260 years of promises made and promises broken to Canada’s First Peoples
What progress has been made since the TRC Calls to Action were released in June 2015?
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As of September 1, 2024 36% of the 94 TRC Calls to Action are either NOT STARTED or STALLED? Why?
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Start with clicking “Learn More” below to go directly to the Calls to Action landing page: a single page view to the status of all 94 Calls to Action with links to dive deeper into any Indigenous issue you wish to explore.
Be informed. Speak up. Take action. Only then will reconciliation happen.
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Not Started
In Progress
Stalled
Complete
19/94
14/94
Featured Updates
Education (6-12)
Self-identifying Indigenous group got $74-million in federal cash, Inuit leader wants change
Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, co-chairs a meeting of the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee, in Ottawa, on May 9. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press……
October 7, 2024
Treaties and Land Claims
Indigenous groups in U.S. and Canada clash over cross-border land claims
View of Okanagan Lake from Gray Monk Estate Winery on Aug. 7, 2022. Sarah B Groot/The Globe and Mail Globe and Mail: One of the……
October 7, 2024
Drinking Water Advisories
Water First internship is training the next generation of First Nation water operators
Taking school to the stream at Enviro Week, interns explored the importance of source water protection. Photo submitted Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: Janelle Snache……
October 7, 2024
Language and Culture (13-17)
Pictou Landing First Nation and Sobeys bring Mi’kmaw language to grocery shopping
Customers can see and hear Mi’kmaw words for more than a dozen food items The QR codes were launched on Sept. 28 at Sobeys Westside……
October 7, 2024
Drinking Water Advisories
Canada has no legal obligation to provide First Nations with clean water, lawyers say
Hearing opens in drinking water class action launched by Shamattawa First Nation Shamattawa First Nation in northern Manitoba is seeking a judgment that Canada has……
October 7, 2024
Child Welfare (1-5)
Certification hearing for lawsuit involving off reserve Indigenous children in care begins in B.C.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/1017304389?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479 APTN News: A certification hearing is underway at the Supreme Court of British Columbia on a class action brought on behalf of all off-reserve Indigenous……
October 7, 2024
Call to Action # 75
When they died, they were buried without a marker. Inside the quest to restore dignity to some of Ontario’s forgotten
Communities from Toronto to New York, and now Ingersoll, are wrestling with how to properly acknowledge and preserve these graveyards, commonly known as Potter’s Fields.……
October 6, 2024
Justice (25-42)
Indigenous-led crisis teams in New Brunswick help people in distress, but need buy-in from police
Patrice Dedam, the director of Indige-Watch, in Elsipogtog First Nation, N.B. on Sept. 28. RCMP in the province had been working alongside Indige-Watch for about……
October 4, 2024
Justice (25-42)
Lawyer for only RCMP officer convicted in Dale Culver’s death requests obstruction case be dropped
Gitanyow leaders ‘outraged’ as latest move further delays Prince George constable’s sentencing for obstruction of justice From left, Virginia Pierre, Debbie Pierre and Lily Speed-Namox……
October 4, 2024
Missing Children and Burial Information (71-76)
Canada legally obligated to provide sustainable, long-term funding for unmarked grave searches: Murray
https://player.vimeo.com/video/1015896766?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479 APTN News: Canada’s special interlocutor for missing children, unmarked graves and burial sites says the federal government needs to ensure funding for searches is……
October 4, 2024
Why is Indigenous “Reconciliation” necessary?
King George III issued the Royal Proclamation in 1763 – 260 years ago. The Proclamation “explicitly stated that Aboriginal title has existed and continues to exist, and that all land would be considered Aboriginal land until ceded by treaty”1. In 1764, the Treaty of Niagara, attended by over 2000 Indigenous leaders ratified the Proclamation and established a new alliance between the British and Indigenous people who used their traditional way of representing treaties – the wampum belt.
The belt consists of two rows of purple wampum beads on a white background. Three rows of white beads symbolizing peace, friendship, and respect separate the two purple rows. The two purple rows symbolize two paths or two vessels travelling down the same river. One row symbolizes the Haudenosaunee people with their law and customs, while the other row symbolizes European laws and customs. As nations move together side-by-side on the River of Life, they are to avoid overlapping or interfering with one another.
