Indigenous Success Stories: First Nations

February 22, 2024


Indigenous Cultural Success

‘Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch’: Matriarchy, memory, actors and relations

The AGH’s largest-ever solo exhibit is a sprawling retrospective of Mohawk artist Shelley Niro’s incredible 40-year career.

Shelley Niro Collection

“The Rebel,” 1987, by Shelley Niro. Hand-tinted gelatin silver print. 

Bert McNair photo “Resting with Warriors,” 2001, by Shelley Niro. Woodcut on wove paper.

Shelley Niro Collection: Chiquita,” 2001, by Shelley Niro. Digital photograph.

NationTalk: Hamilton Spectator – We’ve all heard art is subjective. It’s also in the eye of the beholder. Multi-talented Mohawk artist Shelley Niro knows this. She doesn’t have a favourite piece of her own work, but she understands that others might.

“Every time I finish a work and send it out the door, it has its own life,” Brantford-based Niro said, in an email interview with The Spectator.

“I then begin on the next piece. I get attached to everything and have a bit of withdrawal when that work does leave. So, no, I don’t have a favourite. People are drawn to different pieces and they have their own reasons why. I don’t like to upset the chemistry that surrounds that.”

The first major retrospective exhibition of Niro’s work, spanning four decades and entitled “Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch,” is on display at the Art Gallery of Hamilton until May 26.

It’s the second stop on a five-gallery, multi-year North American tour. The first was at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York City in 2023. The AGH version is not only the first Canadian show, but it will also feature new pieces.

“Abnormally Aboriginal,” 2014-2017, by Shelley Niro. Colour inkjet prints on canvas.Shelley Niro Collection.

“For me, this is an amazing chance to look at my work,” she said.

“Some of it I haven’t seen in years. It feels like a discovery. The work itself looks fresh, and not so tired. I was a little afraid to look at it in case things were falling apart and the impact time would have had on the work,” she said.

“Each location will be different for sure. The architecture will give the work different energies and I will see it in a new light. The Hamilton location will mean a lot to me as this is so close to home.”

On Saturday, Niro will join the exhibit’s three curators — Melissa Bennett, AGH senior curator of contemporary art, Greg Hill, independent curator formerly Audain senior curator, Indigenous art at the National Gallery of Canada, and David Penney, associate director of museum scholarship at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian — in a conversation at the AGH.

The discussion runs from 2 to 3 p.m. and an opening celebration will follow, which will also feature the exhibit “Alex Jacobs-Blum: Living and Lost Connections.”

“Waitress,” 1987, by Shelley Niro. Oil on canvas. Robert McNair photo

Bennett said the AGH came up with the idea to showcase 40 years of Niro’s work. With more than 500 pieces in Niro’s Brantford studio alone, the show took the trio seven years to curate. They created a long list and then narrowed that down to about 70 works (some in series, equating to 136 pieces) in total. Installation took three weeks.

“This is the biggest show the AGH has ever done of a solo artist representation. It’s important to provide this kind of space for local artists. We want Hamilton to be proud,” Bennett said.

“Through our youth outreach, we have school groups coming here to see an Indigenous artist from their region. This show can empower and encourage them to fight for what they want to do in terms of equal rights and fighting against Indigenous stereotypes.”

“Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch” includes the artist’s photography, film, painting, installation, beadwork, sculpture and mixed media practice. Thematically, the exhibit is divided into four sections: matriarchy, memory, actors and relations.

According to the AGH, her “persistent vision is to represent Indigenous women and girls, advocating for self-representation and sovereignty.” The exhibit’s title is derived from “The 500 Year Itch,” one of Niro’s most well-known photographs, in which she subverts the famous Marilyn Monroe scene in the film “The Seven Year Itch.”

“500 Year Itch,” 1992, by Shelley Niro. Photo printed on masonite.National Gallery of Canada

It was taken in 1992, also the quincentenary of Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of America, at a time when work by Indigenous artists was being both highlighted and demanded.

