June is National Indigenous History Month, opens a new window and June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day, opens a new window.
It is an opportunity to learn about the unique cultures, traditions, and experiences of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. It is a time to honour the stories, achievements, and resilience of Indigenous Peoples, who have lived on this land since time immemorial and whose presence continues to impact an evolving Canada.
Check back on this blog post every Monday for new educational content as we explore weekly themes throughout the month:
- June 1-9, 2024: Environment, traditional knowledge, and territory
- June 10-16, 2024: Children and youth
- June 17-23, 2024: Languages, cultures, and arts
- June 24-30, 2024: Women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people
While we celebrate the past, we do not forget the injustices related to colonialism and residential schools. Learn more about Reconciliation at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, opens a new window and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, opens a new window.
Environment, traditional knowledge, and territory
June 1-9, 2024
Kelusit. Jiks’tmakwet. Keknu:tmasit. / Speak. Listen. Learn.
From elder to child, the traditional knowledge of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples has been passed from generation to generation through stories, lessons, and songs. Their understanding and connection to the natural world informed every aspect of the Indigenous experience.
Samqwan / Water
To many Indigenous people, water is more than a physical necessity. As the entity that sustains all life, it is considered by many to be sacred, and plays a critical role in Indigenous spiritual practices. The protection of waterways is of the utmost importance.
Ws’tqamu / Earth
Wigwams and tipis with bones of wood, birch bark canoes sealed with spruce gum and bear fat, sharpened stones for arrowheads and tools; all of these are gifts from the land.
Medicines too have their roots in the earth: cranberries for urinary health, witch hazel for the skin, blueberries for inflammation, and more. Traditional Indigenous communities relied on seasonal migration to find and collect critical resources.
Wa’isis / Animal
Many Indigenous people feel a strong relationship with the animals they hunt and fish. Through traditional hunting and fishing practices, Indigenous children learn about animal behaviour and elders pass on knowledge of hunting techniques. Hunted animals provided not only food, but also materials for housing, clothing, tools, and canoes.
Etkitu / Create
The knowledge and ingenuity of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples has led to the development of multiple inventions still used to this day. Canoes, chewing gum, snow goggles, dog boots, ulu knives, toboggans, snowshoes, and even petroleum jelly were brought to life by Indigenous tribes.
DeBlois, A. (1996). Micmac Dictionary. Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Hall, P. (2002). Towards An Encyclopedia of Knowledge. Chapter III, Miawpukek, the Middle River. Breakwater Books, Limited.
Lacey, L. (2012). Mi’kmaq Medicines: Remedies and Recollections. Nimbus Publishing.
McDowell, P. (2015). Tools and Weapons. Weigl.
Royal Canadian Geographical Society. (2018). Canadian Geographic Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. First Nations. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Sigafus, K. (2015). Wisdom From Our First Nations. Second Story Press.
Children and Youth
June 10-16, 2024
Indigenous youth are the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, from all across Canada.
The population is young—25% of Indigenous people are younger than 14 years old—about 450,000 kids. 17% are ages 15 to 24. That’s about 300,000 youth.
What’s Important to Indigenous Youth
Culture & Language
Over half of indigenous youth feel that learning and speaking an Indigenous language is important. Learning and communicating in Indigenous languages helps to build resilience. There are over 70 unique Indigenous languages still spoken in Canada.
Most youth feel good about their Indigenous identity. They state that they make an effort to learn more about their history, traditions, and culture. Being involved with the culture helps to build community and identity.
Orange Shirt Day
Orange Shirt Day is September 30th; it is the day we honour those children who were taken from their families and sent to residential schools. Children across the country wear an orange shirt on this day to remember and to educate. Remember that every child matters.
Orange Shirt Day has spread to schools all across Canada, including Sweetgrass School near Battleford, Saskatchewan.
Music & Art
Both traditional and modern music help youth express themselves and make connections. There are many youth making waves—13% of indigenous musicians are between 16 and 24.
