Resources for White Settlers

Culture
Written By Meagan Elemans

It’s 2021.

We’re past the point of having any kind of excuse for not doing the work when it comes to Indigenous populations living in Canada. As White Settlers who benefit from colonization, it’s on us to educate ourselves, and do the work to make this country better for Indigenous people.

The work of explaining, protesting, screaming, and grieving should not lay on the shoulders of the populations who have been harmed.

The first step in having any kind of understanding is to…try to understand. Reading, thoughtfully consuming, de-centering and amplifying are all ways that we can move aside our white guilt and saviourism to make room for the lived experience of Indigenous people.

Much like we learned not to expect emotional labour and repeated explanation from members of the Black community upon the death of George Floyd, we should not expect this same work from Indigenous people. People who have been grieving for decades — the loss of their culture, their kin.

If you don’t know where to start, I’ve attempted to compile (a not at all exhaustive list) of helpful resources for you to pause, learn, and try to understand. While we’ll never be able to full understand the depths of the trauma and pain that has happened here, we can slowly start to S E E.

Truth & Reconciliation

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of Residential School Survivors, families and communities are honoured and kept safe for future generations.

The NCTR educates Canadians on the profound injustices inflicted on First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation by the forced removal of children to attend residential schools and the widespread abuse suffered in those schools.

It preserve’s the record of these human rights abuses, and promote continued research and learning on the legacy of residential schools. Their goal is to honour Survivors and to foster reconciliation and healing on the foundation of truth telling.

The NCTR was gifted the spirit name bezhig miigwan which, in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe, means “one feather.” The name’s a reminder that every Survivor needs to be shown the same respect and attention that an eagle feather deserves. The name also teaches us that settlers are vital to the work of reconciliation.

The NCTR is located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.

Important Links:

  • National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Website: Link

  • Reports: Link

    • Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future; Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Link

    • What We Have Learned; Principles of Truth and Reconciliation: Link

    • The Survivors Speak; A Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Link

    • Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action: Link

    • Canada’s Residential Schools: The History, Part 1 Origins to 1939: Link

    • Canada’s Residential Schools: The History, Part 2: 1939-2000: Link

    • Canada’s Residential Schools: The Inuit and Northern Experience: Link

    • Canada’s Residential Schools: The Métis Experience: Link

    • Canada’s Residential Schools: Missing Children and Unmarked Burials: Link

    • Canada’s Residential Schools: The Legacy: Link

    • Canada’s Residential Schools: Reconciliation: Link

Interactive Map of Residential Schools:

Click image to be redirected to interactive map

Click image to be redirected to interactive map

Indigenous Canada: Free Course Offered by the University of Alberta

Link

Books and Podcasts

Fiction:

  1. Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese

  2. The Break, Katherena Vermette

  3. Monkey Beach, Eden Robinson

  4. The Marrow Thieves, Cherie Dimaline

  5. Jonny Appleseed, Joshua Whitehead

  6. Five Little Indians, Michelle Good

  7. Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

  8. Medicine Walk, Richard Wagamese

  9. it was never going to be okay, jaye simpson (Poetry)

Memoir:

  1. Split Tooth, Tanya Tagaq (Blend of memoir and fiction)

  2. The Education of Augie Merasty, Joseph Auguste Merasty w/ David Carpenter

  3. Fatty Legs, Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

  4. From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way, Jesse Thistle

  5. In My Own Moccasins, Eden Robinson & Helen Knott

  6. The Right to Be Cold, Sheila Watt-Cloutier

  7. Call Me Indian: From the Trauma of Residential School to Becoming the NHL’s First Treaty Indigenous Player, Fred Sasakamoose

  8. Nishga, Jordan Abel

  9. A Mind Spread Out on the Ground, Alicia Elliott

  10. A History of My Brief Body, Billy-Ray Belcourt

Non-Fiction:

  1. Seven Fallen Feathers, Tanya Talaga

  2. Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table, Carol Anne Hilton

  3. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, Bob Joseph

  4. The Inconvenient Indian, Thomas King

  5. Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer

  6. Peace and Good Order, Harold R. Johnson

  7. Embers, Richard Wagamese

  8. Indigenous Relations: Insights, Tips & Suggestions to Make Reconciliation a Reality, Bob Joseph & Cindy Joseph

  9. Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Jessica McDiarmid

Children’s Books:

  1. Sweetest Kulu, Celina Kalluk (Author) & Alexandria Neonakis (Illustrator)

  2. My Heart Fills with Happiness, Monique Gray Smith (Author) & Julie Flett (Illustrator)

  3. When We Are Kind, Monique Gray Smith (Author) & Nicole Neidhardt (Illustrator)

  4. Stolen Words, Melanie Florence (Author) & Gabrielle Grimmard (Illustrator)

  5. This Place: 150 Years Retold, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (Graphic Novel)

  6. We Are Water Protectors, Carole Lindstrom (Author) & Michaela Goade (Illustrator)

  7. We All Play, Julie Flett

  8. Treaty Words: For As Long As the Rivers Flow, Aimee Craft (Author) & Luke Swinson (Illustrator)

  9. I Sang You Down from the Stars, Tasha Spillett-Sumner (Author) & Michaela Goade (Illustrator)

  10. Stand Like a Cedar, Nicola I Campbell (Author) & Carrielynn Victor (Illustrator)

  11. Raven Squawk, Orca Squeak, Roy Henry Vickers (Author) & Robert Budd (Illustrator)

  12. Little You, Richard Van Camp (Author) & Julie Flett (Illustrator)

  13. When We Were Alone, David A Robertson (Author) & Julie Flett (Illustrator)

  14. Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, Kevin Noble Maillard (Author) & Juana Martinez-Neal (Illustrator)

Podcasts:

  1. All My Relations, Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip), and Desi Small Rodriguez (Northern Cheyenne)

  2. Coffee with my Ma, Kaniehtiio Horn & Kahentinetha Horn

  3. Missing and Murdered, Connie Walker

  4. Métis in Space, Chelsea Vowel & Molly Swain

  5. New Fire, Lisa Charleyboy

  6. The Henceforward

  7. This Land, Rebecca Nagle

  8. Unreserved, Rosanna Deerchild

Indigenous Joy

Musicians:

  • Tanya Tagaq

  • The Halluci Nation

  • Jayli Wolf

  • William Prince

  • Silla and Rise

  • Buffy Saint-Marie

  • Rezcoast Grizz

  • Wolf Saga

  • Susan Aglukark

  • nêhiyawak

  • Neon Dreams

  • Sebastian Gaskin

Artists/Dancers/Influencers:

James Jones photographed by Norman Wong

James Jones photographed by Norman Wong

Meagan Elemans https://www.mephotography.ca
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