june 21 is national indigenous peoples day up here in canada; a day focused on celebrating the arts and cultures of our indigenous neighbours and communities.
if you’re looking for ways to support, or generally further your education on indigenous history, here are a bunch of links to help you get started! please go further and look up events hosted by your local community specifically, as some may not be listed on the sites below.
remember that if you cannot attend events or monetarily support businesses - you can always boost indigenous artists and voices online too.
indigenous tourism; lists businesses, events, and other indigenous-owned / led programs for the respective province or territory
indigenous tourism canada [generalized resources, event listings etc]
yukon
northwest territories
nunavut
british columbia
alberta
saskatchewan
manitoba
ontario
quebec
newfoundland and labrador
new brunswick
nova scotia
prince edward island
art
bill reid gallery of the northwest coast
lattimer art gallery
native northwest [while NNW itself is not indigenous-owned, it is a good way to discover artists and purchase their work. some artists sell on other sites too, so look around]
strong nations [sells books by indigenous authors]
education and resources
two-spirited people of manitoba
alberta indigenous history timeline [pdf]
alberta indigenous history resources
british columba history timeline
list of first nations peoples [wikipedia; could be incomplete / inaccurate]
cbc indigenous [indigenous-focused news]
missing and murdered indigenous women and girls
national centre for truth and reconciliation
native land interactive map
orange shirt day
qikiqtani truth commission
lil’ red dress project
whose land interactive map
charities / support / donations
clan mothers healing billage & knowledge centre
first nations health authority
indian residential schools survivor society
indigenous peoples resilience fund
qajuqturvik food bank
niqinik nuatsivik nunavut food bank
nunavut food security coalition
reconciliation canada
urban native youth association
additional links are always appreciated
JUNE 2024 UPDATE // adding some links to this:
resources
Assembly of First Nations
Camosun College Indigenous Studies [Books, Articles, and other Sources / Further Reading on a variety of topics]
KUU-US Crisis Line [24 Hour Crisis Support, BC based]
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
Two-Spirit Resource Directory [PDF; includes both Canadian and USA resources]
charity / donations / activism
Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW)
Gathering of Rivers for Community Care
Indigenous Environmental Network - based in USA
RAVEN Trust
education
Good Minds - First Nations, Métis and Inuit Books
Inuktut Tusaalanga - Language Learning [Inuktut]
news media
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) - Indigenous News and Articles; based in Canada.
Turtle Island News - Weekly newspaper; based in Canada.
further reading; awareness
Breathing Lands - the Treaty 9 lawsuit and it’s contradictory terms on land ownership. [Involves multiple Nations]
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit peoples (MMIWG2S) - Manitoba government invests $15mil into the creation of a MMIWG2S Healing and Empowerment endowment fund. [May 2024]
Land Back [Flying Dust Nation] - the return of 85 hectares of land to the Flying Dust Nation. [June 2023]
Land Back [Haida Gwaii] - the return of the archipelago’s territory (200+ islands) to the Haida Nation [April 2024]
Land Back [Nunavut / Nunavummiut] - The transfer of authority over Crown land from Canada to the government of Nunavut. [January 2024]
Residential Schools - The ICMP report and other updates, and concerns over the government withholding records.
Neskantaga’s Water Crisis; 30 years under boil water advisory [Nation Homepage] [Safe Drinking Water Foundation Articles, 2023 and Earlier] [Current Status on the Government Website]
Restitution; Pushing to return Indigenous historical items from the Vatican. [Globe and Mail; March 2024] [The Art Newspaper; June 2024]
Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders; the legal battle against Coastal GasLink’s pipeline project [Nation Homepage] [Amnesty International Article, June 2024] [Aboriginal Peoples Television Network News Article Collection, Updated as of June 2024]
I also want to recommend a book I like, for no other reason than Because I Can, that dives into ethnobotany:
Held by the Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness by Leigh Joseph (Styawat)
I want to add a resources to that list!!! for the french folks out there L'institut Tshakapesh launched their site to learn about The myths, the realities around these myths and the history of the native people in Québec
Le site web Mythes et réalités sur les peuples autochtones est un espace dynamique, inclusif et facilitateur d’apprentissage où le bonheur d’apprendre est plus grand que la gêne de ne pas savoir.
(Translation : The website "Myths and truths on the indigenous people" is a dynamic and inclusive learning aid where the joy of learning is bigger than the shame of never knowing.)
And for the english/french folks, here is a ressource for learning about the language spoken here on the north coast of Quebec, Innu-aimun.
Innu-aimun.ca is an open-source, trilingual website where teachers, students, translators, linguists – and anyone interested in the Innu language – can access a wide range of resources in and about Innu.
Thank you for learning about my neighbors <3