It was understood by the Haudenosaunee that the Two Row agreement would last forever, that is, “as long as the grass is green, as long as the water flows downhill, and as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.2”
Breaking the treaty didn’t take long. The colonial government determined that in order to secure the land for future settlement and development, the Indigenous population needed to be moved onto reserves where they could be more easily controlled, marginalized and kept out of the way. The Indian Act of 18764 institutionalized Canada’s racist policies by denying to Indigenous people the basic rights that were available to every other Canadian like:
- the right to vote: granted in 1960
- the right to practice their religion: denied until 1940
- the right to speak their own languages: late 1880s to early 1960s
- permission from Indian agent to leave reserve: 1885 to 1951
- the right to wear traditional regalia: 1906-1951
- the right to organize political organizations: 1927-1951
- the right to hire a lawyer: 1927-1951
Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982 Section 35 recognizes and affirms Aboriginal title. The biggest challenge facing Indigenous peoples is the continuous refusal of the federal, provincial and territory governments to recognize and acknowledge this fact.
Notes:
- indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca
- “A short introduction to the Two Row Wampum”. Briar Patch.Tom Keefer. March 10, 2014
- Two Row Wampum Belt – Gä•sweñta’ image above courtesy of Onondaga Nation, N.Y.
- “21 Things You May Not Know About The Indian Act”. Bob Joseph. Indigenous Relations Press. 2018
1763
Royal Proclamation of 1763 – The Indian “Magna Carta”
The Royal Proclamation gave ownership of North America to King George but also explicitly affirmed that Aboriginal title existed and continued to exist. The proclamation also defined how Aboriginal land would be protected by treaty
1764
Treaty of Niagara
In July and August 1764, Sir William Johnson representing the Crown, along with approximately 2,000 Indigenous leaders, representing approximately 24 First Nations, met at Niagara to discuss an “alliance with the English.” The Treaty established Indigenous sovereignty over their lands. The federal government which doesn’t recognize the treaty, disagrees.
1867
The British North America Act, 1867
Founding act that created Canada and transferred all authority for Indians to the federal government who began their assimilation policies designed to eliminate Indigenous culture, language, spirituality and legal traditions primarily through the forced removal of Indigenous children from their homes to attend residential schools
1876
The Indian Act
The Indian Act was enacted to control virtually every aspect of an Indigenous person’s life and its restrictive and oppressive policies and laws were amended over time to squelch any sign of Indigenous resistance or challenge to the authority of the federal government
1963
The Hawthorne Report: A Survey of the Contemporary Indians of Canada: Economic, Political, Educational Needs and Policies. Volumes 1 and 2
Conclusion was that Aboriginal peoples were Canada’s most disadvantaged and marginalized population. They were “citizens minus.” Hawthorn attributed this to years of failed government policy, particularly the residential school system which left students unprepared for participation in the contemporary economy
1969
The White Paper; Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian policy
Proposed ending the special legal relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian state and dismantling the Indian Act. Many Aboriginal peoples viewed the new policy statement as the culmination of Canada’s long-standing goal to assimilate Indians into mainstream Canadian society
1983
Penner Report
Recommended the implementation of Indian self-government and the phasing out of programs of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development relating to Indian people over a period of five years
1996
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
The five-volume landmark document outlined 440 recommendations on Indigenous governance, nation rebuilding, lands and resources, treaties, economic development, and social policy, and called for the renewal of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and all orders of government in Canada. Few of the recommendations were implemented.
2005
Kelowna Accord
A negotiated agreement between all stakeholder groups – Indigenous, Federal, Provincial and Territory governments with specific measurements, timelines and budgets to “Close the Gap” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. Never implemented by Prime Minister Harper after winning the 2006 election
2015
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
One of the recommendations from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People, the TRC issued 94 Calls to Action directed at all levels of government and a broad cross-section of society to finally address the historical and contemporary wrongs inflicted on Indigenous people by successive government policies and institutional racism and discrimination. As of April 4, 2022 11 of the 94 Calls to Action have been completed (8 of them by the federal government)
About Indigenous Watchdog
Indigenus Watchdog is a federally registered non-profit created to monitor and report on critical Indigenous issues including the 94 Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. Our mission is to raise awareness and educate all Canadians on how reconciliation is advancing – or not.
And if not – why?
Perspectives Posts
This space links to the “Perspectives” post for the latest “Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action Status Updates” on the Indigenous Watchdog site. “Perspectives” contains all the Indigenous Watchdog commentary on selected Indigenous issues current at the time of posting
See all blog postsTRC Calls To Action Status: September 1, 2024
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