Black Lives Matter protesters threw pink paint on a statue of Egerton Ryerson at Ryerson University in Toronto on July 18, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Carlos Osorio
Let's not ignore how the racist philosophy behind residential schools shaped mainstream education. Ryerson foresaw Canada's continuing evolution into a "civilized," white, culturally British nation.
Rocks painted with the message “every child matters,” commemorate Orange Shirt Day, Sept. 30, about creating meaningful discussion about the effects of Residential Schools and their legacy.
(Province of British Columbia/Flickr)
A study in one Alberta school board found racism contributes to poor attendance of on-reserve Indigenous students in public schools, despite educators not recognizing this as a barrier.
This dispute over land in Caledonia is complex and builds on 500 years of colonization.
(1492 Land Back Lane Legal Fund)
Land Defenders from Six Nations occupied a disputed land to highlight the fact that Canadians have a long way to go when it comes to learning what land acknowledgements are supposed to teach us.
Policymakers could seize this time to support schools in choosing to take students outside.
(Shutterstock)
Moving classes outside deserves serious consideration not only for better ventilation, but also to introduce more education devoted to learning on, from and with the land.
The Thunder Bay jail is seen in this 2017 photo.
Flickr
Instead of building new jails, we must focus our efforts on reshaping a post-pandemic society free of the challenges that led to an Indigenous man's recent death.
A white sucker underwater in the St. Lawrence River.
(Shutterstock)
Children in an Oji-Cree northern First Nation are learning traditional teachings about 'Namebin' (suckers) and working on literacy skills at the same time through a community literacy project.
A detail of the book cover for ‘Seven Fallen Feathers’ by Tanya Talaga.
(House of Anansi Press/'Seven Fallen Feathers,' book cover art by Christian Morrisseau)
To understand the colonial past is to open the door to understanding the colonial present and future. This understanding is a crucial part of the pathway to real change.
Love makes us healthier. And yet policy-makers around the world separate children from loving parents, demonize same-sex love and promote labour migration that splits up families. Why?
(Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash)
This Valentine's Day, governments around the world need to reflect on how laws and public policies may undermine people’s capacity to love and be loved — and the long-term costs of lost love.
Health justice funds could be used to support Black and Indigenous health initiatives and provide mental and physical health services to deal with the impact of transgenerational trauma.
(Shutterstock)
In the United States, presidential candidates are discussing reparations for the descendants of enslaved men and women.
Morningstar Mercredi, pictured on November 16, 2018, woke up from a surgery at 14 and discovered her developing baby was gone. What remained was an incision from her panty line to her belly button, cut without her permission.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Recent revelations of the coerced sterilization of Indigenous women in Canada are part of a long, complex and disturbing history -- in which feminism became a fight to keep one's own children.
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.
Colten Boushie’s uncle Alvin Baptiste raises an eagle’s wing as demonstrators gather outside of the courthouse in North Battleford, Sask., on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Matt Smith
In the acquittal of Gerald Stanley we must remember how one-sided systematic remembering in Canada has been. We must remember how Canadian-state law created the myth of the homesteader as Wheat King.
People gather in Edmonton during a rally in response to Gerald Stanley’s acquittal in the shooting death of Colten Boushie.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Colten Boushie's death and the subsequent acquittal of his killer has fuelled loud calls for reforms to Canada's criminal justice system and its treatment of the Indigenous. Why has it taken so long?
Maggie Cywink, of Whitefish River First Nation, holds up a sign behind Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a summit in Ottawa in support of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Indigenous in New Zealand have fared better than First Nations in Canada in terms of self-determination. Why? It's about a lot more than geography, land mass and language.
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.
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.
Thousands of copper nails representing thousands of Indigenous children who died in Canada’s residential schools were hammered into the Reconciliation Pole before its raising at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., on April 1, 2017.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Many Canadian teachers worry about how to incorporate Indigenous content into the classroom. For one sociology professor, finding Indigenous mentorship was richly rewarding.
Indigenous graduates celebrate at the University of the Fraser Valley, British Columbia.
(University of The Fraser Valley/flickr)
The gap between academic achievement for Indigenous and non-indigenous learners is growing. First Nations education authorities could provide a strategic solution.
Those who grow up in toxic environments are up to 12 times more likely to experience addiction, depression and to try to commit suicide.
(Shutterstock)
World Suicide Prevention Day draws attention to the rising tide of teenagers taking their own lives. "Toxic socialization" involving emotional and physical abuse in families is a major cause.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University