We Treaty People ways to learn & take action

June 9, 2022

We Treaty People is now playing, with more than 17 episodes available. Each episode comes with a suggested way to learn more and engage the audio play or the artists’ interview with your friends. Here’s a collection of all those suggestions in one place.

Suggestions with Land

Ask a friend to join you to have a face to face conversation with your local government representative, MLA and/or MP. Ask them how are they working to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (which became law in Canada on June 21, 2021, see: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/declaration/index.html). Also ask how are they taking action in response to the Calls To Action from the Truth & Reconciliation Commision and the Calls For Justice from the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry (see https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/). Set a date with them to follow up together in 3 to 6 months.

Reflect on the primary voices that inform you as a person and shape your thoughts and values. Make 4 lists:

your closest friends;
your mentors to whom you look for guidance;
the teachers, authors and artists whose work you engage with; and
the news media sources you access.

Take note of the cultural backgrounds each person or media source represents. Choose to widen those circles to include a greater diversity of voices, especially First Nations, Métis and Inuit voices. Here are 3 options for news coverage from Indigenous perspectives: APTN News (coverage of truth and reconciliation at https://www.aptnnews.ca/topic/trc/), Eagle Feather News in SK (https://www.eaglefeathernews.com/), or CBC News Indigenous (https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous).

Suggestions with Coffee Talk

Ask a friend to join you to volunteer your time with a community organization or school program that is led by Indigenous persons and supports Indigenous youth in your part of Turtle Island.

Explore the Métis Voices video collection of oral histories (https://www.metisvoices.ca/), or:

The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture (https://www.metismuseum.ca/),
The Métis Memories of Residential Schools online mural (https://www.muralmosaic.com/metis-memories/),
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation virtual exhibits (https://nctr.ca/exhibits/),
Or visit the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (https://humanrights.ca/).

Suggestions with Taken Before Birth

Attend MCC Saskatchewan’s 4th Annual Peace Conference, “Land of Living Reconciliation: Seeking Common Ground”, October 21-22, 2022 in Saskatoon: https://mcccanada.ca/get-involved/events/mcc-saskatchewan-peace-conference-2022

(or find a similar event in your area)

Find an Indigenous art piece or performance you might not normally visit, go with a friend you don’t normally hang out with, and talk about your experience together. (some options in Saskatoon: downtown murals & public art – see iMaps on Saskatoon.ca, Wanuskewin, Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre, Remai Modern, USask Art Galleries)

Suggestions with The Final Inquiry

Commit to the Personal Pledge of Reconciliation created by Indigenous Corporate Training (an organization led by Bob Joseph, a Gwawa’enuk Nation hereditary chief), and share it with your friends, family and colleagues: https://www.ictinc.ca/personal-pledge-of-reconciliation-with-indigenous-peoples

After reflecting on the Calls To Action from the TRC and MMIWG Inquiry, commit to an action plan on at least one call, take a first step of action, and ask a trusted friend to hold you accountable to follow through on your action plan.

Suggestions with Remnance

Read the Reconciliation Toolkit for Business Leaders from the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, and share it with your workplace colleagues: http://www.abo-peoples.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/WP-Revised-Reconciliation-Toolkit_Digital_May12-compressed.pdf

Attend a National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on June 21 in your area.

Make plans to attend an Indigenous cultural experience, powwow or heritage site this summer. Here are some options in Saskatchewan (scroll down for ideas outside SK):

Wanuskewin Heritage Park: https://wanuskewin.com/
Batoche National Historic Site: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/sk/batoche
The National Métis Veterans’ Memorial Monument at Batoche: https://www.metismuseum.ca/metisveteransmonument
Fort Carlton Provincial Park (where Treaty 6 was signed): https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/provincialpark/1809/fort-carlton-provincial-park
Fort Battleford National Historic Site: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/sk/battleford
Fort Walsh & Cypress Hills Massacre National Historic Sites: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/sk/walsh
Round Prairie Métis Museum & Cemetery (south of Saskatoon on Chief Whitecap Trail/Hwy 219)

Lists of Indigenous cultural experiences beyond SK:
Indigenous Tourism British Columbia: https://www.indigenousbc.com
Indigenous Tourism Alberta: https://indigenoustourismalberta.ca/listing-category/attraction
Travel Manitoba: https://www.travelmanitoba.com/things-to-do/arts-culture/indigenous-experiences
Indigenous Tourism Ontario: https://www.indigenousexperienceontario.ca/type/cultural-experiences
Indigenous Tourism Quebec: https://indigenousquebec.com/things-to-do
Tourism New Brunswick: https://tourismnewbrunswick.ca/indigenous
Tourism Nova Scotia: https://www.novascotia.com/travel-info/about-us/mikmaq-culture
Indigenous Tourism PEI: https://www.indigenoustourismpei.com/destinations
Newfoundland & Labrador Indigenous Tourism Association: https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/trip-ideas/travel-stories/indigenous-experiences-newfoundland-labrador
Yukon First Nations Culture and Tourism: https://yfnct.ca/cultural-centres
Northwest Territories Tourism: https://spectacularnwt.com/what-to-do/indigenous-experiences
Parks Canada: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/voyage-travel/experiences/autochtones-indigenous

Suggestions with Do You Remember?

Watch Reservation Dogs, an Indigenous American teen comedy drama TV series about life on and off reserve, created by Taika Wiatiti & Sterlin Harjo: https://www.disneyplus.com/series/reservation-dogs/17MVZHUGJFZw

Attend ‘Indigenous in the City,’ a virtual and in person symposium from NAIITS at Acadia University, NS, June 2-4, 2022: https://www.naiits.com/symposium2022

Take the Indigenous Canada online course from University of Alberta’s Faculty of Native Studies (free, 12 weeks): https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada

Suggestions with You Said We’d Be Together Forever

Read the texts of treaties in your part of Canada: https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1370373165583/1581292088522

Here’s a helpful interactive map of treaty lands across Canada, including agreements in recent years: https://www.whose.land/en/

Watch the documentary Reserve 107, about steps toward reconciliation involving the community of Laird, SK and the Young Chippewayan band: https://www.reserve107thefilm.com/

Suggestions with Flag

Ask a friend to join you in reading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls To Action, then meet up to talk about what stood out to each of you and what action you will take in response: https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

Or if the Calls To Action are very familiar to you, consider doing the same with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (of which Canada is a signatory): https://nctr.ca/education/teaching-resources/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples/

Explore an interactive map of former residential school sites in Canada and the search for unmarked graves: https://globalnews.ca/news/8074453/indigenous-residential-schools-canada-graves-map/