Indigenous

Fireworks explode over the Ottawa River as seen from Gatineau, Que., during Canada Day celebrations on Friday, July 1, 2022. Fireworks displays on July 1 are facing a rethink over what sort of message they send to First Nations communities. The annual tradition is also under pressure on other fronts, as the few minutes of awe they inspire are weighed against their cost, the terror they cause some animals, traffic and overcrowding woes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Reconciliation sparks a reckoning for Canada Day fireworks displays

Cultural sensitivities focusing on fireworks displays in relation to truth and reconciliation

Fireworks explode over the Ottawa River as seen from Gatineau, Que., during Canada Day celebrations on Friday, July 1, 2022. Fireworks displays on July 1 are facing a rethink over what sort of message they send to First Nations communities. The annual tradition is also under pressure on other fronts, as the few minutes of awe they inspire are weighed against their cost, the terror they cause some animals, traffic and overcrowding woes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
Indigenous medicine bags. (Fraser Health/Contributed to Black Press Media)

Indigenous medicine bags help with healing at B.C. hospitals

These four-ingredient homemade medicine bags are both spiritual and tangible

Indigenous medicine bags. (Fraser Health/Contributed to Black Press Media)
Chief Gibby Jacob of Squamish First Nation, left and chief Robert Joseph of Gwawaenuk First Nation on set for the filming of Jacob’s latest documentary series Back to the Fire (Photo courtesy of Back to the Fire crew)

Ktunaxa leaders take role in international documentary series

Series seeks to uncover lost knowledge and ancient Indigenous teachings

Chief Gibby Jacob of Squamish First Nation, left and chief Robert Joseph of Gwawaenuk First Nation on set for the filming of Jacob’s latest documentary series Back to the Fire (Photo courtesy of Back to the Fire crew)
Representatives from School District 5 and local Indigenous communities gathered on June 23 to sign the updated Indigenous Education Enhancement Agreement. From left, is superintendent for School District 5 Viveka Johnson, president of Rocky Mountain Métis Association Jeff Crozier, Aq’am chief Joe Pierre, Tobacco Plains chief Heidi Gravelle, chair for School District 5 Board of Education Doug McPhee, Ktunaxa Nation councilor Sancira Williams-Jimmy, president of Elk Valley Métis Association Jean Sulzer and president of College of the Rockies Paul Vogt (Gillian Francis photo)

School District 5 , Ktunaxa First Nation renew Indigenous Education Enhancement Agreement

Updated document includes a wishlist that will guide the future of indigenous education

Representatives from School District 5 and local Indigenous communities gathered on June 23 to sign the updated Indigenous Education Enhancement Agreement. From left, is superintendent for School District 5 Viveka Johnson, president of Rocky Mountain Métis Association Jeff Crozier, Aq’am chief Joe Pierre, Tobacco Plains chief Heidi Gravelle, chair for School District 5 Board of Education Doug McPhee, Ktunaxa Nation councilor Sancira Williams-Jimmy, president of Elk Valley Métis Association Jean Sulzer and president of College of the Rockies Paul Vogt (Gillian Francis photo)
Dolly Andrew teaches a student from ʔaq̓amnik’ School how to make dream catchers (Gillian Francis photo)

Ktunaxa and Métis gather in Rotary Park for National Indigenous Peoples Day

Historic education and hoop dance lead the celebration of culture

Dolly Andrew teaches a student from ʔaq̓amnik’ School how to make dream catchers (Gillian Francis photo)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon look on as First Nations Artis Alicia Kayley performs during the site selection ceremony of the Residential Schools National Monument on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. The federal government has released its action plan on implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Ottawa releases action plan for UNDRIP, despite calls for more consultation

Liberals say plan contains 181 measures to uphold rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon look on as First Nations Artis Alicia Kayley performs during the site selection ceremony of the Residential Schools National Monument on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. The federal government has released its action plan on implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Traditional dancer Odeshkun Thusky performs during a commemorative ceremony, Raising the Survivors’ Flag, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. The ceremony is “in memory of the thousands of children who were sent to residential schools, of those who never returned, and in honour of the families whose lives were forever changed.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Trudeau raises flag honouring residential school survivors on Parliament Hill