In programs like Outside Looking In, they showcase Canada’s Largest Indigenous Youth Performance with over 175 Indigenous youth performing. Students can participate in nonprofit programs, such as N’we Jinan, which brings mobile recording studios into First Nations schools.
Arts, crafts, and creativity help to connect youth to each other and to their heritage. A program like Artscan Circle allows youth to create in safe spaces in visual arts, music, recording, and performance art.
Two-Spirit Identity
Two-spirit is a pan-indigenous term that encompasses concepts of sexual, gender, and/or spiritual identity. The term allows differentiation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous experiences. Many two-spirit people manage marginalization by coming together to create communities and families based on affirmation, empowerment, and Indigenous teachings.
Groups like the Urban Native Youth Association bring together two-spirit youth in programs like the 2-Spirit Collective, which offer workshops, resources, art groups, and more.
Sports
Indigenous youth across the country compete in many sports, both traditional and modern. Participating in sports helps youth to build self-esteem, and helps to build healthier individuals and communities.
The North American Indigenous Games are held every four years, where 5,000 youth travel together to compete in 16 different sports. One traditional sport, lacrosse, is growing in popularity, and will make a return to the Summer Olympics in 2028.
https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/3920-canadas-indigenous-population, opens a new window
https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/1207-national-indigenous-peoples-day, opens a new window
https://www.aptnnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Music-Impact-Study.pdf, opens a new window
https://www.lifegate.com/nwe-jinan-canada-first-nations-music, opens a new window
https://www.artscancircle.ca/whatwedo, opens a new window
https://www.hopeandhealth.org/our-why, opens a new window
Languages, Arts, and Culture
June 17-23, 2024
Languages
There are eight distinct families of Indigenous languages in Canada: Inuit, Na-Dene, Algonquian, Iroquoian, Siouan, Salishan, Wakashan, and Tsimshianic. The Haida, Ktunaxa, and Beothuk languages do not fit into these groups and are considered “unclassified.”
Contact with European settlers has led to borrowing of words into English and French. Additionally, intermixing of language has led to the creation of new language varieties such as Michif.
There are:
- 70+ Indigenous languages spoken across Canada
- 237,420 Indigenous people in Canada who report that they could speak an Indigenous language well enough to conduct a conversation
- 10,875 First Nations people in Atlantic Canada who report that they could speak an Indigenous language well enough to conduct a conversation
Indigenous Languages Map
Arts and Culture
Knowledge is passed down through generations of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples by means of oral storytelling, learning from elders and Knowledge keepers, as well as hands-on practice or observation.
Song, dance, ceremonies and even dreams have also been means of passing on cultural knowledge.
Traditional arts reflect the relationship Indigenous people have with the land and its plants and animals. Indigenous art is often colourful, natural, purposeful, flowing, and symbolic.
Most Indigenous cultures utilize symbolism as it relates to their connection to the Earth, animals, and each other. Colours, patterns, and imagery depicted reflect the creator’s nation, community, and family.
Indigenous art is dynamic. It is both grounded in the Earth, and points to the sky. It is rooted in the past and looks to the future, representing both tradition and evolution and growth. It expresses both acceptance and resistance.
Indigenous creators are prolific. There are numerous Indigenous writers, poets, and playwrights, filmmakers, dancers and musicians as well as visual artists working in mediums as diverse as painting, quillwork, and soapstone and ivory carving.
Turtle Island
Many Indigenous peoples use the term Turtle Island to refer to North America. Human beings are responsible to the plants, animals, and ecosystems that make up their home. All living things are worthy of respect—they are “all my relations.”
Medicine Wheel
The Indigenous medicine wheel is divided into four quadrants. Each quadrant is a colour, typically white, yellow, red, and black.
