scholarly journals What Do Indigenous Education Policy Frameworks Reveal about Commitments to Reconciliation in Canadian School Systems?

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Wotherspoon ◽  
Emily Milne
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Elementary And Secondary Education ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Adequate Understanding ◽  
Policy Frameworks

The national Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has challenged governments and school boards across Canada to acknowledge and address the damaging legacies of residential schooling while ensuring that all students gain an adequate understanding of relations between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples. This article explores the dynamics and prospects for effective change associated with reforms in elementary and secondary education systems since the release of the Commission’s Calls to Action, focusing on the policy frameworks employed by provincial and territorial governments to guide these actions. The analysis examines critically the overt and hidden messages conveyed through discourses within policy documents and statements. The key questions we address include: What do current education policy frameworks and actions regarding Indigenous Peoples reveal about government approaches to education and settler–Indigenous relationships in Canada? To what extent is effective reconciliation possible, and how can it be accomplished in the context of institutional structures and discourses within a White settler colonial society? The findings reveal that substantial movement towards greater acknowledgement of Indigenous knowledge systems and incorporation of Indigenous content continues to be subordinated to or embedded within Western assumptions, norms, and standards. 

scholarly journals Jordan’s Principle: Reconciliation and the First Nations Child

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
Colleen Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Residential Schools ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Child Welfare Services ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Nations Child ◽  
The Individual

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was mandated to “document the individual and collective harms” of residential schools and to “guide and inspire a process of truth and healing, leading toward reconciliation.”  The stories of survivors revealed the intergenerational and egregious harms of taking children from their families and communities. In seeking to redress the legacy of the residential schools era, the TRC Calls to Action include greater recognition of self-governance of Indigenous Peoples, as well as numerous recommendations for equitable funding of health, educational, and child welfare services.

scholarly journals Indigenous land-based interventions and nature-oriented wellness programs: Commonalities and important differences.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Sommerfeld ◽  
David Danto ◽  
Russ Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Wellness Programs ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Task Force Report ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Indigenous Mental Health ◽  
Indigenous Land

The importance of Indigenous mental health has been highlighted and affirmed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report (2015), the Canadian Psychological Association and The Psychology Foundation of Canada’s Task Force report responding to the TRC findings (2018), as well as numerous recent studies. Unfortunately, Indigenous Peoples in Canada continue to suffer from a lack of appropriate mental health care. Land-based interventions have been cited as one culturally appropriate approach to wellness; nevertheless, given the diversity of nature-oriented wellness programs, confusion exists over the qualities unique to and common across each program. As such, this paper will discuss the qualities of nature-oriented wellness programs currently in use by Indigenous communities (e.g. landbased interventions) with land-based approaches outside of Indigenous communities such as forest bathing, Outward Bound programs, and green or blue space research. The authors will then explore what sets Indigenous land-based interventions apart from these other wellness programs and discuss why land-based interventions hold a deeper meaning for Indigenous Peoples.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Law of Prior Consultation: Obstacles and Opportunities for Democratization and Political Participation in Peru

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 111-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Sarmiento Barletti ◽  
Lexy Seedhouse
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
The State ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
The Political ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
The Law

A study informed by long-term fieldwork with Amazonian and Andean indigenous peoples examines their experiences of Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Law of Prior Consultation. It engages with these efforts, which sought to address injustice by creating a new pact between the state and its indigenous citizens, their various failures, and the unintended opportunities that they have created for the political participation of indigenous peoples and their representatives.Un estudio basado en el trabajo de campo a largo plazo con los pueblos indígenas amazónicas y andinos examine sus experiencias de la Comisión de Verdad y Reconciliación y la Ley de Consulta Previa de Perú, que buscaba abordar la injusticia creando un nuevo pacto entre el estado y sus ciudadanos indígenas. Aborda sus diversos fracasos y las oportunidades no previstas que han creado para la participación políticas de los pueblos indígenas y sus representantes.

scholarly journals COMPLETING THE CIRCLE: TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF IND-EQUITY- A CULTURALLY RELEVANT HEALTH EQUITY MODEL BY/FOR INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-110
Author(s):  
Bernice Downey
Keyword(s):  
Health Equity ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Structural Reform ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Equity Model

Health equity is defined in ways that espouse values of social justice and benevolence and is held up as an ideal state achievable by all. However, there remains a troubling gap in health outcomes between Indigenous Peoples and other Canadians. Public health stakeholders aspire to ‘close the gap’ and ‘level the gradient’ to reduce inequities though the implementation of various health equity focused strategies. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada echoes this objective and calls for self-determining structural reform to address health inequity for Indigenous Peoples. This paper proposes an IND-equity model as a reconciliation inspired response that upholds Indigenous self-determination and is informed by diverse Indigenous ways of knowing.  When adopting this model, the goal is to complete the circle and foster wholistic balance. Further development and implementation of an IND-equity model requires advocacy by all health practitioners. Nurses hold potential to lead and engage in structural reform through an Indigenous health ally role.

scholarly journals Rethinking Representation: Indigenous Peoples and Contexts at the University of Alberta Libraries

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Farnel ◽  
Denise Koufogiannakis ◽  
Sheila Laroque ◽  
Ian Bigelow ◽  
Anne Carr-Wiggin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Library Of Congress ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
The University

Appropriate subject access and descriptive practices within library and information science are social justice issues. Standards that are well established and commonly used in academic libraries in Canada and elsewhere, including Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and Library of Congress Classification (LCC), continue to perpetuate colonial biases toward Indigenous peoples. In the fall of 2016, the University of Alberta Libraries (UAL) established a Decolonizing Description Working Group (DDWG) to investigate, define, and propose a plan of action for how descriptive metadata practices could more accurately, appropriately, and respectfully represent Indigenous peoples and contexts. The DDWG is currently beginning the implementation of recommendations approved by UAL’s strategic leadership team. In this paper we describe the genesis of the DDWG within the broader context of the libraries’ and the university’s responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action; outline the group’s activities and recommendations; and describe initial steps toward the implementation of those recommendations, with a focus on engaging local Indigenous communities. We reflect on the potential impact of revised descriptive practices in removing many of the barriers that Indigenous communities and individuals face in finding and accessing library materials relevant to their cultures and histories.

