Exploring our Collective History

Historical and Ongoing Colonization in Canada: Indian Act, Treaties & Colonization

Treaties, reconciliation and Indigenous history in Canada [1]

The Indian Act Explained [2]

Colonization Road: The path of reconciliation is long and winding. [3]

We Are All Treaty People


Having an understanding about and acknowledging what treaty you are situated on helps to bring an awareness to the Indigenous Peoples and Lands that we are occupying and to recognize our colonial history in settler colonial societies.

“If we think of territorial acknowledgments as sites of potential disruption, they can be transformative acts that to some extent undo Indigenous erasure. I believe this is true as long as these acknowledgments discomfit both those speaking and hearing the words. The fact of Indigenous presence should force non-Indigenous peoples to confront their own place on these lands.” – Chelsea Vowel, Métis, Beyond Territorial Acknowledgements

What treaty are you situated on?
What are the Indigenous languages spoken where you live?

The Residential School System

The Indian Residential School System was a network of government-run institutions that removed Indigenous children from their homes and communities to attend school. The objective of these schools was to remove Indigenous children from the influence of their culture and assimilate them into the Euro-Christian culture dominant in Canada. Students in the schools experienced physical, psychological, and sexual abuse; malnourishment; and poor living conditions. The last Residential School closed in the 1990s and the historical trauma of these schools are still felt today (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, About)

Namwayut: we are all one. (5)

Crimes against children at residential school: The truth about St. Anne's (6)

Canadian Shame: A History of Residential Schools (7)


Did you live near a Residential School?

The Residential School System took 150, 000 Indigenous Children from their families. The last residential school closed in 1996 (CBC, Beyond 94). Take some time to explore this interactive map and the residential schools near where you live and across Canada.


Did you live near a residential school?. (8)

Sixties Scoop

The term "Sixties Scoop" refers to a practice in Canada from the 1950s to 1980s where Indigenous children were taken from their families and communities and put in foster homes or the homes of adoptive parents (Chiefs of Ontario, 60s Scoop)

The Children Taken Away: The Sixties Scoop [9]

Sixties Scoop Survivors Tell Their Stories [10]

Why Indigenous Children are over-represented in Canada's foster care system [11]

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls looked into, and reported on, the systemic causes of violence against Indigenous Women and Girls. The Final Report outlines "Calls for Justices" to be implemented to stop the cycle of violence and genocide against Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA (National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Final Report).

A look back at the MMIWG inquiry [12]

We are more than murdered and missing. [13]

Missing & Murdered: Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and Girls

The statistics about missing and murdered Indigenous women are stark and staggering. Many advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous women say these cases require further scrutiny. Hear their names and know their stories.
Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women [14]



References:
  1. CBC. [CBC]. (2017, April 26). Treaties, reconciliation and Indigenous history in Canada [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9KJM3pjvKg
  2. The Agenda with Steve Paikin. [The Agenda with Steve Paikin]. (2018, May 7). The Indian Act Explained [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhBrq7Ez-rQ
  3. CBC Docs. [CBC Docs]. (2017, November 24). Colonization Road: The path of reconciliation is long and winding - CBC Docs POV [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u03qLJ50bf4
  4. Native Land Digital. (n.d.). Native Land. https://native-land.ca/
  5. CBC. [CBC]. (2017, December 18). Namwayut: we are all one. Truth and reconciliation in Canada [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zuRQmwaREY
  6. The Fifth Estate. [The Fifth Estate]. (2019, March 3). Crimes against children at residential school: The truth about St. Anne's - The Fifth Estate {Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep7AW2K4Xww
  7. TEDxTalks. [TEDx Talks]. (2018, June 25). Canadian Shame: A History of Residential Schools | Ginder Gosnell-Myers | TEDxVancouver [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1EDbbse2BM
  8. Willms, J., Grasley, R., (n.d.) Did you live near a residential school?. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/beyond-94-residential-school-map/
  9. APTN News. [APTN News]. (2018, January 26). APTN Investigates: The Children Taken Away [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axRTkncZRak
  10. Toronto Star. [Toronto Star]. (2019, October 15). Adoptees of Sixties Scoop tell their stories [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJHR1STq_-s
  11. Maclean's. [Maclean's]. (2017, November 29). Why Indigenous children are overrepresented in Canada's foster care system [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBLCd7yle8g
  12. CBC News. [CBC News]. (2019, May 31). A look back at the MMIWG inquiry [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrLoBj58k4k
  13. TEDx Talks [TEDx Talks]. (2017, July 18). We are more than murdered and missing. | Tamara Bernard | TEDxThunderBay [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fylLSRQ5kx8
  14. CBC News (2016). Missing & Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and Girls. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/