Here’s our January Briefing Notes edition, with stories about public education, police body cams, accessibility in community design, devolution, and more…
Isabella Johnson
E-newsletter (Best of 2023)
Thank you for another year of much-needed progress, collaboration and conversation around the most pressing issues facing the communities where we live. We continue to be inspired by your work and we look forward to continue supporting you in the new year. With 2024 right around the corner, we’d like to take this time to reflect on your top story picks from this year.
E-newsletter (November 2023)
Here’s our November Briefing Notes edition, with stories about COP 28, accessibility and public spaces, sustainable housing, Indigenous culture and the digital environment, and more…
E-newsletter (October 2023)
Here’s our October Briefing Notes edition, with stories about AI and Indigenous conservation efforts, natural gas bans, car-free cities, the climate crisis, and more…
E-newsletter (September 2023)
Here’s our September Briefing Notes edition, with stories about truth and reconciliation, wildfires response, vacancy control, housing as healthcare, and more!
E-newsletter (Summer 2023)
Here’s our Summer Briefing Notes edition, prepared by our summer student, Isabelle Han — with stories about affordable housing, maximum temperature allowances, car-free streets, youth climate litigation and more!
Indigenous Issues and Reconciliation Resources
Prepared by Isabella Johnson
This blog post deals with topics which may cause trauma to readers due to its troubling subject matter. Anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their residential school experience can access the 24-hour, toll-free and confidential National Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. Mental health support for Indigenous peoples across Canada is available at the toll-free Help Line 1-855-242-3310 or using the chatbox at hopeforwellness.ca
With the ongoing discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves across Canada, we have prepared the below resources to help local electeds further the 94 Calls to Action presented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2018.
Resources on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission:
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
- Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future – Summary of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada.
- National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
- Beyond 94 – Truth and Reconciliation in Canada (CBC)
- Truth and Reconciliation – City of Vancouver
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action – Government of BC
- Reconciliation Canada
- Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
- Indigenous Foundations, UBC
Resources on Residential Schools
- Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, UBC
- Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS)
Resources on MMIWG
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Resources on UNDRIP / DRIPA
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
City of Vancouver’s UNDRIP Strategy
Resources on In Plain Sight
In Plain Sight – Independent Review of Indigenous Specific Racism in B.C. Health Care (November 2020)
Resources on Child Welfare Agreement
Federal government, AFN reach $20B final settlement on First Nations child welfare agreement
Statements from Indigenous Communities:
- Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Statement on Kamloops Indian Residential School
- Statement from the Office of the Chief, Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc
- How to support Tḱemlúps te Secwepemc
- ʔaq̓am Statement on Discovery of Unmarked Graves
- Congress of Aboriginal Peoples Statement: Unmarked graves found in Penelakut Tribal territory in BC
- First Nations leaders on the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at Saskatchewan residential school
Resources on Grave Detection:
- Canadian Archeological Association – Recommended Pathway for Locating Unmarked Graves Around Residential Schools
- Remote Sensing and Grave Detection
- Resources for Indigenous Communities Considering Investigating Unmarked Graves
Resources from Indigenous Voices:
- We were Children – In this feature film, the profound impact of the Canadian government’s residential school system is conveyed through the eyes of two children who were forced to face hardships beyond their years.
- Canadian Shame: A History of Residential Schools, Ginger Gosnell-Myers of Nisga’a and Kwakwaka’wakw heritage
- The decades-long battle to achieve fairness for Indigenous kids in Canada from Indigenous children’s advocate Cindy Blackstock
- Wawahte – Stories of Indian Residential School Survivors
- The National Campus and Community Radio Association – Resonating Reconciliation Documentaries
- #IndigenousReads
- The Indigenous Storyteller in Residence, VPL
And further articles on the findings and the steps required to act on the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action:
- B.C. proposes legislative changes to give Indigenous communities power over their own child welfare system
- Truth and Reconciliation: A living history, The Tyee
- Canada must face its deep systemic racism against Indigenous people, The Globe & Mail
- Why Canada and Genocide Belong in the Same Sentence, The Tyee
- The Indigenous children who died at Canada’s residential schools, The Guardian
- Indigenous People Advance a Dramatic Goal: Reversing Colonialism, The New York Times
- With Discovery of Unmarked Graves, Canada’s Indigenous Seek Reckoning, The New York Times
- To Break Residential Schools’ Dark Legacy, Understand Why, The Tyee
- From truth to reconciliation: How to move forward with the TRC’s calls to action, Global News
- How Canada Created a Crisis in Indigenous Child Welfare, The Tyee
- The path to accountability for Canada’s residential school graves, Al Jazeera
- Canada’s Coming Crisis with Indigenous Peoples, The Tyee
Please share articles and updates for us to post here at info@columbiainstitute.eco
E-newsletter (January 2022)
Our first edition of ‘Briefing Notes’ in 2022 shares excerpts on speculation tax, addiction, climate emergencies, COVID-19 restrictions and more…
E-newsletter (December: Best of 2021)
Our final Briefing Notes edition of the year highlights readers’ top picks from the last 12 months. Some of your favourites from 2021 focused on Universal Basic Income, alternative policing, community housing, and doughnut economics.
E-newsletter (November 2021)
Our November edition of ‘Briefing Notes’ shares excerpts on affordable housing, land acknowledgements, car-free futures, solar panels, and more…
E-newsletter (October 2021)
Our October edition of ‘Briefing Notes’ shares excerpts on renovictions, affordable housing, sex worker safety, climate justice, and more…
E-newsletter (September 2021)
Our September edition of ‘Briefing Notes’ shares excerpts on retrofitting buildings, indigenous-led agriculture, the IPCC climate report, and more…