Bennett said she, and her co-curators, are extremely proud of the exhibit because it shows such meaningful work of a celebrated and talented artist.

Niro is the recipient of a Governor General Award and Scotiabank Photography Award, as well as numerous film awards and lifetime achievement honours.

“It’s rewarding to see people come and benefit educationally from learning about colonialism and its impacts on people,” she said. “Instead of hitting people over the head, it becomes, like Shelley says, sugar coating on a bitter pill. It’s not glossing over it, but she’s taking the time to talk to people.”

Niro said she believes art is both stimulating and, hopefully, inspiring. She wants those who come to the AGH to walk away with those feelings. “When I see an exhibit that makes me happy to have seen it, I feel totally invigorated to try and attempt to make art myself,” she said. “Not copying it, but trying to recreate that feeling that makes life fun and pushing for bigger and better layers of expression.”

Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch

Where Art Gallery of Hamilton, 123 King St. W.

When Until May 26, Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission $15 adults, $12 seniors, no charge for students and children, artgalleryofhamilton.com

LL

Lori Littleton

 is a freelance writer who enjoys reviewing theatre. She can be reached at 


November 20, 2023


First Nations

Documentary about Buffy Sainte-Marie wins International Emmy Award

A documentary about folk legend Buffy Sainte-Marie, made before her Indigenous ancestry was called into question, has won an International Emmy Award.

The Globe and Mail: Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On, directed by Madison Thomas and narrated by Sainte-Marie, won in the arts programming category.

The award is presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Producers describe the film as a retrospective of Sainte-Marie’s life and career, including interviews with famous friends and colleagues, never-before-seen archival material and cinematic recreations.

The singer-songwriter’s ancestry was challenged in a CBC investigation last month that presented several identity documents that suggested she is Italian American.

Saint-Marie has denied the accusations.

Sainte-Marie’s story of her birth, childhood and identity has shifted throughout her six-decade career, with her identifying as Algonquin and Mi’kmaq before saying she was Cree, adopted from a mother in Saskatchewan.

The documentary, produced by Eagle Vision, White Pine Pictures and Paquin Entertainment, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and is available to stream on Crave, while the CBC piece is available on YouTube.

A statement by White Pine Pictures on its website supports Sainte-Marie.

“We stand behind Buffy and believe it to be true that her mother told her she was adopted and of Canadian Indigenous descent.”


September 8, 2023


First Nations

Yukon illustrator with lifelong commitment to First Nations languages wins literacy award

Yukon illustrator Susan McCallum is the recipient of the Council of the Federation Literacy award. 


APTN News: A picture is worth a thousand words to illustrator Susan McCallum – especially when it comes to language.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, McCallum is perhaps best known for her work illustrating dozens of children’s books focused on language learning. Her passion for language dates back to the 1970s when she first travelled to Yukon and began engaging with its First Nations people.

“I met many Indigenous people, Elders took me under their wing,” she said. “That’s when I started illustrating Indigenous languages and learning so much on how to respect the land and the Indigenous point of view.”

Her work has not gone unnoticed.

On Sept. 5, McCallum received the Council of the Federation Literacy award from Deputy Premier and Education Minister Jeanie McLean.

The annual award is presented in each province and territory by the Council of the Federation, whose members are the premiers of Canada. It recognizes those who have made significant strides in promoting literacy. “My heart is full, it’s wonderful,” McCallum said during her award ceremony.

With language at the forefront, McCallum wanted to share the limelight with young language speakers. All spoke of how her work helped them on their language journey.

“I’m grateful for all those illustrations that you drew. It’s beautiful artwork and it helps me understand Dän k’e (Southern Tutchone),” said language learner Äyįzhìa Cory Holway.


SUSAN MCCALLUM
Much of McCallum’s work is focused on children’s books. Photo: Sara Connors

Daughter Sho Sho Esquiro credits her mother as an inspiration when it comes to her own art.

