I am writing this as I reside in Tiohtià :ke (Montreal) on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien'kehá:ka Nation are the traditional and ongoing caretakers of the land where I, and Ï㽶ÊÓƵ as well as the iMPACTS project are situated. While we continue to meet virtually and all hail from different parts of the world, it is important that we learn about whose land we are on, and commit to making reparations with the Indigenous communities who are the traditional caretakers of these lands. is a resource that can be used to help you begin to learn about the land you occupy.
September 30th is , a day founded in 2013 to raise awareness about the continued colonization happening and to pay respect to the many First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children who were taken from their homes and placed into . It is a day to open up discussions about the residential school system and to commit to reconciliation – something that should be happening every day.
This year, in the wake of the , the commemoration of Orange Shirt Day has rightfully been expanded. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation open to all Canadian schools for grades 5 through 12, and the federal government .
More progress needed
We take this day to unlearn what has been taught to us in our whitewashed history, to re-learn from Indigenous sources, and to continue learning as we move forward. This is particularly important for those of us working as educators and in educational institutions in Canada. In its , the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on a new kindergarten to grade 12 curriculum which would include lessons on residential schools, Treaties, and Indigenous peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada. The report also called for funding to provide post-secondary institutions with means and tools to help bring Indigenous teaching methods and knowledge into classrooms.
Some minimal progress has been made on these calls to action, : and . However, much more work needs to be done. Indigenous groups have recently noted in the media that, as grave discoveries continue to be made, . Calls continue for , as well as .
Resources and Information
In this post and in commemoration of Orange Shirt Day, we hope to highlight some of the information and educational resources that exist from Indigenous voices. Decolonizing and Indigenizing education and other systems are crucial pieces of reconciliation. Settlers have a responsibility to be listening and learning from Indigenous sources on this and every day moving forward.
Orange Shirt Day Information and Resources:
- Appropriate use of
Educational resources to learn more:
-
- Individuals and teachers in CanadaÌýcan register for free for a week of special programming
- Post-secondary courses (open source) on Indigenous world views, reconciliation, histories, and realities:
- McGill Indigenous Initiatives
Local (Tiohtià :ke/Montreal) Indigenous creators:
-
- Ìýa non-profit Indigenous artist-run centre committed to serving the needs of emerging, mid-career, and established Indigenous artists
- & : Inuit throat singers
- with Shina Novalinga
- about Kayuula and Shina’s experiences with throat singing
- : AfroIndigenous content creator based in Québec
Sam Nepton (she/her) is a U3 undergraduate student studying Kindergarten and Elementary education at McGill. Her research interests include sexual and gender-based violence resource toolkits for students, and the impact of social media influencers on rape culture.
Ìý
