Jan. 4 is National Ribbon Skirt Day. A day that provides an opportunity for everyone to learn more about and celebrate Indigenous cultures, traditions, histories, and contributions to Canada.
National Ribbon Skirt Day Act
Today is National Ribbon Skirt Day! Here’s how it came to be (From CBC Kids)
Read More
As part of your reconciliation journey, learn the proper protocols and attend a ceremony in your community that is open to the public.
Read More
Research Indigenous place names in your community and learn about the people or trailblazers that they are named in honour of. Make a social media post about what you learn/uncover and share.
Read More
Indigenous Trailblazers who helped us to get to where we are today. Create opportunities to learn about Indigenous trailblazers in your systems and community and honour them.
Read More
Engage with the Re-Igniting Sacred Fires project from Aboriginal Friendship Centres of Saskatchewan. A project that honours and commemorates the lives and legacies of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit individuals, and raises awareness of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice, and the Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ who have been lost.
Read More
Learn about The History of Two-Spirit Folks in an article shared by The Indigenous Foundation about the term Two-Spirit, where the term originated and the power it carries.
Read More
What is it like to provide trans care on an Indigenous reserve that serves 2,400 people in central Alberta? For this Two-Spirit Cree doctor, it’s more than his job. Dr. Makokis created a unique approach to transgender care, combining Indigenous and Western teachings.
Read More
In the aftermath of residential schools, healthy elders are essential to the identity of Indigenous people. Doreen Spence is an internationally respected Cree elder speaks to their importance imparting wisdom and helping younger people understand their history and struggles.
Read More
Read an Indigenous Elder Definition, a Question and Answer with information on what makes an Elder and protocol for Elders in Indigenous communities.
Read More
This article shares 8 Two-Spirit Artists, Activists, and Healers Showing the World Queerness is Indigenous. If you are looking to learn more about Land Back, water protectors, and the fight for Native sovereignty? These creators can show you the way.
Read More
Hear from Dr. Reg Crowshoe, Piikani Blackfoot Nation Elder in Calgary, and Johnny Caisse, a young volunteer with the Diamond Willow Youth Lodge, in this video telling a poignant and personal story of what it means to experience intergenerational trauma.
Read More
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada shared this video in 2010 of a sacred pipe ceremony with hundreds of Indigenous & non-Indigenous attendees.
Read More
Watch Sweat Lodge Teachings with Education Day Manager, Wilfred Buck shared by Manito Ahbee Educational Program
Read More
In this CBC Unreserved article Chantal Fiola talks about her journey of spiritual exploration — from church services to Indigenous ceremonies.
Read More
Learn about Indigenous ceremonies and socials, including Feats and Giveaways, Naming Ceremonies, Sweat Lodges, Moon Time, Potlatch Ceremonies, and more. The work recognizes that many of these practices were illegal under the Indian Act’s cultural ban in 1951.
Read More
Learn more about the Sixties Scoop, take time to get to watch the testimonies of Survivors on the website Bi-Giwen: Honouring Our Journeys.
Read More
Thousands of indigenous children across Canada were taken from their homes and adopted into white families during the Sixties Scoop. Hear stories from five survivors as they told their stories at the Indigenous Adoptee Gathering in August 2015.
Read More
A report from 2016, one year after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its report on the damage done by Canada’s residential schools. Murray Sinclair, chair of the commission, discusses the progress on the recommendations.
Read More
Learn about reconciliation in Saskatchewan. #BeAConnectR and read the Vision of Truth and Reconciliation through Treaty Implementation shared by the Office of the Treaty Commissioner.
Read More
Follow great accounts on Instagram that are leading the conversation on decolonization and encouraging others to get involved. Here are a few to get started:
@decolonizemyself
@oncanadaproject
@notoriouscree
@shinanova
Elder in the Making is a documentary series featuring Cowboy Smithx (the “x” is silent), a Blackfoot searching for his identity, and Chris Hsuing, a first generation Chinese-Canadian filmmaker, on a trip across Treaty 7 territory to re-discover their shared heritage. In this episode Cowboy and Chris head out to the grassland prairies. They find an ancient land marked by thousands of years of history and a complex ecology of bison, grass, and other life.
Read More
Watch this video as Knowledge Keeper Rocky Morin of Enoch Cree Nation shares the Seven Sacred Teachings, which he describes as the “guiding principles of how we should live our lives in a respectful and sacred manner to all living things.”