Reconciliation and Environmental Racism in Mi’kma’ki

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorene Bernard
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Final Report ◽  
Environmental Racism ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Healing Journey ◽  
United Nations Declaration

There has been more talk but not enough action on reconciliation since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its final report in 2015 containing ninety-four calls to action (Truth and Reconciliation Canada 2015). Indigenous people have not experienced the reconciliation intended in the actions that Canada has agreed to implement. Indigenous people and all Canadians need to hold Canada accountable to these actions for true reconciliation to manifest in Canadian society. The TRC calls to action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) hold particular meaning and hope for me, as a survivor of Indian Residential Schools (IRS), and many other survivors who have gone through the TRC process. Truth is the first step toward reconciliation; understanding is the second step, and remediation is the third. Water is sacred. Protecting the water and asserting our rights in the Peace and Friendship Treaties are my responsibilities as a Mi’kmaw woman and rights holder. They are also an integral aspect of my healing journey. When I acknowledge Canadians’ habitation on the unceded lands of the Mi’kmaq, I mean that acknowledgment from the core of my spirit, the spirit of my ancestors, and my future generations. I am living that acknowledgment.

CSR and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad S. Long
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Spiritual Values ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Blind Spots

Purpose This paper aims to highlight blind spots in the discourse of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and stretch the boundaries of existent CSR frameworks within the particular context of resource extraction and with regard to the particular stakeholder group of Indigenous peoples in Canada. This context is important in light of the recommendations from the recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), as they relate to initiatives that businesses may take towards reconciliation with Indigenous people. Design/methodology/approach This paper brings together a disparate body of literature on CSR, Indigenous spiritual values and experiences of extractive practices on Indigenous ancestral lands. Suggestions are offered for empirical research and projects that may advance the project of reconciliation. Findings CSR may not be an appropriate framework for reconciliation without alteration to its managerial biases and ideological assumptions. The CSR discourse needs to accommodate the “free prior and informed consent” of Indigenous peoples and their spiritual values and knowledge vis-à-vis the land for resource extractive practices to edge towards being socially responsible when they occur on Canadian ancestral territories. Originality/value Canadian society exists in a post-TRC world, which demands that we reconcile with our past of denying Indigenous values and suppressing the cultures of Indigenous peoples from flourishing. This paper aspires to respond to the TRC’s recommendation for how businesses in the resource extractive industries may engage meaningfully and authentically with Indigenous people in Canada as a step towards reconciliation.

scholarly journals Beyond the “Indigenizing the Academy” Trend: Learning from Indigenous Higher Education Land-Based and Intercultural Pedagogies to Build Trans-Systemic Decolonial Education.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-65
Author(s):  
Marie-Eve Drouin-Gagné
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Canadian Universities ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
The Andes

Given the UNDRIP’s assertion of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their education and knowledge systems, and in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action, many Canadian Universities are considering “Indigenizing the Academy.” Yet, the meaning of such undertaking remains to be clarified. This article explores trans-systemic approaches as a possible avenue for “Indigenizing the Academy,” and, more specifically, what Indigenous higher education programs and institutions can contribute to a trans-systemic approach to education. Considering two existing models I encountered in my doctoral research, namely the Intercultural approach as developed in the Andes (García et al., 2004; Mato, 2009; Sarango, 2009; Walsh, 2012), and land-based pedagogy as developed in North America (Coulthard, 2017; Coulthard & Simpson, 2016; Tuck et al., 2014; Wildcat et al., 2014), I argue they present trans-systemic elements that would allow us to re-think the frameworks in which to engage with Indigenous Peoples’ rights and knowledge systems in the mainstream academy. What could be learned from the principles and practices of these two Indigenous higher education philosophies to articulate Indigenous knowledge into trans-systemic education in the mainstream academy in ways that foster solidarity and mutual understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people? 

scholarly journals Settler Salvation and Indigenous Survival: George Copway’s Reconciliatory Vision, 1849–1851

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-153
Author(s):  
John R.E. Bird
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
The United States ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Literary Celebrity ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
North Americans ◽  
American Society ◽  
Theological Critique ◽  
Definition Of

From 1849 to 1851, Canada’s first international literary celebrity, the Mississauga writer Kahgegagahbowh, or George Copway, travelled the United States, Great Britain and Europe promoting his vision for the future of Indigenous peoples in the United States. Building on a theological critique of settler colonialism, he called for the creation of a new Indigenous territory west of the Mississippi led by a legislature made up of English-speaking Indigenous Christians. Copway believed that through the establishment of this territory he called Kahgega, European settlers would be able to atone for the sins committed against Indigenous North Americans, thus escaping the impending wrath of God. More importantly, believing that Indigenous peoples faced imminent extinction, he saw Kahgega as a permanent means of preserving his people and safeguarding their shrinking lands and political agency. Though Kahgega failed to impress the public, Copway’s vision offers a fascinating window into an early attempt at reconciling the Indigenous and non-Indigenous halves of North American society. Using the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s definition of ‘reconciliation’, this article shows that past, often failed, Indigenous political visions reveal the complexities and tensions inherent in dialogue surrounding reconciliation.

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