This Canada Day, Talk About the Path to Reconciliation

On this Canada Day, Let’s Consider Our Shared History and Reconciliation.

Canada Day celebrations across the country are looking very different. With large gatherings being reduced by COVID to mostly online festivities, Canada Day has the potential to become a public conversation rather than a public celebration.

For many Indigenous people, Canada Day has never been a time of celebration. It has been a reminder of the colonization of land occupied for much longer than 153 years. A celebration of a continuing process of cultural erasure, state violence, and settler-colonialism.

Indigenous stories have often been erased from Canada’s recognizable history.

Three years after Confederation’s 150th anniversary, a conversation about Anti-Black and Indigenous violence is spreading. This conversation is insufficient on its own. Material change – on a federal, communal, and individual level – is needed as well.

The Bottom Line: This Canada Day is a time to celebrate the progress we have made as a country while also reflecting on our shared history. We must recognize that there is still much work to be undertaken by all Canadians to ensure that the repressive history of our country is understood, and that material actions are made to bring meaningful reconciliation.

Canada Day must grapple with the need for reconciliation.

The resources below, which you can read, listen or watch, provide good starting places to supplement your media intake on Canada day, and every day.

Read:

Beyond 94, a project monitoring the progress of the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Frequently asked questions regarding residential schools and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG)
Indigenous Ally Tool Kit, a resource on how to be a good ally
Media Indigena, an interactive media site sharing stories for Indigenous people by Indigenous people
Stories North, a student journalism initiative whose goal is to help tell Indigenous stories in the Yukon
Terra Cognita, “Indigenous stories we would rather be telling” by The Walrus

Listen:

Missing and Murdered, an investigative podcast unearthing new information about MMIWG
The Secret Life of Canada, a history podcast about the untold stories of Canada
Thunder Bay, a podcast examining the systematic problems and truths behind a Canadian town
Unreserved, a radio show for Indigenous communities, culture, and conversation

Watch:

Future History, a show exploring Indigenous knowledge and cultural revitalization in an Anishinaabe community
Indigenous Cinema Collection, the National Film Board’s collection of Indigenous-made films
Indian Horse, a drama that sheds light on Canada’s residential schools
There’s Something in the Water, a documentary revealing the environmental impacts of industrial waste on a community in Nova Scotia

Support:

The Native Women’s Association of Canada, supports the political voices of Indigenous women and peoples through a variety of social, economic, and political issues
Legacy of Hope Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to educate and raise awareness about the intergenerational impacts of the cultural oppression of Indigenous people
Reconciliation Canada, an organization that encourages dialogue and action to cultivate relationships between Indigenous people and all Canadians
True North Aid , an organization that provides humanitarian support to Northern Indigenous communities in Canada

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