The Kaska-Dene fashion designer, whose work has been featured on runways and museums across North America, nominated her mother for the award. “I wouldn’t even be here where I am with what I accomplished,” she said. “When I was five I knew I really wanted to do fashion and she really nurtured that and encouraged me.”

Language and connection 

In addition to illustrations, McCallum is the creator behind literacy board games, flashcards and curriculum. Her work has been featured in productions for Sesame Street and the National Film Board of Canada.

More recently, her illustrations were included in the Hän language book Shëtsey – My Grandpa, which was selected for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

Author Georgette McLeod said it’s important for young readers to see themselves in the artwork. “You can pull images from people’s lives at fish camps, at hunting camps, in school, in the communities. I think people really feel they can connect in that way, and not only just little ones, adults as well,” she said.

As this year’s winner, McCallum received a certificate signed by the premier, as well as a Council of the Federation Literacy award medallion.

She’s hopeful her work will help promote language and literacy for young readers across the territory.

“You have to implant that in them, there are going to be speakers, there are speakers right now, and the more you speak and your friends speak, it’s just going to grow and grow and grow. It’s so important.”

Sara Connors

sconnors@aptn.ca


June 10, 2023


First Nations

Sask. First Nation man builds Dene computer keyboard to help others to learn the language

Chevez Ezaneh wants to build keyboards for all the Indigenous languages in Saskatchewan

Students using specialized Dene language keyboards in a classroom at a school on English River First Nation.
Students at St. Louis School on English River First Nation using the specialized Dene language keyboards. (Submitted by Michèle Mackasey )

CBC News: A man from a northern Saskatchewan First Nation has built what he believes is the world’s first specialized Dene language computer keyboard, in hopes of making the Indigenous language more accessible. 

“There was no keyboard for me to use to type my language,” said Chevez Ezaneh, who is from English River First Nation. “It initially started off as a hobby — I just wanted a keyboard to make the language more accessible. After I made the first keyboard prototype, I realized this is something that other people want as well,” he told CBC Radio’s The Morning Edition host Stefani Langenegger. 

While there are apps and software keyboards that allow people to type in Indigenous languages, Ezaneh believes his physical Dene keyboard is a first. The Dene keyboards are now being used in the Common Weal Community Arts project to inspire more youth at the St. Louis School in Patuanak — about 425 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon — to learn the language.

Ezaneh says so far, it seems to be working. “I was amazed at how quickly they got the hang of it. Within, like, 10 minutes they had kind of figured it out.”

An older woman and four young people sit around a table holding pencils, with papers spread out in front of them.
An elder from Patuanak teaching students how to write Dene. (Submitted by Michèle Mackasey)

His mother, Michèle Mackasey, features Dene engravings through her work as the lead artist for the Common Weal Community Arts project. Mackasey says the project aims to combine art and technology to help Dene language revitalization efforts. 

“It’s a fun way to get kids to participate,” Mackasey said. “I think the whole idea of the project was really trying to get kids interested in using it and learning how to write their language.” Mackasey added that the kids are also learning the language through handwriting and engaging with elders.

Technology important in language revitalization

Statistics Canada 2021 census data says the number of people who could speak Dene in Saskatchewan dropped nearly eight per cent since 2016.  All Indigenous languages spoken in Canada are considered at risk, according to the UNESCO Atlas of World Language

Randy Morin, who focuses on Indigenous language revitalization and reclamation through his work as an assistant professor in the University of Saskatchewan’s department of Indigenous studies, says technology plays an important role revitalizing Indigenous languages.

The decline in fluency for Indigenous language is steepest among younger people, he says. “Indigenous languages are oral languages — that’s just how we did things, we never really wrote things down, ” Morin said.  “But in today’s day and age, because of our elders passing away, we need to preserve their stories, teachings, songs, wisdom, and we have to do that now using technology.”