PM: Survivors’ Flag serves as reminder that some kids never returned home from the schools

Traditional dancer Odeshkun Thusky performs during a commemorative ceremony, Raising the Survivors’ Flag, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. The ceremony is “in memory of the thousands of children who were sent to residential schools, of those who never returned, and in honour of the families whose lives were forever changed.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon look on as First Nations Artis Alicia Kayley performs during the site selection ceremony of the Residential Schools National Monument on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Monument to residential school survivors, victims to be built on Parliament Hill

Governor general called monument is a ‘significant’ step towards reconciliation

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon look on as First Nations Artis Alicia Kayley performs during the site selection ceremony of the Residential Schools National Monument on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Chief Dean Sayers, of the Batchewana First Nation in Ontario, addresses the audience as Indigenous leaders from across Canada attend the Assembly of First Nations’ 35th annual general meeting in Halifax, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Leaders of the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund say they’ve reached a proposed $10-billion settlement with the governments of Ontario and Canada over unpaid annuities for using their lands. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Canada, Ontario reach historic $10 billion proposed First Nations treaty settlement

Proposal will resolve claims tied to past unpaid annuities stretching back more than 170 years

Chief Dean Sayers, of the Batchewana First Nation in Ontario, addresses the audience as Indigenous leaders from across Canada attend the Assembly of First Nations’ 35th annual general meeting in Halifax, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Leaders of the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund say they’ve reached a proposed $10-billion settlement with the governments of Ontario and Canada over unpaid annuities for using their lands. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Community members, joined by Six Nations Police, conduct a search for unmarked graves using ground-penetrating radar on the 500 acres of the lands associated with the former Indian Residential School, the Mohawk Institute, in Brantford, Ont., Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Indigenous communities searching for unmarked graves have seen a rise in individuals denying the disappearances and deaths of Indigenous children in the residential school system, according to a new report from the federal government’s special interlocutor on unmarked graves. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn

How ground-penetrating radar is used to find unmarked graves at residential schools

The basic principle is that ground-penetrating radar sends an electromagnetic wave into the ground

Community members, joined by Six Nations Police, conduct a search for unmarked graves using ground-penetrating radar on the 500 acres of the lands associated with the former Indian Residential School, the Mohawk Institute, in Brantford, Ont., Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Indigenous communities searching for unmarked graves have seen a rise in individuals denying the disappearances and deaths of Indigenous children in the residential school system, according to a new report from the federal government’s special interlocutor on unmarked graves. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn
Kimberly Murray speaks after being appointed as Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools, at a news conference in Ottawa, on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. Murray says “urgent consideration” should be given to legal mechanisms as a way for Canada to combat residential school denialism.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Canada should consider legal solution to fight residential school denialism: report

Report says increasing number of ‘denialists’ challenging communities that announce unmarked graves

Kimberly Murray speaks after being appointed as Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools, at a news conference in Ottawa, on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. Murray says “urgent consideration” should be given to legal mechanisms as a way for Canada to combat residential school denialism.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Katiecia Jimmy and Makayla Taylor raised the Ktunaxa Nation Flag at Mt. Baker Secondary School on Thursday for National Indigenous History Month (Gillian Francis photo)

Mt. Baker’s Ktunaxa flag hoisted sky-high for National Indigenous Peoples Day

Flag symbolizes friendly partnership between Ktunaxa and local school board

Katiecia Jimmy and Makayla Taylor raised the Ktunaxa Nation Flag at Mt. Baker Secondary School on Thursday for National Indigenous History Month (Gillian Francis photo)
Susan Cairns (left) and Cecelia Reekie, a former Langley school trustee, with the 215 crosses bedecked with children’s clothes placed in memory of the Kamloops residential school victims at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum at 21559 Fraser Hwy. Langley on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

Permanent residential school memorial planned for Langley park

Group asks to create ‘place of understanding’ at Township arboretum

Susan Cairns (left) and Cecelia Reekie, a former Langley school trustee, with the 215 crosses bedecked with children’s clothes placed in memory of the Kamloops residential school victims at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum at 21559 Fraser Hwy. Langley on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
Apprentice carver Rey Dickie and master carver Stan Hunt stand next to the log that would be carved into a monument to remember Indigenous children who died at residential schools. (Tyson Whitney - North Island Gazette)

