Re-Thinking Housing: From Physical Manifestation of Colonial Planning Policy to Community-Focused Networks

Housing System ◽

Housing Systems ◽

Planning Policy ◽

Existing Housing ◽

Physical Manifestation

Current housing systems and policies for First Nations communities in Canada produce a physical manifestation of ongoing colonialism: the house. Examinations of the physical community and house yield an understanding of deeply systematized imperial struggles between Indigenous communities and planning as a discipline. Indigenous families are in crisis as the housing system and Federal planning policies have not allowed for the provision of adequate nor appropriate homes. The recent independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission has begun a civic discussion, accompanied by a new federal government looking to begin a new relationship with Indigenous peoples—here we explore how planning can be a leader in this shift. The ‘contact zone’ is used as an operational lens to examine the ways discourse is used to shape the existing housing system. An interdisciplinary and global approach informs interventions in the existing housing system and policies, creating a community-driven model, and uncovering a reimagined role for the planner.

Re-Thinking Housing: From Physical Manifestation of Colonial Planning Policy to Community-Focused Networks

Urban Planning ◽

10.17645/up.v1i4.737 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 20-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shelagh McCartney

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Housing System ◽

Housing Systems ◽

Planning Policy ◽

Existing Housing ◽

Physical Manifestation

Current housing systems and policies for First Nations communities in Canada produce a physical manifestation of ongoing colonialism: the house. Examinations of the physical community and house yield an understanding of deeply systematized imperial struggles between Indigenous communities and planning as a discipline. Indigenous families are in crisis as the housing system and Federal planning policies have not allowed for the provision of adequate nor appropriate homes. The recent independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission has begun a civic discussion, accompanied by a new federal government looking to begin a new relationship with Indigenous peoples—here we explore how planning can be a leader in this shift. The ‘contact zone’ is used as an operational lens to examine the ways discourse is used to shape the existing housing system. An interdisciplinary and global approach informs interventions in the existing housing system and policies, creating a community-driven model, and uncovering a reimagined role for the planner.

Jordan’s Principle: Reconciliation and the First Nations Child

Constitutional Forum / Forum constitutionnel ◽

10.21991/cf29369 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 3-12

Author(s):

Colleen Sheppard

Keyword(s):

Child Welfare ◽

First Nations ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Residential Schools ◽

Child Welfare Services ◽

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.

The Inuit presence at the first Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission national event

Études/Inuit/Studies ◽

10.7202/1004096ar ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 167-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marie-Pierre Gadoua

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Sense Of Community ◽

School System ◽

Residential School ◽

Cultural Group ◽

The Creation ◽

Residential Schooling

This paper addresses various forms of healing and reconciliation among Canadian Inuit and First Nations, in regards to the Indian residential school system and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Stemming from fieldwork at the TRC’s first national event in Winnipeg (June 2010), I present observations that are supplemented by previous studies on Aboriginal healing methods in Canada. Although Inuit and First Nations healing and reconciliation strategies are based on common themes—tradition and community—in practice they diverge notably, both in their principles and in their applications. First Nations seek healing by activating a sense of community that often transcends their specific cultural group or nation, using pan-Indian spiritual traditions and ceremonies. In contrast, the Inuit most commonly seek to preserve and promote specific Inuit traditions and identity as tools in their healing practices. This divergence could be seen in Inuit and First Nations’ participation in the TRC. The creation of the Inuit sub-commission within the TRC in March 2010, resulting from intense lobbying by Inuit leaders, was a first sign of the group’s distinctive approach to healing. But the unfolding of the TRC’s first national event in Winnipeg showed again how these differences materialise in practice and contribute to a better understanding of Inuit responses to the repercussions of their colonial past and strategies for healing from the legacy of residential schooling.

Media Practices and Painful Pasts: The Public Testimonial in Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Media International Australia ◽

10.1177/1329878x1314900114 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 149 (1) ◽

pp. 128-138 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Miranda J. Brady

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Historical Record ◽

Aboriginal Peoples ◽

The Public ◽

Majority Culture ◽

Aboriginal Children ◽

Media Practices

From the 1870s through the 1990s, more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were enrolled in government-funded, church-run Indian Residential Schools (IRS) in Canada. The schools reflected policies aimed at assimilating Aboriginal peoples into majority culture. Many Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their homes and suffered physical, sexual and psychological abuses. As part of its Mandate, Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) collects testimonials from residential school survivors in various mediated forms to create a historical record. This article explores the TRC's public statement-gathering process and the ways in which media practices shape and guide testimonials. It argues that the TRC encourages particular survivor narratives as it signals to speakers that they should anticipate the norms and uses of media and narrative guidelines. However, there is a layer of meta-narrative common in TRC statements, suggesting resistance to and subversion of the process. This article considers the nuances of First Nations testimonials against the backdrop of storytelling traditions.