A man wearing sunglasses and a blue shirt reading "New York" smiles as he poses for the camera, with the Statue of Liberty behind him.
Randy Morin is an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan who focuses on Indigenous language revitalization and reclamation. He says as the older generation that preserved languages orally disappears, technology becomes more important in helping ensure the languages survive. (Submitted by Randy Morin)

Morin says having keyboards in Indigenous languages can help people learn them. He would like to see them implemented in cellphones and tablets. “We’re trying to standardize our languages because a lot of people still speak the languages, but they don’t know how to read or write it,” Morin said.  “Having a keyboard is really good because it has special characters that can help them type out their language and help them learn.”

Morin says he is optimistic about Indigenous language revitalization as the number of people that can speak them as a second language is on the rise in Canada, but there needs to be more support from governments and schools.

“We need to reawaken the languages, we need to revitalize them and reclaim them as our own, but the danger there is we lose a unique perspective on the world when we lose the language,” Morin said.  “Indigenous people have knowledge systems that can really help the world, especially with climate change, pollution, resource management, water management and all that stuff.” 

Morin added that he would like to see Indigenous languages designated as official languages of Canada. 

Plans to build more keyboards

Ezaneh has created a Plains Cree keyboard in addition to his Dene keyboard. And he doesn’t want to stop there.  “My hope is to continue developing this work locally to get the rest of the Indigenous languages in Saskatchewan up to date, with having access to their language through technology, ” Ezaneh said. “The next would be Dakota, Nakota and Lakota. That looks like it is going to be one keyboard all in one.”

LISTEN | Technology meets art to inspire reclamation of Dene language:

The Morning Edition – Sask13:05Technology meets art to inspire reclamation of Dene languageIndigenous children in northern Saskatchewan are reclaiming the language of Dene, thanks to a mother-and-son partnership. We talk to the duo about their efforts in combining art and tech

Ezaneh would like to receive funding to build the keyboards because he currently works on the projects in his spare time. 

“If I had funding for it, I could develop it full time and hopefully get keyboards for all the Indigenous languages in Canada.” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Will McLernon

Reporter, Will McLernon is an online journalist with CBC Saskatchewan. If you have a tip or a story idea, send him an email at will.mclernon@cbc.ca


February 25, 2023


Indigenous Cultural Success

Meet the Indigenous designers shaking up Milan Fashion Week

Sage Paul and six designers bring Canadian Indigenous perspectives to fashion’s world stage

The Globe And Mail: Sage Paul has championed Indigenous fashion in Canada for more than a decade. The Toronto-based Dene designer and Indigenous Fashion Arts (IFA) executive’s next mission: breaking down barriers in the global industry. This week, Paul has brought six Indigenous designers from across the country to Milan Fashion Week to showcase their work at the highly regarded trade show WHITE Milano (Feb. 24-27).

“I want our work valued. It’s not a token,” Paul tells The Globe and Mail, while sitting near Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre, where the Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival was held last June. WHITE attended last year’s festival and subsequently signed on to feature a different group of Indigenous Canadians each year until 2025. “WHITE Milano values craftsmanship, quality, luxury and one-of-a-kind pieces, which aligns with the work happening in our community,” explains Paul.

This is Paul’s first time taking a delegation abroad and the first international trade show for the designers, who will have access to the 16,000-20,000 visitors at WHITE, including local suppliers, prospective luxury partners and buyers like department stores Saks Fifth Avenue and Hudson’s Bay. For these rising stars and the broader fashion industry, it is a crucial moment in the emergence of Indigenous culture on mainstream platforms.

But many Indigenous designers need support accessing mainstream knowledge and opportunities, Paul explains. At the beginning of her career, Paul admits she felt like a “fish out of water” at standard fashion shows which featured requisite struts, stares and industry seriousness. “For a long time, the fashion industry has been an exclusive space, gate-kept by aristocrats, socialites and financially wealthy people. I am none of those things,” says Paul.

It is vital for organizers such as WHITE to provide additional labour to support designers and educate the industry on how to work with Indigenous people, says Paul.

