A young Indigenous boy waits to dance after the Walk for Reconciliation in Vancouver in September 2017. The election of the Justin Trudeau government in 2015 seems to have fuelled a shift in how Indigenous people are described in the media.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The election of Justin Trudeau in 2015 has coincided with a shift in language in the media – the term ‘Aboriginal’ has been increasingly replaced by the term ‘Indigenous.’ Here’s why.
Steve Courtoreille, chief of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, is seen on Parliament Hill in January 2013 after speaking about legal action against the federal government. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled against the First Nation.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The headlines suggest the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled against Indigenous consultation. But its recent ruling is much more nuanced and complex than that.
Concrete action steps are needed to help reconciliation, says a research team that offers 12 actionable ideas. Here Ben Paul, of the Musqueam First Nation, sings and plays a drum during the Walk for Reconciliation in Vancouver, B.C., on Sept. 24, 2017, held to promote positive relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
It’s been three years since the TRC released its report on the lasting impact of residential schools in Canada but responses to the 94 Calls to Action have been slow. A new framework hopes to change that.
A dilapidated house in the northern Ontario First Nation of Attawapiskat is seen in April 2016. The parliamentary budget officer says it will cost more than $3 billion to bring First Nations water infrastructure up to standards seen in comparable non-Indigenous communities.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
If we continue to shut Indigenous communities out of the modern economy, critical infrastructure projects will continue to be delayed and natural resources will remain stuck in the ground.
A resident of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is photographed while speaking about water and access issues in her community in February 2015. The Shoal Lake community, despite supplying water to the city of Winnipeg, has long been under a boil-water advisory and is only just getting year-round road access.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Governments in Canada are routinely enacting public policies that primarily benefit economic elites, raising questions about government legitimacy and competency. Who’s looking out for us?
In this July 2011 photo, an Inuit fisherman pulls in a fish on a sea filled with floating ice.
(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
A recent summit in Ottawa on what’s known as agroecology has shown that more equitable and sustainable methods of producing food are not only possible, they’re beginning to spread around the world.
Plays like ‘Where the Blood Mixes’ (with actors Kim Harvey and Billy Merasty) help shed light on Indigenous stories, helping to educate Canadian audiences.
David Cooper
Indigenous theatre and storytelling provides an opportunity for all Canadians to honour the directives of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Canadian government should support this mission.
People buy fruits and vegetables in May 2017 at the Jean-Talon farmers market in Montreal.
(Shutterstock)
A government report on an upcoming national food policy is an optimistic indication that it will result in both healthier and more sustainable food for Canadians and stronger agri-food industry.
Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians has stalled. It’s time to take a new approach.
Alan Porritt/AAP
A federal system could deliver on three of the four key elements of the Uluru Statement. Plus, all the elements already exist or are in the works in Australia.
A line of protesters against the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota head to a unity rally on the west steps of the State Capitol in September 2016 in Denver.
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Development projects are claiming ancestral sites at alarming rates. This ineffective protection of Indigenous heritage is a violation of human rights.
High school honour roll student Trey Arnold Rorick acts in the ‘Edge of the Knife.’ Rorick also works as a Cultural Interpreter at the K_ay Ilnagaay Haida Heritage Center.
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Sgaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife) is a feature film project that works to entertain audiences and revitalize language.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a news conference in Ottawa in June 2018. A United Nations housing watchdog has criticized the Liberals over what it sees as their about-face on a promise to put a human rights lens on its housing strategy.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
In the name of global development, the silent genocide of one of Brazil’s largest ethnic groups is taking place.
A statue of John A. Macdonald in Montreal has been repeatedly vandalized with red paint to symbolize blood. As the debate continues about removing statues, what specific actions are needed to promote reconciliation?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Removing statues of historical figures may be important symbolic statements when it comes to reconciliation, but action on important Indigenous issues like land claims and education are needed more.
The decision by the city of Victoria to take down a statue of John A. Macdonald has renewed debate about how historical figures should be remembered. This photo from 2015, taken at Wilfrid Laurier University, shows people protesting Macdonald’s treatment of Métis and First Nations during his time as Canada’s first prime minister.
Denia Anderson
Should statues of historical figures be removed or replaced? That debate has been rekindled in Canada after Victoria took down a statue of John A. Macdonald, the country’s first prime minister.
The international aid sector’s use of languages needs to change if it is serious about dealing with the issues raised by recent scandals.
Four hikers walk west, from the village of Val Marie in southern Saskatchewan, along a historical trail once used by Indigenous tribes and settlers. Giving Canadians the ‘right to roam’ might be a small step toward answering the calls of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
James R. Page
A right-to-roam movement has never developed in Canada the way it has in the U.K. Here’s how it could benefit Canadian society as a whole, including reconciliation efforts with the Indigenous.
In 2016, the Ontario government promised the province’s schools would teach all students about residential schools and add more Indigenous perspectives into the provincial curriculum. The newly elected Conservative government has scrapped those plans.
Library and Archives Canada
Ontario’s move to ignore the calls of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to add Indigenous content to its history and social studies curriculum is foolish and dangerous.
A scene from the best-selling ‘Red: A Haida Manga,’ a revenge story.
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Marie Mauzé, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)
The “Haida manga” by Indigenous artist Yahgulanaas opens a graphic dialogue between the different cultures of the Pacific Northwest and East Asia.
Activists protest in Barcelona, Spain on June 21, 2018. A Spanish court triggered a new wave of outrage by granting bail to five men acquitted of gang rape and convicted instead on a lesser felony of sexual abuse, a case that has shocked Spain.
(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Germaine Greer’s recent comments about the punishments for rape show the need for more complex, evidence-based discussions about trauma and the criminal justice system.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University