A rock with the message ‘Every Child Matters’ painted on it sits at a memorial outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, in Kamloops, B.C., in July 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Contrary to what some ‘denialists’ believe, research shows that Canadian media outlets did not help circulate a ‘mass grave hoax’ regarding unmarked graves at former Indian Residential Schools.
Ceremonial tipis sit in front of the former residential school, Blue Quills, now the home to Blue Quills university run by seven First Nations.
(Terri Cardinal)
The author led a search for unmarked graves at the site of Blue Quills, a former residential school. She found more areas of interest (potential graves) than the official record shows.
The Blue Quills Indian Residential School in St. Paul, Alta., Aug. 15, 1931. When the federal government announced plans to shutter the school in 1970, the community fought back, and Blue Quills became the first residence and school controlled by First Nations people in Canada.
(Provincial Archives of Alberta)
To honour Truth and Reconciliation Day, we spoke with Terri Cardinal, who headed up one of the many community searches for the children who went missing while attending an Indian Residential School.
Girls’ class at St. Mary’s School, Blood Reserve, Alta., April 1933.
(Provincial Archives of Alberta, OB10558)
Survivors of multiple colonial school systems need their voices to be heard. An exhibit examines how colonial schooling policies over a century and a half influenced the Blood People.
Pope Francis receives a traditional headdress after apologizing near the site of the former Ermineskin Residential School, in Maskwacis, Alta.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Whether this apology has truly advanced the goal of healing may become evident only in years and decades to come.
A bus blocks Argyle Street South in Caledonia, Ont., as a group of labour councils and unions delivered food and support to land defenders at a land reclamation camp known as 1492 Land Back Lane in October 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Carlos Osorio
Settler Canadians have a responsibility to build respectful, reciprocal relationships with Indigenous nations on our shared geographic space. This relationship starts with land restitution.
Two people embrace in front of the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa at a memorial for the 215 children whose remains were found at the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation and Haley Lewis, The Conversation
In today’s episode of Don’t Call Me Resilient, we take a look at what has happened since the unmarked graves of 215 Indigenous children were found in Kamloops B.C.
Contact languages are widely spoken by many First Nations children. These languages must be recognised and valued in the classroom to better meet students’ learning needs.
AFN Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse and Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu listen to Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller as he responds to a question during a news conference on Jan. 4, 2022, in Ottawa.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Anne Levesque, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
In the next year, public support will be needed more than ever to ensure that the spirit of the agreement is respected and translated into meaningful change for First Nations children.
First Nations young people make up around 20% of missing children in Australia. However, these cases rarely make national, let alone international headlines.
Shoes and toys line the steps of a building in Edmonton in honour of and mourning for the Indigenous children found in unmarked graves in Canada.
The Canadian Press/Jason Franson
The recent discovery of the bodies of Indigenous children being found in Canada reminds us of the dark history of Australia’s treatment of young First Peoples and children here in Australia.
Margot King, age four, touches an orange flag, representing children who died at Indian Residential Schools in Canada, placed in the grass at Major’s Hill Park in Ottawa, on July 1, 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Anne Levesque, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Canadians who wish to pay tribute to the children who died at Indian Residential Schools should demand the government stop fighting First Nations children in court.
A person lays shoes on the steps of city hall in Kingston, Ont., at a memorial for the 215 children whose remains were recently discovered on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
Canadians need to understand the basic harms and violences that continue to be experienced by Indigenous people across the land we call Canada.
People across Canada, including this scene in Edmonton, have left shoes and candles at public displays in recognition of the discovery of children’s remains at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Ground-penetrating radar located the remains of 215 First Nations children in a mass unmarked grave, revealing a macabre part of Canada’s hidden history.
Posters protesting Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations in Toronto on July 31, 2017.
(Shutterstock)
Indigenous children have poor oral health compared to Australian kids overall. Our research shows involving local Aboriginal people in designing and providing services can make a difference.
The system of ‘birth alerts’ across Canada perpetuates the removal of children from Indigenous families begun by residential schools. Pictured here: a historical report on residential schools released by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
To make meaningful progress on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, all provinces and territories should promptly follow B.C. and ban discriminatory ‘birth alerts.’
The antibiotics commonly used to treat school sores, a skin infection affecting thousands of Aboriginal kids, are out of stock.
Terry Trewin/AAP
Almost half of Aboriginal kids living remotely will have a school sore at any one time. But there aren’t enough of the right antibiotics to treat them.
Parenting programs and home visiting programs can offer vital support to mothers struggling with mental illness, substance use, and other challenges. Research shows that avoiding foster care is better for the health of mother and child.
(Shutterstock)
New research shows that having a child in foster care is often harmful to a mother’s mental and physical health.
In some Aboriginal communities, over 50% of adults say they do not have the literacy they need for everyday tasks.
Literacy for Life Foundation/Adam Sharman
The children who are least likely to attend school regularly – and do well – grow up in households where the adults themselves have very poor literacy skills.