Toronto-based Dene designer Sage Paul has championed Indigenous fashion in Canada for more than a decade.NADYA KWANDIBENS/RED WORKS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The most challenging barrier for Indigenous people entering the global fashion economy are the strict trade rules for importing or exporting flora and fauna products, Paul tells me. The participating designers use home-tanned hide, fur, feathers, bones and bark in their work which are locally sourced, culturally significant, and traditionally used in Indigenous communities for food, clothing, tools and trade. Paul says these materials are challenging, even for exhibition or cultural purposes, to carry through the border. “Those rules need to be assessed differently than mass-farmed flora and fauna materials for the subsistence and inclusion of Indigenous peoples,” Paul says.

It was also a priority for Paul to eliminate any financial hurdles for the entrepreneurial group, who mainly work alone, without large teams to help in areas such as production, marketing or styling. During the year and a half of planning the partnership, Paul says she dealt with many bureaucratic layers to access funds for the designers. Canada Council for the Arts is covering artist fees, travel from remote areas and child care, while the Embassy of Canada in Italy, the Department of Canadian Heritage and the City of Toronto supported other costs such as festival registration and exhibition fees.

Creating a platform where Indigenous artists can shine

The group of designers take cues from traditional to contemporary ideas of Indigeneity, borrow from a range of urban, glamorous and futuristic styles, and represent a diversity of Inuit, Métis, First Nations peoples. “There are more than 500 Indigenous Nations in our country, so of course each of the designers is going to be unique,” says Paul. “What connects them is their focus on quality, and a strong grounding on who they are as Indigenous people.”

In Milan, she expects to find the celebratory and welcoming energy which IFA’s events usually offer: “People are loud, jumping into each other’s arms and giving big hugs. Instead of seeing models who are all standardized, I see people who look like me and clothing that is relevant to me. It feels like we’re working on something together that is really important.”

The Globe and Mail spoke with the six designers about their new Milan collections and what this moment means for a changing industry.

Lesley Hampton
Toronto-based Anishinaabe designer Lesley Hampton at Neighbourhood Studios in Toronto in February 2023.PHOTOGRAPHY BY NADYA KWANDIBENS/RED WORKS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The Toronto-based Anishinaabe designer started her size-inclusive fashion brand of activewear and evening wear in 2016, at age 22, and has since been worn by superstar Lizzo and Lainey Lui at the Golden Globes. Growing up, Lesley Hampton never saw people who look like her in fashion, so the person she designs for, first and foremost, is herself: “It’s all about what I want to see on my body, or what design style makes me excited.”

Hampton alters the hem of her Feather Floral Applique blue gown, made with feathers and beads on tulle. It’s one of the pieces bound for Milan.

Often drawing from the places she spent her formative years – from Canada’s Arctic and Atlantic, Australia, England, Indonesia, to New Caledonia – Hampton’s collection in Milan is a tribute to one spot from her Newfoundland hometown. Middle Cove Beach, where she collected rocks as a child that she still holds onto today, is the inspiration behind her “Buoyant” collection of evening and occasion wear: “The pebbles on this shoreline have battled the waves over and over again but they’re still so soft and collectible. To me, this speaks to how one can go through waves of heartaches and still be soft, delicate and desirable.” The collection includes a blue dress “reminiscent of the texture and colours of the sky onto the ocean” and a pleated soft denim dress with clamshell detail on the shoulder, which Hampton wants to embody “an ocean goddess coming into her power.”

“I see Indigenous fashion as storytelling,” says Hampton. “There’s always a sense of empowerment and community that’s thrusting our brands forward. There’s greater intention than just showing something at fashion week, it is the community that we’re trying to lift up along the way.”


Justin Louis
Justin Louis from Samson Cree Nation in Treaty 6 Territory is the founder and creative director of SECTION 35, an Indigenous-owned streetwear brand.PHOTOGRAPHY BY KAYLA MACINNIS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
The Berry Picker Coveralls are a crossover between functional streetwear and hunting gear made with Realtree Camo. The phrase “take only what you need” printed on the waist comes from Indigenous principles that govern the exchange of life.

