New census data sheds light on the country’s Indigenous population. In Eastern Canada, the rise in people claiming to be “Métis” is a controversial case of “settler self-indigenization.”
Many women are released from prison with untreated mental and physical health problems, and no access to a doctor. In pain, they seek solace in illicit drugs. Pictured here, women mourn those who have died of drug overdose in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
A staggering 70 per cent of female inmates are back in prison within two years of their release. Basic health and dental care could help change this, according to new research.
Indigenous Australians use ochre to add colour and detail to items such as this shield at the South Australian Museum.
Image courtesy of South Australian Museum
Ochre is more than just paint - it tells stories of culture and trade in Indigenous Australians. Using museum artefacts plus science can track ochre sources and untangle a lost history.
Marine waters are an important source of food for Inuit.
(Judith Slein/Flickr)
The North Water Polynya, or Pikialasorsuaq, is a key ocean area for Arctic animals and for Inuit hunting and fishing. Rocket launches threaten to contaminate the area with harmful chemicals.
Demonstrators at a 2010 Toronto rally protesting the mercury contamination of the Wabigoon-English waterway in northwestern Ontario carry long blue banners meant to represent a river.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)
The declared end of Flint, Mich., contaminated water crisis echoes similar claims worldwide. Evidence shows victims of past and ongoing water crises, especially Indigenous people, continue to suffer.
Residential school survivor Lorna Standingready is comforted by a fellow survivor during the closing ceremony of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
“What have we failed to know and at what cost?” An education professor draws upon Indigenous literature to support a personal journey into classroom decolonization.
Community-led research in the Inuit community of Rigolet, Labrador, helped identify dirty water containers as a source of drinking water contamination.
Can community-led research help address Canada’s Indigenous water security issues? One project from the Inuit community of Rigolet in Labrador suggests it can.
The Scream, by Kent Monkman (2016), is part of a traveling exhibition this year on colonized Canada: Shame And Prejudice: A Story Of Resilience.
Kent Monkman
A leading Indigenous academic says too many Canadians take ugly pleasure in being ignorant about Indigenous issues. It’s time for some straight talk about Settlers with Opinions.
Canada’s former prime minister, Stephen Harper, is greeted by a Maori warrior in New Zealand in November 2014. New Zealand’s electoral system allows for far greater Indigenous involvement than Canada’s.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
As New Zealanders head to the polls this week, there are lessons for Canada in the country’s electoral system — in particular how it gives Indigenous people a greater role in governing.
Residents of Muong La, Son La, are left to pick up the pieces after this latest disaster.
Le Trieu Duong
Disasters may have ‘natural’ triggers but why are ethic minorities forced to live under harsh conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to catastrophes?
The federal government is renaming the Langevin Block building on Parliament Hill out of respect for Indigenous peoples.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Langevin Block on Parliament Hill is being renamed out of respect for Indigenous people. But instead of renaming buildings, let’s offer meaningful change to the Indigenous.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Natan Obed talk as they overlook Iqaluit, Nunavut in February.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The Arctic plays a big role in Canada’s national identity. But as Canada’s relationship with the region evolves, the interests of Indigenous peoples must be better-represented.
The Referendum Council contends there should be a place for Indigenous voices in Australia’s Constitution.
AAP/Lucy Hughes Jones
A new study pushes back the first known evidence of human activity in Australia – to 65,000 years ago.
The Referendum Council’s report is the conclusion of 18 months of consultation and discussion, including six months of regional dialogues with Indigenous people.
AAP/Paul Miller
Implicit in Malcolm Turnbull’s and Bill Shorten’s arguments that an Indigenous ‘voice to parliament’ would be a big change is the notion that it may be too difficult.
The prison system is tasked with several purposes: punishment, deterrence, protection and rehabilitation.
AAP/Paul Miller
At the same time as it’s become clear that Indigenous people won’t accept a limited change, the right in Australian politics has become more determined to oppose any amendment.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University