Cultural Understandings | Be a ConnectR

Listen: Massey Lectures with Tomson Highway

Art & Music, Cultural Understandings, Listen, Spirit

In the 2022 CBC Massey Lectures, Cree writer Tomson Highway explores language, creation, sex and gender, humour and death. Listen here

We Will Walk the Trail of our Ancestors

Cultural Understandings, Spirit, Watch

Learn about the Reciprocity Project and watch films like Diiyeghan naii Taii Tr’eedaa (We Will Walk the Trail of our Ancestors)

Yorkton Tribal Council Teepee Teachings

Cultural Understandings, Heart, Protocols

Learn about teepees (also tepee or tipi) in this interactive website (with videos, images, and text) from the Yorkton Tribal Council.

Listen: Toasted Sister Podcast

Body, Cultural Understandings, Food, Heart

The Toasted Sister Podcast is all about food. Host Andi Murphy says “after contact, Indigenous foodways and knowledge were devastated, nearly destroyed and replaced with foods that are far from the people.”

So, she went on a journey and talked with dozens of Indigenous People about food. She shares stories about what Indigenous cuisine is, where it comes from, where it is headed and how it is connecting people to communities and their traditions.

Read: Decolonizing Journalism

Cultural Understandings, Current Events, Head, Read

Duncan McCue’s Decolonizing Journalism: A Guide to Reporting in Indigenous Communities is designed to teach teaches aspiring journalists how to build respectful, reciprocal relationships with Indigenous communities when researching and sharing their stories.

Making teaching more inclusive

Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education

The First Nations Education Steering Committee created resources to support teachers in including Indigenous teachings and perspectives in courses – like the Math First Peoples Teacher Resource Guide.

Listen: Our Native Land

Body, Cultural Understandings, Listen

Our Native Land, a weekly society and culture podcast, hosted by Tchadas Leo explores all things Indigenous and First Nations. It features interviews and compelling discussions about Indigenous cuisine, culture, heritage, and more from Vancouver Island and around the world. Visit them on Facebook, and Twitter

Learn about consequences of Indigenous misrepresentations

Cultural Understandings, Current Events, Head, Reconciliation 101

The Canadian Bar Association discusses the repercussions faced by Indigenous people when media picks and chooses the narrative of the story concerning Indigenous issues.

Learn about issues in media portrayal of Indigenous communities

Cultural Understandings, Current Events, Head

Professor Carmen Robertson looks at how Indigenous people are represented by media and how it can feed into Indigenous stereotypes in this article.

Help reclaim Indigenous place names in Saskatoon

Cultural Understandings, Heart, Participate, This Land

Advocate for reclaiming Indigenous place names in Saskatoon. If you have a suggestion to change the name of a street, parks, and other civic properties, you can fill out a form on the City of Saskatoon’s website.

Indigenous History 101 Toolkit

Cultural Understandings, Head, Residential Schools

The Assembly of First Nations developed a toolkit to bring together First Nations and non-First Nations people and foster a spirit of cooperation, understanding, and action. Learn about residential schools, culture, pre-contact history, and role models.

Decolonize Myself – A First Nations Perspective

Cultural Understandings, Head, Read

Read the Decolonize Myself blog for First Nations perspectives of colonialization, decolonialization, healing, and culture, and check out the resource links.

Craft Your Own Land Acknowledgement

Cultural Understandings, Heart, Path, Reconciliation 101, Theme

Through a series of 5 video blogs, Rose Roberts and Stryker Calvez invite you to explore a few different elements that are important to understand before building your own Land Acknowledgement: worldviews, positionality, treaties and the Metis homeland. The goal is to help you to build your own awareness about the Indigenous philosophy of wahkotowin (all our relations) and how you can honour it when you engage these elements and create your own land acknowledgement. Hosted by the University of Saskatchewan, you can watch the video blogs here.