Justin Louis has always made big moves. After high school, he was recruited to play college baseball in California. It was a culture shock for Louis, who spent his entire life on a reserve and small-town Alberta. His next move was to the world of art and fashion, which meant learning the rules of a whole new game. An executive in corporate business at the time, he started teaching himself graphic design and putting his work on clothes. Once he got a wholesale deal, he knew it was time to quit his job. “It was scary at first. But once I gave it my all, I never looked back,” he says.

Seven years ago, influenced by his Cree heritage, the sports he grew up playing (baseball and hockey) and a decade around the California surf and skate scene, he founded streetwear brand SECTION 35 – referring to the section of the Constitution Act of 1982 which protects and recognizes Indigenous and treaty rights. His work has been presented at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and this month the brand launched a partnership with Foot Locker Canada. “It’s exciting because the mainstream industry is noticing what we’re doing. There’s a shift happening. Big fashion houses have been guilty of appropriating from our communities for so long, and now people are seeking something more authentic.”

Louis has a talent for flipping the meaning of public-domain imagery and brand icons – a “Kill Mascots” shirt which repurposed the Chicago Blackhawks logo is one of the statements pieces his original work was known for. He’s toning down these statements in his recent work, partly to avoid copyright issues around imagery use, but mainly because he finds more meaning by pushing himself creatively and focusing on elements of cultural significance. But one key piece in the collection going to Milan maintains this graphic activist style: the lining of a trench coat collages ads from mainstream brands in the sixties and seventies that used stereotyped Indigenous imagery (such as gun company Savage Arms, or a Dentyne ad: “Envy the Savage”).

Within the collage on the lining of SECTION 35’s Standard Issue Parka are images of vintage Indigenous toys found on eBay and in antique shops. These toys feature characters, more often than not, wearing headdresses and holding bows and arrows, which fail to show the diversity that exists among nations. 
SECTION 35’s All My Relations Letterman Jacket is inspired by the past and present. The stars represent ancestors, and the horse is inspired by the horses and regalia Louis grew up with. 

His next move? A few pieces premiering in Milan will be a part of his new sustainability focused luxury line rolling out this fall at New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week and launching in 2024 with limited runs, including outerwear and a hunting/streetwear cross-over. As a father, he’s excited to dress his kids and pass on his designs to the next generation.


Erica Donovan
Erica Donovan works on pieces for her collection being shown in Milan from her home studio in Inuvik in February 2023.PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTIAN BINDER/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Erica Donovan’s personal goal is to see Jennifer Lopez wearing her earrings. “I’ve always admired her work ethic – she’s a go-getter and I’m the same way,” says Donovan, who works full-time as a finance manager for Parks Canada’s Western Arctic field unit, while also running her jewellery brand She Was A Free Spirit.

“I’ve spent all of my life creating,” adds Donovan, who was taught at a very young age how to work with her hands to create traditional parkas or mukluks to brave the cold weather in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Her jewellery expresses her deep-rooted love for her hometown and Inuvialuit culture, and using the brick-stitch technique, she is able to bead cultural patterns as seen on parkas used for ceremonial dancing.

Donovan uses the brick-stitch technique to create her earrings, beading cultural patterns in bold colours.

Her earrings have combinations of bright, bold bead colours such as robin-egg blue, carnation or flamingo pink, and often depict scenes from her village. (Her Tuktoyaktuk Skies design, which represents the polar sky, won the Simons Fabrique 1840 Indigenous award). She also incorporates strips of seal skin and moose hide.

Her earrings were on display at Paris Fashion Week in 2019, but this will be her first time travelling to an international fashion week herself: “I’m hoping it will open up opportunities to educate people how to correctly work with Indigenous people. The Indigenous community is like a big family. It’s exciting to be there and to make waves for people after me.”


