June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, an opportunity to learn about the unique cultures, traditions, and experiences of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. It’s a time to honour the stories, achievements, and resilience of Indigenous Peoples, who have lived on this land since time immemorial and whose presence continues to impact the evolving Canada.
How to get involved
We encourage you to take some time to learn more about First Nations, Inuit, and Métis as well as our collective past. Here are a few ideas of how you can get involved and show your support.
Discover stories, traditions, and cultures
The best way to gain a deeper understanding of First Nations, Inuit and Métis experiences is through their own voices. Enjoy Indigenous storytelling by picking up a book, attending a show, watching a movie or listening to music from Indigenous artists.
You can also check out the GC Indigenous Instagram account to learn more about inspiring Indigenous women, 2SLGBTQ+ people, environmentalists, artists, activists, scientists and researchers.
For generations, many Indigenous communities have celebrated their culture on or near June 21, the summer solstice. Learn more About National Indigenous Peoples Day and how the tradition lives on.
Explore the past and honour the truth
Take the first steps on your educational journey:
- Learn about Inuit across Canada
- Learn about Métis across Canada
- Learn about First Nations across Canada
Here is a good page from the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council with information for settlers.
Here is a recording of one of our contributors talking about relationship-building:
Watch “Building Relationships: How to Approach First Nations”
Presented by Aaron Bruce at CLEBC’s new program, “Indigenous Real Estate”
May 7, 2024.
Stephen Mussell’s receipt of the 2024 UBC Alumni Builders Award and keynote speech at UBC Law Indigenous Awareness Week (see also this summary description on Mandell Pinder’s website)
“I wanted to know it was reasonable for me to question everything I was learning. I wanted to know why everyone seemed to uncritically accept that Canada’s existence is premised on the inherent inferiority of Indigenous Peoples. I wanted to know why Indigenous Law, our laws and legal orders, were wholly ignored or just used as some interpretive aid for the law that actually mattered.” – Stephen Mussell
CLEBC “In the Spotlight” featuring Stephen Mussell and
CLEBC “In the Spotlight” featuring Jean Teillet
Jean Teillet’s tour de force Métis history book The North West is Our Mother—this CBC page introduces the book and links to numerous interviews with Jean Teillet
“The Métis Nation didn’t just drift slowly into the Canadian consciousness in the early 1800s; it burst onto the scene fully formed. The Métis were flamboyant, defiant, loud, and definitely not noble savages. They were nomads with a very different way of being in the world — always on the move, very much in the moment, passionate and fierce. They were romantics and visionaries with big dreams. They battled continuously — for recognition, for their lands and for their rights and freedoms. In 1870 and 1885, led by the iconic Louis Riel, they fought back when Canada took their lands. These acts of resistance became defining moments in Canadian history, with implications that reverberate to this day: Western alienation, Indigenous rights, and the French/English divide.”
We invite you to be curious one more time and look here: https://www.itk.ca/about-canadian-inuit/
Inuit are an Indigenous people living primarily in Inuit Nunangat.
The majority of our population lives in 51 communities spread across Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland encompassing 40% of Canada’s land area and 72% of its coastline. We have lived in our homeland since time immemorial. Our communities are among the most culturally resilient in North America. Roughly 60 percent of Inuit report an ability to conduct a conversation in Inuktut (the Inuit language), and our people harvest country foods such as seal, narwhal and caribou to feed our families and communities.
Canadian Inuit are young with a median age of just 23. This affects how our population interacts with the policies, programs and services targeting Inuit. Our population is also increasingly urban: more than 3,000 Inuit live in Ottawa alone.
Traditional values such as sharing, respect for elders and cooperation remain central to Inuit community life. Despite our small population, Inuit communities have produced world renowned musicians and artists and our leaders have helped advance the global struggle for Indigenous self-determination and human rights. Today Inuit occupy a number of professions in the arts, medical field, government and academia.
And this is interesting too:
Inuit
Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada
https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/section/inuit/
What is Allyship?
Check out this “authentic allyship” site, which has a lot of links to additional resources.
- Authentic Allyship Project is a collaboration between Indigenous scholar Andrea Menard and non-Indigenous ally Marc Bhalla that was born in academia in 2018 and has real-world, practical aspirations.
- Andrea and Marc apply professional and life experiences to identify practical steps in support of the acknowledgement, truth, and the goal of reconciliation.
- Andrea and Marc have joined forces on a number of projects to help aspiring allies better understand the truth, appreciate Indigenous world views and consider how they can support Indigenous Communities.