Read More
Learn about Indigenous Worldview. Every culture, background, and society is unique and different. They each have their own sets of beliefs, values, and perspectives on the world. This is worldview
Read More
This resource by CBC Kids introduces the powwow, its history, who attends, the drums, dances and more.
Read More
Watch CBC’s The Fifth Estate’s coverage of the residential school St. Anne’s, an Indian Residential School in Northern Ontario, that was a place of horrific abuse and crimes against children that took place over decades.
Warning: this film contains content that could be triggering for some viewers
Read More
Watch this video from the New York Times featuring the work being done by a team of archaeologists led in part by Dr. Terence Clark from the University of Saskatchewan, who are working with the Muskowekwan First Nation to search for the unmarked graves of children.
Read More
ConnectR Youth Champion Dany Muembo spoke at the 2022 passion2action conference. passion2action is a non-profit, grassroots youth empowerment organization in Saskatchewan committed to empowering young people with the skills, resources, and opportunities they need to take action on the causes for which they are passionate. Hear from youth voices about what they want to see in the future.
Read More
In the 2022 CBC Massey Lectures, Cree writer Tomson Highway explores language, creation, sex and gender, humour and death. Listen here
Read More
Learn about the Reciprocity Project and watch films like Diiyeghan naii Taii Tr’eedaa (We Will Walk the Trail of our Ancestors)
Read More
The Water Walker by Anishinaabe author, illustrator and water protection activist Joanne Robertson tells the true story of Josephine Mandamin, an Ojibwe grandmother who walks to protect Nibi (water) for future generations.
This article on the Local Love website looks at how the trauma from residential schools can impact individuals and communities today. It looks at how intergenerational trauma has mental and physical effects and how to stop the cycle of intergenerational trauma and how can on heal from it.
Read More
Learn about Indigenous Justice and Reconciliation through The Healing and Reconciliation Program in restoring right relations. Use the Presbyterian Church website and engage in the path of learning and un-learning through their resources.
Read More
The Anglican Church of Canada is encouraging people to get involved in reconciliation, truth-telling, and healing through faith by incorporating reconciliation, right-relationship, and justice seeking.
Read More
Learn more about the residential school experience. Read ‘Lessons Learned’, a report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which shares experiences of residential school survivors and shapes future work towards truth-telling, reconciliation, and healing.
Read More
Listen to residential school survivor stories: Legacy of Hope Foundation. Over the last twenty years, the Legacy of Hope Foundation has developed a collection of videos to educate and foster awareness of the impacts of the Residential School System.
Read More
Eagle and the Crow, a story of peace, friendship and respect, as told by Vern Severight (Cote First Nation) on July 6, 2020
Read More
Picking up the Pieces follows the journey of making the Witness Blanket – a national monument that commemorates the experiences of residential school survivors across Canada.
Read More
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 More
N’we Jinan works to amplify voices and stories of Indigenous youth by providing tools to create communication. They work to validate the narratives and experiences of young people and supplies platforms, like Facebook, through which they can share with and further relate to their greater community.
Read More
Learn more about Smudging using the Smudging Chart Cree Resource developed by Janine Wildcat for the Ermineskin Cree Nation. Cree translation provided by Betty Simon.
Read MoreThe 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 More
Learn about the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) by visiting this website that is specific to the process of the inquiry. Or dive into this important new title addressing issues around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: Keetsahnak: Our Murdered and Missing Indigenous Sisters reveals “the tension between personal, political, and public action. . .as the contributors look at the roots of violence and how it diminishes life for all. Together, they create a model for anti-violence work from an Indigenous perspective.”
Read MoreIndigenous Youth Voices is a project that seeks to gather input from Inuit, Métis and First Nations youth across Canada on how best to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 66 to deliver programs that can empower and support Indigenous Youth. Read this CBC article about the project!
Read More
These online courses and films provide a comprehensive, customized anti-racist education in line with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. With you, they aim to promote a renewed relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Settlers through transformative multi-media learning.
Read MoreOffice 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.
Read MoreLearn about a project by Canadian Roots Exchange. The Youth Reconciliation Initiative (YRI) invites Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to train, envision and build nation-wide reconciliation. From Coast to Coast, these youth raise awareness, connect Canadian citizens and build conciliation across Canada.
Read MoreThe online magazine alive offers an article on “Aboriginal Medicine: Four Canadian plants with the power to heal” by Cara McKenna.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More