TW. Genocide, violence against Indigenous people
Courtesy of Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee and Nahanee Creative
We at Women Transforming Cities will not be celebrating ‘Canada’ day, and we invite other uninvited settlers who benefit from living on these lands and the structures of colonialism, to spend the day educating themselves, informing others, and supporting Indigenous-led calls to action. There is no place for celebration in a nation that has, and continues to ignore the Calls to Action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Murdered and Mission Indigenous and Women and Girls Inquiry Recommendations while enacting and allowing genocide on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people.
Many great resources continue to be shared across Turtle Island with the means of educating and supporting Indigenous-led movements; we’d like to share a few that are specific to our local context.
Attend
Indigenous-led grassroots organization Idle No More is hosting Cancel Canada Day events across the country, with the intent to stop celebration of a settler colonial state that continues to enact violence against Indigenous people. Join them at the Vancouver Art Gallery starting at 2 PM.
Listen
Indigenous relations consultant Solomon Reece, Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee, Squamish creative and decolonial facilitator, and Mission School District Indigenous mentor and teacher Peggy Janicki join Angela Sterritt to speak on Decolonizing Canada day in the following BC Today segment.
What happens when hidden histories become a national conversation? Unreserved is the radio space for Indigenous community, culture, and conversation. In this episode, host Falen Johnson discusses how much of the history of the many nations across this land continues to be unacknowledged in the mainstream, and even hidden.
Telling our Twisted Histories. In this podcast, host Kaniehti:io Horn discusses and decolonizes the word SCHOOL and shares truths about learning. For over 150 years, Indian Residential Schools shattered families, languages, and cultures. This great pain was passed down from generation to generation and impacts our communities to this day.
Read
Read what Indigenous public-policy expert Ginger Gosnell-Myers has to say about Indigenous identity, reconciliation, and why Canada Day festivities have fallen out of favour with some.