Beyond 94: An Interactive Website on the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Ontario Native Women’s Association: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Native-land.ca – an interactive map
First Nation Caring Society: Indigenous Youth Welfare & Activism
Anishinabek.ca – An Overview of the Indian Residential School System
The Canadian Encyclopedia: The History of Residential Schools in Canada
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 94 Calls to Action
There are over 12,000 Indigenous peoples currently living within Durham Region as of the 2016 census, which is an increase by 3000 people since 2011.
There is archeological proof of Indigenous peoples living here for over 14,000 years and oral history states that Indigenous peoples have called this land home since time immemorial.
Link to a CTV News article about a historical tool found recently in Edmonton.
Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway language) is the traditional language of this territory. There are 5 dialects of Ojibway, including the Mississauga dialect.
Mississauga peoples are part of the larger Anishinaabek nation.
Be a Good Ancestor - Leona Prince and Gabrielle Prince.
When We Were Alone - David A. Robertson
Fatty Legs: A True Story - Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
Birdsong – Julie Flett
Shi-shi-etko – Nicola Campbell
I am not a Number – Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
You Hold Me Up – Monique Gray-Smith
Raven Brings the Light – Robert Budd and Roy Henry Vickers
My Heart Fills With Happiness – Monique Gray-Smith
Spirit Bear and Children Make History – Dr. Cindy Blackstock
Spirit Bear: Fishing for Knowledge, Catching Dream - Dr. Cindy Blackstock
Spirit Bear: Echoes of the Past - Dr. Cindy Blackstock
Spirit Bear: Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams - Dr. Cindy Blackstock
Nibi’s Water Song – (in French too) Sunshine Tenasco
Nibi is Water – (in French and Anishinaabemowin too) Joanne Robertson
Not my Girl – Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiek-Fenton
A Promise is a Promise – Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak
Way Back Then – Neil Christopher
Bowwow Powwow – (In French as well) – Brenda J. Child
Wild Eggs – Susie Napayok
What’s My Superpower? – (in French as well) – Aviaq Johnston
Resurgence - Engaging with Indigenous Narratives and Cultural Expressions in and Beyond the Classroom
Hunting By Stars - Cherie Dimaline
True Reconciliation - Jody Wilson - Raybould
Me Funny - Compiled by Drew Hayden Taylor
The Night Wanderer - Drew Hayden Taylor
Buffalo is the New Buffalo - Chelsea Vowel
Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer
Medicines to Help Us - Christi Belcourt
The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance - Gord Hill
The Theory of Crows - David Robertson
In This Together - Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail
The Sentence - Louise Erdrich
My Conversations with Canadians - Lee Maracle
Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues in Canada - Chelsea Vowel
Genocidal Love: A Life After Residential School - Bevann Fox
The Reason You Walk - Wab Kinew
A Knock on the Door: The Essential History of Residential Schools - Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Final Report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada - Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Five Little Indians - Michelle Good
On March 31, we recognize National Indigenous Languages Day. We have compiled language resources for further learning.
The following language apps are available to download on Apple and Android app stores:
Please visit our National Indigenous History Month webpage for resources and activities for students and families.
Monday, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. On this day of solemn reflection, we honour the children who never returned home from residential schools, and offer thoughts and prayers to the survivors, their families, and all those impacted by this painful history. Acknowledging the history and the truth of the ongoing impacts of residential schools is essential to the reconciliation process. We recognize that this is a time for our Durham Catholic learning community to renew our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. Staff and students demonstrate commitment to Truth and Reconciliation by learning about the impacts of colonization, collaborating with First Nation, Métis, and Inuit community and partners, and utilizing holistic approaches to student success. By engaging staff, students, and families in deepening our learning about residential schools, Treaties, as well as the ongoing contributions of Indigenous knowledge, culture, and perspective, DCDSB prioritizes Indigenous Education across the system.
If you want to order your own orange shirts, please try the following links or do some research to see if the company is supporting Orange Shirt Society initiatives.
We will be working to continue providing Indigenous Education resources throughout the school year.
Please find below some resources for the dates of significance in Indigenous Education for the month of November, including Treaties Recognition Week, International Inuit Day, Indigenous Veterans Day, Louis Riel Day, and Rock Your Mocs Week.
We respectfully acknowledge that we, here in the Durham Region, are on the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island.
Reflection Questions
PLEASE NOTE: The resources included, and the content can be triggering and graphic. PLEASE watch/read in totality.
We will be working to continue providing Indigenous Education resources throughout the school year.