Residential school pole touring Island before Vancouver installation

Master carver Stanley Hunt preparing to unveil emotional memorial project

Apprentice carver Rey Dickie and master carver Stan Hunt stand next to the log that would be carved into a monument to remember Indigenous children who died at residential schools. (Tyson Whitney - North Island Gazette)
Displayed on the exterior of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is Tsleil-Waututh artist Olivia George’s “Bee Humble.” It’s part of the launch of the 2023 “Platforms: Nine Places for Seeing” public art project, which for the first time since it began in 2010 is showcasing all Indigenous artists. June is National Indigenous History Month. (Lauren Collins)

‘Sense of belonging’: Vancouver commissions 21 Indigenous artists for public art

2023 ‘Platforms’ initiative celebrates National Indigenous History Month

Displayed on the exterior of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is Tsleil-Waututh artist Olivia George’s “Bee Humble.” It’s part of the launch of the 2023 “Platforms: Nine Places for Seeing” public art project, which for the first time since it began in 2010 is showcasing all Indigenous artists. June is National Indigenous History Month. (Lauren Collins)
The Canada flag on the Peace Tower is lit up by morning light on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. A new poll suggests only one third of Canadians support the city of Mississauga, Ont., proposing to ask the Federal government to change the lyrics of the national anthem, O Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

A third of Canadians support changing anthem to say ‘our home on native land’: poll

Leger poll; 48 per cent opposed, 19 per cent say they don’t know

The Canada flag on the Peace Tower is lit up by morning light on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. A new poll suggests only one third of Canadians support the city of Mississauga, Ont., proposing to ask the Federal government to change the lyrics of the national anthem, O Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Premier David Eby announcing a new Indigenous Justice Centre in Chilliwack, and $10 million for supports on June 12, 2023. (Jennifer Feinberg/ Chilliwack Progress)

B.C. premier announces new Indigenous Justice Centre in Chilliwack

‘Making communities safer means addressing core issues that bring people into conflict with law’

Premier David Eby announcing a new Indigenous Justice Centre in Chilliwack, and $10 million for supports on June 12, 2023. (Jennifer Feinberg/ Chilliwack Progress)
A stamp bearing the portrait of Nellie Cournoyea is seen in an undated handout photo. The first Indigenous woman to lead a provincial or territorial government in Canada is being honoured with a new stamp. Canada Post says it has unveiled a stamp in honour of Cournoyea, known as a champion of her people in Canada’s western Arctic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Canada Post, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

New Canada Post stamp honours first Indigenous woman to lead a Canadian government

Nellie Cournoyea was known as a champion of Inuit people in Canada’s western Arctic

A stamp bearing the portrait of Nellie Cournoyea is seen in an undated handout photo. The first Indigenous woman to lead a provincial or territorial government in Canada is being honoured with a new stamp. Canada Post says it has unveiled a stamp in honour of Cournoyea, known as a champion of her people in Canada’s western Arctic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Canada Post, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
A Chilkat blanket, created in a Tlingit community in the 1800s, is seen in an undated handout photo. A man who is helping return the 140-year-old robe to the British Columbia First Nation where it was created says it’s as if the regalia called out to its people and they are bringing it home. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Taku River Tinglit First Nation

B.C. First Nation buys back 140-year-old robe, paying almost $40,000 to bring it home

The intricately woven Chilkat robe was purchased by the Taku River Tlingit First Nation

A Chilkat blanket, created in a Tlingit community in the 1800s, is seen in an undated handout photo. A man who is helping return the 140-year-old robe to the British Columbia First Nation where it was created says it’s as if the regalia called out to its people and they are bringing it home. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Taku River Tinglit First Nation
The Yukon provincial flag flies on a flagpole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. A Yukon First Nations community has begun its search for unmarked graves at a former residential school site with a ceremony that triggered strong emotions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Launch of search for graves at former Yukon residential school triggers raw emotions

A community report on the results is scheduled to be completed by the end of summer

The Yukon provincial flag flies on a flagpole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. A Yukon First Nations community has begun its search for unmarked graves at a former residential school site with a ceremony that triggered strong emotions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld