CBC News – June 21, 2018
Are you really an Indigenous person? Do you still live in teepees? “People think that we’re extinct,” said the east-end resident. She’s among those hoping a new awareness campaign about the city’s Indigenous history will help open peoples’ eyes to the reality that as many as 70,000 Indigenous people are living in the Toronto area.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/indigenous-campaign-toronto-1.4714338
University of Waterloo Invites Indigenous Girls to Explore Tech Careers
CBC News – June 21, 2018
“I think it really led me to do more academic focused work in school and maybe one of the reasons I came to university was that I got to check out a campus that young.” She’s now studying at the University of Waterloo student and is preparing to run a science, tech, engineering and math (STEM) camp for Indigenous girls this summer called Impact, which is part of Engineering Science Quest.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/emma-smith-university-waterloo-impact-engineering-science-1.4714369
Cambrian College Signs First Nation Teachings into Curriculum
Northern Ontario Business – June 21, 2018
“This is a celebration if Indigenous Culture and education,” said Bill Best, Cambrian College’s president. “We want to make the college a welcoming place, in which our Indigenous partners can come and work with us, and increase our understanding with our students, faculty and staff.”
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/regional-news/sudbury/cambrian-college-signs-first-nation-teachings-into-entire-curriculum-961203
Students at Kitchener School Plant Reconciliation Paper Hearts
CBC News – June 21, 2018
Students at Sheppard Public School in Kitchener planted hearts in the front yard of the school to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day on Thursday. The paper hearts included messages of love, hopeand reconciliation to honour those impacted by the residential school system.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/students-at-kitchener-school-plant-reconciliation-paper-hearts-1.4716503
Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day
CTV News – June 21, 2018
Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day says he’ll be spending National Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Attawapiskat First Nation. Wednesday, Chief Day was in Kashechewan, where he says the community has laid out its desire to move to higher ground to avoid the annual flooding. He hopes the Ontario and federal governments give their “best effort” to achieve the proposed schedules.
https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/celebrating-indigenous-peoples-day-1.3983256
How 5 Alberta First Nations are Helping Shape the Future of Indigenous Education in Canada
CBC News – June 18, 2018
Under the new framework, the schools have the same land-based learning program for students, with the goal that consistency will help educators learn from each other and lead to better attendance and graduation rates. Land-based learning includes teachings on Cree culture, finding and harvesting medicinal plants and teaching survival skills.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ktc-education-authority-alberta-first-nation-education-1.4711050
Island Student Tells the Story of Residential School Survivor
CBC News – June 18, 2018
Morris said she was probably six or seven years old at the time she was taken from her family in Lennox Island to a residential school in Nova Scotia. Though she was with her brother and sister at the school, Morris said “there was a lot of fear that set in.” Morris did not go into details about her experiences at the school, but she said she felt like she’d lost a significant part of herself. “My culture was taken away from me,” she said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-basel-alrashdan-charlotte-morris-residential-schools-1.4707898
Senator Says Survey Showing Canadians Think Gov’t Apologizes too Much for Residential Schools is ‘Refreshing’
Around the North – June 18, 2018
The survey sampled nearly 2,500 Canadians in March, which found 53 per cent found the government apologized too much for residential schools while more than half agreed that Indigenous people would be better off to integrate more into society, even if it meant losing more of their culture and traditions.
https://www.sudbury.com/around-the-north/senator-says-survey-showing-canadians-think-govt-apologizes-too-much-for-residential-schools-is-refreshing-957547
Billboard Art Exhibit Highlights ‘Resilience’ of Indigenous Women Artists
CBC News – June 18, 2018
The billboards are part of a national exhibit called Resilience, which features artwork by 50 First Nations, Inuit and Metis women. Winnipeg-based organization Mentoring Artist for Women’s Art (MAWA) spearheaded the project as a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to integrate Indigenous culture and history into the natural story.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/resilience-billboards-sudbury-1.4706940
Sheridan College Adding Name to Indigenous Education Protocol
Oakville Beaver – June 17, 2018
Sheridan College will be adding its name to the Indigenous Education Protocol on Monday, June 18 with a historic signing at Medicine Wheel Garden.The protocol was developed by Colleges and Institute Canada, which represents more than 100 colleges and institutes, to support its members’ commitment to Indigenous education and provide a vision of how they can better serve Indigenous peoples.
https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/8676512-sheridan-college-adding-name-to-indigenous-education-protocol/
First Nations Teens Dig into their Ancestors’ Past at Archeological Site
CBC News – June 17, 2018
“There are no words to describe digging up your own history,” said McHugh-Kerr, as she sifts dirt through a screen, searching for clues as to how her people lived three centuries ago.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/blackfoot-first-nation-indigenous-archaeology-alberta-1.4706695
A Look at One Winnipeg School’s Mission
APTN – June 16, 2018
It is quickly becoming one of the leading schools in Winnipeg to implement and foster Indigenous practices as part of the high school curriculum. “We smudge every morning,” said Sandra Costa, a teacher at R.B. Russell. “We create that opportunity for students if they want to they can [and] if they don’t want to that’s fine.”
http://aptnnews.ca/2018/06/16/decolonizing-the-classroom-a-look-at-one-winnipeg-schools-mission/
How it Feels to Take the Stage as Valedictorian of VSB’s Indigenous Achievement Celebration
CBC News – June 15, 2018
I wanted to acknowledge where we’ve been, Canada as a whole. We’ve been through some struggles and we’re still continuing with these things. There’s still oppression going on. Also, I’m visibly white. So for me it was important to acknowledge that as well.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/indigenous-achievement-celebration-1.4707201
Wauzhushk Onigum Launches First Electric School Bus in an Ontario First Nation
Kenora Daily Miner and News – June 14, 2018
The first electric school bus on a First Nation reserve in Ontario will be transporting students once the academic year starts up again in the fall. Representatives from Wauzhushk Onigum Nation were on hand for the unveiling of a 72-passenger electric school bus on Wednesday, June 13, along with Quebec-based bus manufacturers The Lion Electric Co. Chief Chris Skead said back in September the council at the time and former councillor and education portfolio holder Terry Skead endorsed the idea of bringing an electric bus to Wauzhushk Onigum and creating a more energy-efficient community in Treaty 3 territory.
http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/2018/06/14/wauzhushk-onigum-launches-first-electric-school-bus-in-an-ontario-first-nation
Local Students Give Voice to First Nations Drums
The Daily Observer – June 14, 2018
“I had successfully applied for a ministry grant (supporting Radicalized Students in Ontario) and we put some of the funding towards these workshops,” said RCCDSB mental health lead Rebecca Paulsen. “I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to support equity and inclusion and of course it’s so good for mental wellness to be connected to culture.”
http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/2018/06/14/local-students-give-voice-to-first-nations-drums
Indian Horse
The Bay Observer – June 14, 2018
Saul Indian Horse’s story is one that needs to be shared with all Canadians; settler and Indigenous-Canadians alike. The story is one of loss and fear, but also one of hope and resilience, dramatically revealing the terrible goings-on at Canadian-Indian residential schools where aboriginal children were taught to be good Christians, far removed from their own culture and heritage. Its aftermath highlights a blight which continues with the troubled Truth and Reconciliation hearings, a situation that has yet to be fully resolved.
http://bayobserver.ca/indian-horse/
‘Courage’ Educational Centre Opens in Oromocto First Nation
CBC News – June 14, 2018
“Our community, we came from a really rough spot and kids were dropping out of school, kids weren’t attending school, and I just wanted to do something for them,” said Chief Shelley Sabattis. “Something to call their own, a place of learning, where they can be themselves, be comfortable, build their spirit. Building your spirit is a very important part of this.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/oromocto-high-school-welamukotuk-first-nation-1.4706656
Saskatchewan Blanket Lesson tells 500 Years of History in an Hour
APTN – June 14, 2018
The Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina is celebrating National Indigenous History Month with, among other things, a blanket exercise. The lesson tells 500 years of history in an hour.
http://aptnnews.ca/2018/06/14/saskatchewan-blanket-lesson-tells-500-years-of-history-in-an-hour/
Adventurous Art Lover Bequeaths Massive Collection to University of Lethbridge
CBC News – June 13, 2018
One of Alberta’s great art lovers and adventurous spirits has bequeathed the largest ever donation in the University of Lethbridge’s half-century history. The University of Lethbridge Art Gallery just unpacked more than 1,000 pieces of art from the estate of Dr. Margaret (Marmie) Perkins Hess, worth between $4 million and $5 million.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/margaret-marmie-perkins-hess-gift-university-lethbridge-1.4704689