Read: Life in the City of Dirty Water

Cultural Understandings, Heart, Read

Winnipeg environmental activist Clayton Thomas-Muller details what life was like growing up as an Indigenous youth in Winnipeg’s inner city: Life in the City of Dirty Water

“This is my story. It is the story of many Indigenous Peoples who find themselves in one of Canada’s inner cities with questions. It is the story of how we became dispossessed and how we rise.”

Watch: Enoch Animated

Cultural Understandings, Head, Watch

Enoch Animated is a YouTube channel that brings the stories of Enoch Cree Nation elders to life. There are 24 short videos (one or two minutes long)and they entertainment and education for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.

Watch: Bannock and Learning

Cultural Understandings, Food, Watch

Watch this video by the team at Wanuskewin Heritage Park: Bannock and Learning with Chef Jenni Lessard and Cultural Interpreter Honey Constant

Watch: Angry Inuk

Cultural Understandings, Heart, Watch

Angry Inuk is an Indigenous feature-length documentary film written and directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril that shows the Inuit seal hunt, as the hunt is a vital means for Inuit peoples to sustain themselves and looks at those people standing in opposition.

Learn with Future Ancestors Services

Cultural Understandings, Heart, Participate

Future Ancestors Services Inc. offers capacity building and skills training that can contribute to holistic and sustainable change. These trainings can advance knowledge on the individual’s role in addressing systemic issues to become a part of building a sustainable future that our next generations will inherit.

Learn about Canadian Indigenous history

Cultural Understandings, Head

Canadian Indigenous History and Cultural Sensitivity is a comprehensive course on Canadian Indigenous relations, cultural practices, and the historical impact of colonization, starting with what Canada and First Peoples looked like pre-contact. This course also gives basic introduction to the proper protocol when working with the Indigenous peoples.

Learn about Aboriginal Worldviews and Education

Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education

Aboriginal Worldviews and Education is a course offered free online by the University of Toronto. It will explore indigenous ways of knowing and how they can benefit all students.

Watch: Future Pathways Fireside Chat

Cultural Understandings, Head, Watch, Youth Perspective

Future Pathways Fireside Chat series of videos from Indigenous role models in activism, the arts, community development, education, business, health, skilled trades, sports and more. They share messages of hope, resilience, and perseverance, while highlighting the lessons learned from their support systems, careers, and personal choices.

Learn Métis history visually

Cultural Understandings, Head, Kids/Family, Learn/Education

The Métis: A Visual History is a stunning and visually commanding resource covering over three hundred years of history and culture starting with the birth of the Métis Nation.

Listen: Seven Truths

Cultural Understandings, Heart, Listen, True History

Seven Truths by Tanya Talaga is an Audible Canada audio story series exploring stories of contemporary life for Canada’s Indigenous peoples through the lens of the Seven Grandfather Teachings. The episodes interweave conversations with Elders and reflect on Canadian history, civil rights moments and the ongoing challenges First Nations communities face.

Aboriginal Identity and Terminology

Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education

Learn about Aboriginal Identity and Terminology from the UBC Indigenous foundations website

Watch: Orange Shirt Day Stories

Cultural Understandings, Heart, Residential Schools, Watch

Survivors and children of survivors of the Saskatoon Survivors Circle shared their stories of residential school and what Orange Shirt Day means to them in this 2020 initiative. Watch their stories

Thank you to Nutrien for their support and being our Community Investor on this project and to the Saskatoon Survivors Circle for their willingness to share difficult truths.

Library commitment to reconciliation

Cultural Understandings, Head, Read

The Saskatoon Public Library is continually seeking ways to engage and honour Indigenous perspectives to ensure that the library is reflective of the community. They have created a page for reconciliation with information and resources

Read: Seven Fallen Feathers

Cultural Understandings, Current Events, Head

Read Seven Fallen Feathers, by Anishinaabe journalist and author Tanya Talaga, which looks into the history of Thunder Bay, a place that has come to manifest Canada’s long struggle with human rights violations against Indigenous communities.

Or read her book that came from her CBC Massey Lectures, All Our Relations, a powerful call for action, justice, and a better, more equitable world for all Indigenous Peoples.