Robyn McLeod
Designer Robyn McLeod will be shown in Milan in spring 2023PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBBY DICK/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Inspired by the concept of “Indigenous Futurism,” Yukon-based designer Robyn McLeod weaves Indigenous knowledge with futuristic ideas.

McLeod’s work combines traditional Dene art, digital art, moose-hide tanning, delicate beading and other mixed media.

“I want to be known for bringing technology and unique ways of being Dene into the fashion world, and let people know that we’re still here,” she says. Her work combines traditional Dene art, digital art, moose-hide tanning and other mixed media. In Milan, her collection of seven outfits, three visors and six sets of earrings account for almost 13 months of straight work, and a month off in-between to rest her strained hands. “It took time, love and energy and a lot of thought to do this. It’s very slow fashion.”

Her newest piece, which also took the longest to complete – two years – is a moose-hide and netted-rabbit-skin coat, based off an old style of cutting rabbit skin into a string and looping it. She also is premiering a gold dress made with dupioni silk and a smoked moose hide, with silk lining and vintage velvet ribbons.

“I’m very proud of who I am and where I come from,” says McLeod, who is from a community of 400 people in Fort Providence, NWT, and often collaborates with her artistic family or others in the North such as quillwork artist Vashti Etzel, or beadwork artist Kaylyn Baker. Her glamorous fishtail gown sewn with a vintage black velvet ribbon and a traditional fringe on the tiered bottom has an almost fully beaded front by her sister, Shawna McLeod. The quilled belt, which is typically worn around the waist in Dene fashion, is instead placed lower on the outfit for dramatic effect, as she is often looking to do something different and break from tradition with her designs.


Niio Perkins
Niio Perkins, Akwesasne Mohawk, in her Cornwall, Ont. design studio.PHOTOGRAPHY BY NADYA KWANDIBENS/RED WORKS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Niio Perkins’s full Mohawk name handed down by her grandmother is “Niioieren,” which means “Look What She Did.” Perkins hated the meaning when she was younger, but now the beadwork artist – who has produced custom designs for notable Canadian fashion retailers La Maison Simons, Hudson’s Bay Company and Manitobah Mukluks – has grown into it: “People are constantly saying, ‘Oh my God, wow! Look what she did!’ because of what I’m creating.”

Perkins recently started a ready-to-wear clothing line and one piece she created for Milan is a bold example: a leather shoulder harness.

Perkins came into her personal design aesthetic at age 25. She wanted to wear meaningful beaded items (normally only worn at ceremonies) in her everyday life to match her casual clothes: jeans, hoodies, leather jackets and sneakers. She infused a modern aesthetic, materials and fabrics (such as glass beads, metal chains, lamb skin) and vibrant colourways with the traditional Iroquois raised beadwork technique which she learned from her ishta (mother), Elizabeth Perkins, a master seamstress and traditional clothing designer. Perkins uses layers of beaded foundation to create 3D floral earrings, representing medicinal plants.

Perkins is always looking for a new canvas to bead on. She recently started a ready-to-wear clothing line and one major piece she created for Milan is a bold example: a leather shoulder harness with a purse where a gun holster would have been, which took around six months to come to life.

Perkins infuses a modern aesthetic, materials and fabrics with the traditional Iroquois raised beadwork technique. The pieces she displays in her studio are among those bound for Milan.

“I’m on a hunt for collaboration.” says Perkins, who is interested in building reciprocal relationships and partnerships with companies during Milan Fashion Week. This will allow her to hire an Indigenous team for a clothing production in Cornwall, Ont., where her studio is currently based. “It doesn’t just have to be my label, there’s so much room for everyone.”