Oxford, Will (2019). Indigenous Languages in Canada. Retrieved from https://languagemuseum.ca/, opens a new window
Statistics Canada (2021). Indigenous Languages Across Canada. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-X/2021012/98-200-x2021012-eng.cfm, opens a new window
Havrelock, Deidre and Edward Kay (2023). Indigenous Ingenuity: A Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge. New York: Christy Ottaviano Books.
Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ People
June 24-30, 2024
2SLGBTQIA+ People
Two-Spirit
Two-spirit is a pan-indigenous term that encompasses concepts of sexual, gender, and/or spiritual identity. The term allows differentiation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous experiences.
Watch: Two-Spirit Identity, opens a new window
Indigiqueer
Not all Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ people feel that two-spirit describes their identity. Indigiqueer is a term that brings Indigenous and queer identities together. A person may identify as two-spirit, Indigiqueer, both, or neither.
Watch: Indigenous people reclaiming LGBTQ terms in their own language, opens a new window
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.6958877
Explore these reading lists in the Library collection:
Women and Girls
Across traditional Indigenous cultures, men and women were generally seen as equal. Women had distinct tasks and responsibilities, and these were considered complimentary to those of men and just as important. For example, in traditional Mi’kmaw culture, men were responsible for hunting while women, along with older children, cleaned and preserved the meat.
Watch: Mi'kmaq Creation Story - Woman of the Water, opens a new window
In Canada today, there are many serious issues facing Indigenous women and girls, including discrimination, economic inequality, and acts of violence. Statistically, Indigenous women are four times more likely than non-Indigenous women to become victims of violence, including homicide.
Watch: MMIWG: Unity Video, opens a new window
Indigenous Women Making an Impact
Past and present, Indigenous women have had major achievements in all fields, from science, to activism, to the arts.
Activism: Autumn Peltier (2004- ): Since age 12, Peltier has been fighting for Indigenous rights and water access. She has been shortlisted four times for the International Children’s Peace Prize.
Sports: Shirley (1953-2013) and Sharon (1953- ) Firth: the Firth sisters were cross-country skiers who competed in four Olympic Winter Games. They were the first Indigenous women to be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Politics: Nellie J. Cournoyea (1940- ): Cournoyea was premier of the Northwest Territories from 1991-1995, making her the first Indigenous female premier in Canada. She has also had leadership roles in many Indigenous community organizations.
Science: Jessica Kolopenuk: Kolopenuk is an assistant professor at the University of Alberta, and winner of the 2018 Canadian Science Policy Centre’s Youth Excellence Award. Her work advocates for decolonizing scientific research.
The Arts: Rita Joe (1932-2007): Joe was a celebrated Mi’kmaw poet. She won an Aboriginal Achievement Award and was inducted into the Order of Canada.
Born in Whycocomagh, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Rita Joe (born Rita Bernard) was a poet, songwriter, and the author of six books, including her 1978 debut collection, Poems of Rita Joe. She was often referred to as the Poet Laureate of the Mi’kmaq people.
I Lost My Talk
I lost my talk
The talk you took away.
When I was a little girl
At Shubenacadie school.
You snatched it away:
I speak like you
I think like you
I create like you
The scrambled ballad, about my word.
Two ways I talk
Both ways I say,
Your way is more powerful.
So gently I offer my hand and ask,
Let me find my talk
So I can teach you about me.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/indigenous-lgbtq-words-1.6953445, opens a new window
https://libguides.okanagan.bc.ca/IndigenousStudies/two-spirit-and-indigiqueer, opens a new window
https://w2sa.ca/node/1, opens a new window
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/two-spirit, opens a new window
https://nwac.ca/assets-knowledge-centre/29-June-2S_Intersections_Booklet_V2.pdf, opens a new window
We Were Not the Savages, by Daniel N. Paul., opens a new window
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/native-womens-issues, opens a new window
https://afn.ca/rights-justice/murdered-missing-indigenous-women-girls/, opens a new window
https://nac-cna.ca/en/bio/rita-joe, opens a new window
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nellie-j-cournoyea, opens a new window
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/shirley-and-sharon-firth, opens a new window
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