This should be a national holiday. The whole country should use June 21 to celebrate and honour the original peoples of this land. There is much to learn, whether historical or current events, and much to do. For many Canadians, the history of Indigenous peoples was not taught in school. I offer some suggestions.
Learn the history
- Indigenous peoples as allies, treaty making
- Indigenous peoples as wards of the state, Indian Act, apartheid, genocide, residential school barbarity, Metis scrip, Inuit relocation
Monitor current events
- Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Inquiry
- United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
- Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)
- 60’s Scoop
- Pipelines and resources, duty to consult
- Indigenous chapter in North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Activate
There is so much we need to accomplish. Learn. Feel. Heal. Eat bannock. Attend a pow wow. Read a book by an Indigenous author. Change laws and attitudes. Open eyes. Human rights equality in Canada depends on what we are willing to do.
All my relations,
Ruby Langan
UNE National Equity Representative for Aboriginal Peoples