Participate, Spirit, This Land

This CBC News article includes a short video and looks at a program at Wanuskewin Heritage Park —a walking tour of medicinal plants used by Indigenous peoples. Or read Braiding Sweet: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. “As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers.” A delicious read.

Watch a Heritage Minute on the history of treaties

Head, Learn/Education, Spirit, This Land, Watch

Naskumituwin (Treaties)

“Heritage Minutes” by Historica Canada offer a brief glimpse into the making of Treaty 9, presenting it from the perspective of historical witness George Spence, an 18-year-old Cree hunter from Albany, James Bay. Look in This Land for more comprehensive information on treaties.

Watch CBC’s Stolen Children: Residential School Survivors Tell Their Stories

Learn/Education, Spirit, True History, Watch

Stolen Children is an 18 minute video from CBC News show The National, which demonstrates how Residential Schools affected survivors and their children and grandchildren.

Attend a Reconciliation event

Current Events, Learn/Education, Participate, Spirit, Volunteer

Eagle Feather Event News
Office of the Treaty Commissioner Event Listings

Further your journey of Reconciliation by attending events in your community. Volunteer with the organizers, meet new people, learn about Indigenous culture and history, and share your experiences.

Find age appropriate Childrens’ Books About Residential Schools

Head, Kids/Family, Learn/Education, Read, Spirit

10 Children’s Books About Residential Schools

“The following ten books reflect on the residential school experience in different ways. They have all been identified as age-appropriate for children under 12 by reputable organizations.”

Offer your own expertise to support Reconciliation

Body, Participate, Reconciliation 101, Spirit, Work

What are your talents, skills and passions? Connect with Indigenous organizations in your community and offer your skills. You’ll build relationships, meet Elders, and learn about authentic engagement along the way.

Learn about the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

Learn/Education, Reconciliation 101, Spirit, True History, Uncategorized, Watch

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is the permanent home for all statements, documents, and other materials gathered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Learn more about their work.

The centre created this video to explain their work keeping the issues of Truth and Reconciliation alive.

Read Youth Visions for Reconciliation

Head, Kids/Family, Spirit, Youth Perspective

Office of The Treaty Commissioner Website

In March 2017, the Office of the Treaty Commissioner invited 45 youth between the ages of 18 and 30 years to gather and imagine their lives 40 years in the future—in a time when Reconciliation has been successful. Read about their vision for Reconciliation.

Stories Are in Our Bones

Art & Music, Cultural Understandings, Learn/Education, Spirit

Watch the NFB’s Stories Are in Our Bones

Filmmaker Janine Windolph takes her young sons fishing with their kokum, a residential school survivor who retains a deep knowledge and memory of the land. The act of reconnecting with their homeland is a cultural and familial healing journey for the boys, who are growing up in the city.

Read Indigenous Autobiographies

Head, Learn/Education, Read, Spirit

The Tyee talks about Fatty Legs

The Education of Augie Merasty

CBC Book List of 15 Memoirs by Indigenous Writers

If autobiographies are your thing, here are a few titles that will get you started—including The Education of Augie Merasty, Richard Wagamese’s One Native Life, and The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew. These titles will educate and transform you.

Read One Thunderous Voice: A Youth E-Journalism Project

Art & Music, Current Events, Head, Kids/Family, Spirit, Youth Perspective

One Thunderous Voice is a project that brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to engage in e-journalism projects at community events focused on Truth and Reconciliation. Teachers and students from two schools have joined forces: the Constable Robin Cameron Education Complex at Beardy’s & Okemasis Cree Nation, and Aden Bowman Collegiate Institute in Saskatoon, SK.