Research, Reading, and Resources About Indigenous Peoples in Canada
The land now called Canada has been stewarded by a diverse community of Indigenous Peoples for millennia. The settling of European colonizers in the 16th century, however, began a series of events that ultimately resulted in a methodical and comprehensive campaign to systematically strip Indigenous Peoples of their land, culture, belief systems, and even children. In many ways, the oppression of Indigenous Peoples has become embedded in Canadian culture and continues to this day in various forms. But people in Canada and the rest of the world are increasingly expanding their awareness of this history, including the injuries and scars that Indigenous communities bear, and how they play out in today’s world. If you want to learn more, we recommend starting with some of the resources listed below.
Catalyst Resources
- Report: Building Inclusion for Indigenous Peoples in Canadian Workplaces
This Catalyst report shows Indigenous Peoples pay an emotional tax at work and experience low levels of psychological safety. It points to actions that managers and team members can take to build the understanding, relationships, and work environments necessary to help Indigenous Peoples belong, contribute, and thrive in the workplace. - Women in the Workforce – Canada
Read statistics on the demographics of women in Canada, as well as their education, participation in the labour force, and leadership positions, and the size of the gender wage gap. - Must-Read Book on Racism, Colonialism, and Indigenous Life in Canada
Other Resources
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Truth and Reconciliation coverage from APTN
Interactive Maps
- Native Land Digital
Explore this interactive world map to learn which Indigenous territories, languages, and treaties are associated with your location. - National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Click the map to see dates in which residential schools, events, and hearings were active.
Land and Treaties
- Territory Acknowledgement Native Land Digital
- Unceded Lands Okanagan College Library
- Vast Indigenous Land Claims in Canada Encompass Parliament Hill The New York Times
- Treaties and Agreements Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
- Treaties, Reconciliation and Indigenous History in Canada CBC video
- ‘We didn’t sign that treaty’: in Canada, the Anishinaabe fight for land they never gave up The Guardian
Racism
- Anti-Indigenous Racism in Canada National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health
- Painful Discrimination Still Confronts Too Many Indigenous People Macdonald-Laurier Institute
- Canada Has a Long, Documented History of Racism and Racial Discrimination. Don’t Look Away The Globe and Mail
- Canada’s Dark Side: Indigenous Peoples and Canada’s 150th Celebration Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective
- Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City Tanya Talaga
Residential Schools
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
- Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre The University of British Columbia
- Residential Schools Amounted to ‘Cultural Genocide,’ Report Says The Globe and Mail
- Truth and Reconciliation Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada
A moving series of articles focused on the challenges and opportunities of reconciliation. - Sugarcane Documentary Explores Residential School Intergenerational Trauma and Resilience CBC
- Secret Path
An album, graphic novel, and film based on poems by Gord Downie, inspired by Chanie Wenjack, a child who died in 1966 after escaping from a residential school in Ontario. - Picking Up the Pieces: The Making of the Witness Blanket
A 90-minute video documenting artist Carey Newman’s creation of a “witness blanket” that incorporates and honours objects reclaimed from residential schools.
Sixties Scoop
- Sixties Scoop Indigenous Foundations
An overview of the Sixties Scoop, “the mass removal of Aboriginal children from their families into the child welfare system, in most cases without the consent of their families or bands.” - CBC Podcast Solves Decades-Old Mystery of Saskatchewan Girl Lost in Sixties Scoop CBC
- ‘The Sadness That Never Goes Away’: Sixties Scoop Survivor Battles to Be Recognized as Indigenous Ottowa Citizen
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
- Annual March Honours Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women CBC
- Missing or Murdered – and Dismissed University of Toronto Magazine
- Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
- Indigenous Women Are Preyed on at Horrifying Rates. I Was One of Them The Guardian
Police Brutality
- CHRC Concerned by Findings into Overrepresentation of Indigenous People in Prison Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Why Are Indigenous People in Canada So Much More Likely to Be Shot and Killed by Police? CTV News
- Police Brutality in Canada: A Symptom of Structural Racism and Colonial Violence Yellowhead Institute
- Black, Indigenous People Overrepresented in Fatal Police Encounters in Canada CBC News video
- Canada’s Prisons Are the ‘New Residential Schools’ MacLean’s
- Jaskiran Dhillon Draws Attention to Indigenous Youth Tangled in Colonial Institutions The Manitoban
Terminology
- Why We Say “Indigenous” Instead of “Aboriginal” Animiiki
- Indigenization Guide: Aboriginal, Indigenous or First Nations? BCcampus
Allyship
- Indigenous Allyship: An Overview Wilfrid Laurier University
-
Build Together: IndigAlly Booklet Canada’s Building Trades Unions
Explore Further
- Sign up for Indigenous Canada, a free 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course taught by Tracy Bear and Paul L. Gareau of the University of Alberta.
- Pick a book from #IndigenousReads to immerse yourself in a new story.
- Check out CBC’s Unreserved podcast to hear from Indigenous change makers across Canada.
- Explore Indigenous Issues 101 on âpihtawikosisân, Métis writer and educator Chelsea Vowel’s website about Indigenous law, language, and culture.
- Visit the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, BC, either online or in person to experience the art and culture of local Indigenous communities.
- Plan an online or in-person trip to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, MB, to honour and reflect on the rights of people from Indigenous communities.
- Watch a variety of films and documentaries on First Nations and Métis as well as Inuit subjects hosted by the National Film Board of Canada.
- Watch A History of Indigenous Languages—And How to Revitalize Them, a 13-minute TED talk by Indigenous linguist Lindsay Morcom.
Return to Ask Catalyst Express.