Collaborative Indigenous Knowledge Research: Acknowledging and Reclaiming Traditional Practices

LEARNing Landscapes ◽

10.36510/learnland.v10i1.727 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 173-182

Author(s):

Georgina Martin

Keyword(s):

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Indigenous Research ◽

Community Based ◽

Sensitive Topics ◽

Collaborative Community ◽

Commission Report

This article follows on the heels of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report to redress the residue of residential schools by enhancing harmony between Indigenous communities and universities. My collaborative community-based Indigenous Knowledge(IK) research attended to the struggle for Secwepemc reclamation, revitalization, and renewal of culture, language, and land. An IK theoretical framework initiated con dence to articulate a Secwepemc worldview within a Eurocentric research context especially while responding to the deeply personal and sensitive topics of cultural identity and language. The aim of knowledge creation is to work from an Indigenous research paradigm through self-location, storytelling, and community relevant protocols.

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

The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion (IJIDI) ◽

10.33137/ijidi.v2i3.32190 ◽

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 ◽

Library And Information Science ◽

Library Of Congress ◽

University Of Alberta ◽

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.

Where are you From? Reframing Facilitated Admissions Policies in the Faculty of Health Sciences

aboriginal policy studies ◽

10.5663/aps.v9i1.29359 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Danielle N. Soucy ◽

Cornelia Wieman

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Health Sciences ◽

Medical School Admissions ◽

Blood Quantum ◽

Admissions Policies ◽

Specific Barriers ◽

Indigenous Learners

Understanding that Indigenous learners can face specific barriers or challenges when pursuing higher education, schools and programs within McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences have facilitated admissions streams for Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) applicants. The intent of reframing admissions policies is to provide equitable access while aligning with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, specifically Number 23. This work explores the development of an Indigenous-determined Facilitated Indigenous Admissions Program (FIAP), a self-identification policy that moves away from the politics of mathematical blood quantum to nationhood, community, and seeing the applicant as whole being. Further, it critiques (for example) medical school admissions as biased, in that they often replicate an elite and narrow segment of society. It also addresses how interpretations of decisions like Daniels v Canada, which speaks to the rights of Métis and non-status Indigenous peoples, are communicated or miscommunicated within emerging population groups in terms of rights and their potential relationship to admissions.

ANALYZING INDIGENEITY IN ACADEMIC AND ARCHITECTURAL FRAMEWORKS

Education and New Developments 2021 ◽

10.36315/2021end091 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tatiana Estrina ◽

◽

Shengnan Gao ◽

Vivian Kinuthia ◽

Sophie Twarog ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Indigenous Communities ◽

Educational Systems ◽

Decision Making Process ◽

State Control ◽

Institutional Frameworks ◽

Settler Societies ◽

Indigenous Participation

While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada fosters agency for Indigenous Canadians, this mandate like others, attempts to Indigenize an existing colonial system. The acknowledgement of the Indigenous experience within academic institutions must begin with a deconstruction of educational frameworks that are enforced by pre-existing neo-colonial policies and agendas. The colonial worldview on institutional frameworks is rooted in systemic understandings of property, ownership and hierarchy that are supported by patriarchal policies. These pedagogies do not reflect Indigenous beliefs or teachings, resulting in an assimilation or dissociation of Indigenous members into Western-centric educational systems. Addressing this disconnect through Indigenizing existing institutional frameworks within state control favours a system that re-affirms settler-societies. The tokenization and lack of Indigenous participation in the decision-making process reinforces misinformed action towards reconciliation. decentralized. The case studies explored emphasize the rediscovery of an authentic culture-specific vernacular, facilitation of customs through programme, and the fundamental differences between Indigenous and colonial worldviews. The critical analysis of these emerging academic typologies may continue to inform future architectural projects while fostering greater responsibility for architects and positions of authority to return sovereignty to Indigenous communities and incorporate design approaches that embody Indigenous values. This paper will propose the decolonization of academic frameworks to reconstruct postcolonial methodologies of educational architecture that serve Indigenous knowledge and agency.

Collaborative Action on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Prevention: Principles for Enacting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action #33

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16091589 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (9) ◽

pp. 1589 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Lindsay Wolfson ◽

Nancy Poole ◽

Melody Morton Ninomiya ◽

Deborah Rutman ◽

Sherry Letendre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder ◽

Consensus Statement ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Fetal Alcohol ◽

Call To Action ◽

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum

The association between fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), residential schools and subsequent assimilatory policies in Canada is of such significance that it was included in the groundbreaking Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Final Report through Call to Action #33, which focuses on collaboratively developing FASD prevention programs in Indigenous communities. A consensus statement with eight tenets for enacting Call to Action #33 was co-developed in May 2017 using a Two-Eyed Seeing approach during and after a meeting on Indigenous approaches to FASD prevention held in Canada. The consensus statement provides guidance for creating community-based, culture-led FASD prevention programs in Indigenous communities. The eight tenets reflect the diverse perspectives of Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants, are grounded in available research evidence, and align with Indigenous worldviews and wellness models. This paper uses the consensus statement and eight exemplary FASD prevention programs from Indigenous communities and organizations across Canada to highlight identity, culture, and relationships as central elements of FASD prevention in Indigenous communities. The consensus statement provides guidance for developing community- and culture-led FASD prevention programs and highlights the importance of Indigenous knowledge systems in developing and researching FASD prevention in, and with, Indigenous communities.