Watch: The Pass System

Cultural Understandings, Head

For over 60 years, the Canadian government denied many Indigenous peoples the basic freedom to leave their reserves without a pass. Nehiyaw, Saulteaux, Dene, Ojibwe and Niitsitapi elders tell their stories of living under and resisting the system, and link their experiences to today.

Proceeds from the rental of The Pass System go to organizations supporting Indigenous filmmaking.

Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education

Cultural Understandings, Head, Participate, Reconciliation 101

Learn more about Reconciliation through the 6-week massive open online course Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education hosted by the University of British Columbia.

Through the course engage with Indigenous knowledge keepers, education leaders, and resources to enhance your understanding and knowledge of practices that advance reconciliation in the places where you live, learn, and work.

Connecting with Care

Cultural Understandings, Head

Learn about the positive impact of Indigenous centred care.

Connecting with Care spent time in Ahtahkakoop, a community in northern Saskatchewan, to learn what impact their community-based and First Nations focused model of care is having.

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.

Residential Schools podcast

Cultural Understandings, Heart, Learn/Education, Residential Schools, True History

Historica Canada created a podcast series about the history of residential schools in Canada. The Residential Schools podcast aims to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools, and honour the stories of Survivors, families, and communities.

Learn more about honouring the land

Around the World, Body, Cultural Understandings, Learn/Education, This Land

The US Department of Arts and Culture created a guide – Honor Native Land: A Guide and Call to Acknowledgement.
It calls on individuals and organizations to open events and gatherings with land acknowledgements and provides suggestions on how, and why, to do it.

Download an Indigenous Language App

Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education, Listen

Maskwacis Cree, developed by Samson Cree Nation, it lets you explore 20 different categories of words, play word games and take quizzes. For Apple devices

Maskosis Goes to School, developed by Samson Cree Nation, it will teach you about pow wows, traditional Cree values, culture and basic language structure. For Apple and Android devices

Kobe Learn, developed by Keewaytinook Okimakanak Board of Education, it is a suite of apps available in Cree, Oji-Cree and Ojibway. For Apple and Android devices

Plains Cree Yorkton Tribal Council, developed by Yorkton Tribal Council, it teaches the Plains Cree Language, including categories such as greetings, weather, animals, anatomy and family. For Apple devices

Singuistics, developed by Pinnguaq Technology, it will teach traditional songs from Inuktitut, Gwich’in, Anishinaabemowin, Cree and Chipewyan languages. For Apple devices

FirstVoices, developed by First Peoples’ Heritage Language and Culture Council, it contains keyboard software for over 100 Indigenous languages, including every First Nations language in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. For Apple and Android devices

Developing Reconciliation Strategies for Businesses

Business, Cultural Understandings, Head, Reconciliation 101

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action #92 outlines ways in which the business sector can and should develop reconciliation strategies. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. has created three elements for developing Reconciliation strategies for business

Learn more about Smudging

Cultural Understandings, Protocols, Reconciliation 101, Spirit

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.

Learn About Métis History, Identity and Culture

Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education, Reconciliation 101, True History

Use the Indigenous Peoples Atlas to learn about Métis history, identity and culture. This tremendous online resource has extensive sections on trading, oral tradition and languages, historical milestones, culture and contemporary experience.

Attend Indigenous Cultural Events

Body, Cultural Understandings, Kids/Family, Participate, Reconciliation 101, Spirit, Youth Perspective

Use the following links to learn about opportunities to attend Indigenous events and powwows. If you’re unsure about who can attend, feel free to contact event organizers.
Office of the Treaty Commissioner’s Events Calendar
Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre for SK events & programming
IndigenousTourism.ca for national events

Educate all Newcomers About what Colonialism is in Canada

Around the World, Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education, Reconciliation 101

We all need education in Indigenous histories and cultures–and newcomers must be included in the initiative to foster relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. While we hope some resources in the ConnectR project will be accessible to newcomers, there are also local organizations like Saskatoon’s Open Door Society which hosts special training and events.

