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?
Welcome to Indigenous Watchdog
As of September 1, 2024 36% of the 94 TRC Calls to Action are either NOT STARTED or STALLED? Why?
INFORM – EDUCATE – EMPOWER
Indigenous Watchdog, a federally registered non-profit, is committed to transforming the reconciliation dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians into ACTION.
Primary Sources for Indigenous Watchdog
- NationTalk
- CBC Indigenous
- APTN News
- First Peoples Law Report
- IndigiNews
- Windspeaker.com
- Canada’s National Observer
- The Tyee
- The Narwhal
- The Toronto Star
- The Globe and Mail
Thousands of embedded links in 30 Themes and hundreds of sub-themes
By curating details from multiple sources – government stakeholders as well as local and national media, research reports, studies, white papers, statistics, budgets – Indigenous Watchdog will deliver relevant, current information to raise awareness on Indigenous issues through an Indigenous lens.
Where are we today?
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.
15/94
46/94
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
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
Continue readingIntroducing the enhanced Indigenous Watchdog Search – your key to faster, more comprehensive search results!
Indigenous Watchdog holds a vast amount of information relating to 30 critical Indigenous issues that we track and report on every day. We have added a number of new features to speed up your access to content. We have broadened the search results to include the entire Indigenous Watchdog site – organized for easy, quick
Continue reading