Listen to Indigenous Podcasts

Art & Music, Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education, Listen

Media Indigena
New Journeys
9 Great Podcasts hosted by Indigenous Women
From arts and culture to activism and current events, peruse these lists of Indigenous podcasts to listen and learn!

Learn Indigenous Protocols from ayisinowak: A Communications Guide

Business, Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education, Politics & Leaders, Protocols, Read, Reconciliation 101, Support

“ayisīnowak: A Communications Guide is intended to provide individuals with a basic outline of Aboriginal protocol and governance systems in order to facilitate improved relationship building either as co-workers, through business opportunities or through inclusion in specific projects.”

Take the #Next150 Challenge

Art & Music, Body, Cultural Understandings, Learn/Education, Participate, Reconciliation 101, Social Media

#Next150 is challenging Canadians across the country to play a role in Reconciliation by educating themselves and actively seeking opportunities to learn. Look at their list of challenges, sign up, and share on social media as you embark on this journey.

Look Up the Meaning of Indigenous Place Names

Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education, Reconciliation 101, This Land

Aboriginal Contributions to Place Names in Canada

“The map of Canada is a rich tapestry of place names which reflect the diverse history and heritage of our nation. Many of the country’s earliest place names draw on Aboriginal sources.” This document from the University of Manitoba offers a starting point for your research!

Watch the CBC series 8th Fire

Art & Music, Cultural Understandings, Current Events, Head, Learn/Education, True History, Watch

8th Fire is a 45 minute docu-series hosted by Wab Kinew and reflects on the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Read the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Report

Around the World, Art & Music, Business, Cultural Understandings, Current Events, Facts & Figures, Food, Head, Health & Wellness, Kids/Family, Language, Learn/Education, Listen, Participate, Politics & Leaders, Protocols, Read, Reconciliation 101, Residential Schools, Safe Spaces, Shopping, Social Media, Support, This Land, True History, Volunteer, Watch, Youth Perspective

Everyone, at some point in their journey of Reconciliation, needs to read the 94 Calls to Action recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.” Or connect here to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission Final Report to read other sections and excerpts.

We have included this action in every category and every path on this website as a reminder of how important it is for us to understand the history and path of Reconciliation in our country.

Read “Think Before You Appropriate”

Art & Music, Cultural Understandings, Heart, Shopping

Download the PDF

This guidebook created at Simon Fraser University unpacks these important questions about cultural appropriation. It provides advice to designers and marketers on why and how to avoid misappropriation, and underlines the mutual benefits of responsible collaborations with Indigenous artists and communities.

Learn How & When to Present Tobacco

Business, Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education, Protocols, Reconciliation 101, Spirit, Uncategorized

Communications Guide Download the ayisinowak: A Communications Guide to learn how, when and why it is respectful to present tobacco. “Tobacco is one of the four sacred medicines, and a tobacco offering is a universal protocol among First Nations people.”

Learn How & Why to Include Land Acknowledgement at Gatherings & Meetings

Business, Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education, Protocols, Reconciliation 101, This Land

Protocol for Business Leaders

Protocol for Faith Groups

Protocol for Educational Institutes

Begin all meetings and events with a land acknowledgement of the traditional territory on which you gather. It is a sign of respect, recognizing “you’re on the land of a Nation that has had a relationship since time immemorial with that land.” In addition to the links above, Amnesty International offers a guide for creating land acknowledgements and the Native Land website can also help you identify which territory you reside on.

Attend Conferences that Focus on Reconciliation & Indigenization

Business, Cultural Understandings, Head, Learn/Education, Participate, Watch

2018 Think Indigenous Conference

Live Stream from the Conference

Think Indigenous was a conference in March 2018 that sought to “[inspire] change through Indigenous knowledge, story, and education.” The conference offered educators from all backgrounds the opportunity to work together in the enhancement of Indigenous Knowledges & Change. Watch the speakers online and see what they learned.

Learn about what other countries are doing for reconciliation

Around the World, Cultural Understandings, Head, Reconciliation 101

Reconciliation Australia

Reconciliation Australia promotes and facilitates respect, trust and positive relationships between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Paths to Explore