Evan Ducharme
Evan Ducharme works in his Winnipeg studio in February 2023.PHOTOGRAPHY BY GINDALEE OUSKUN/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Ducharme taught himself how to sew as a teenager in his basement. He was deeply affected by the movement of Métis square-dance outfits he wore as a child, while also enraptured by haute couture and classic Hollywood cinema. (The chiffon scarf Audrey Hepburn wore in Funny Face had such an impact on Ducharme as a child that the material has became prominent in his work.) Now, the Winnipeg-based designer is set to bring around 20 pieces from his elegant and glamorous made-to-order line of separates, outerwear and evening wear to Milan, a step that feels both “very natural and slightly terrifying.”

“If you would have told the 18-year-old Evan who left St. Ambroise with two hockey bags and a prayer that this is what would be happening down the line, I wouldn’t have had the nerve to believe you,” says Ducharme.

Ducharme examines the Census Print Turtleneck, one of the pieces he will bring to Milan.
Ducharme shares details on a hand embroidered mesh ringer tee.
Detail of the ‘Census Print,’ which appears on several pieces in Ducharme’s collection.

Ducharme’s work examines Métis history and cultural iconography as well as gender fluidity. His recent pieces feature a take on mesh fabric using hand-embroidered yarn with inspiration from a Métis woven sash. His “Census Print” which appears on several pieces in his collection came from a 1916 census document from his community, St. Ambroise, Man., (Treaty 1 Territory), which he found in historical archives.

In the category of racial/tribal origin, his own great-grandfather along with the ancestors of multiple Métis members in his community were listed with “French” scratched out and “Indian” written on top. This was jarring: “This really spoke to the province of Manitoba’s lack of ability to recognize Métis people. It is a misidentification, and doesn’t speak to the entirety of the people.”

Ducharme believes the group’s presence in Milan alone will be a catalyst for change in the industry: “Instead of asking for a seat at the table, we’ve made our own table.”

Title photo credits: Evan Ducharme working in his Winnipeg studio, a collection of Ducharme’s designs, Gindalee Ouskun/The Globe and Mail;


February 12, 2023


Indigenous Cultural Success

Sask. man taking the fancy dance — and Indigenous culture — all the way to Super Bowl LVII

Patrick Mitsuing says he hopes to be an inspiration to Indigenous youth in Canada and across the globe

Patrick Mitsuing will showcase Indigenous culture when he performs the fancy dance at Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday. (Instagram/@PatrickMitsuing)

CBC News: A man from the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation in Saskatchewan is taking his talents to one of the biggest stages in the world. Patrick Mitsuing will help to shine a spotlight on Indigenous culture as he performs at Super Bowl LVII on Sunday.  

After growing up on the small First Nation, located northwest of Saskatoon, Mitsuing said the opportunity in front of him is worth savouring.  “It’s a story I could tell my kids, and if I’m lucky my grandchildren as well,” Mitsuing said, speaking with CBC News from Glendale, Ariz.  “I know a lot of my community and people back home are super proud and so I feel very honoured to represent everyone.” 

Mitsuing has been performing the fancy dance, an Indigenous cultural dance, throughout the festivities leading up to the Super Bowl in Glendale this week. 

On Friday he’ll step onto the stage at the big game and perform while fans enter the stadium, then again with the winning team at the end of the game.  With more than 70,000 in attendance, Mitsuing said it will be his biggest performance ever.  “I hope to inspire a lot of the younger generation to keep thriving and keep learning their culture, and knowing that who we are could take us to these awesome places like the Super Bowl,” he said. 

Patrick Mitsuing celebrates at a pre-event at Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona
Patrick Mitsuing says his performance at Super Bowl LVII will show Indigenous youth that they deserve to have a space at large global events. (Instagram/@PatrickMitsuing)

Mitsuing, who owns the dance company Powwow Times, said he grew up in a powwow family. As a youth he took part in traditional Indigenous practices including round dances, sweat lodges and sun dances, but it was the fancy dance that really caught his attention.  “My 13th birthday, my late-dad gifted me with a power outfit — a fancy dance outfit — and that was the beginning of my story as a fancy dancer,” he said. 

Fancy dancers are the only ones who wear double bustles, or feathered regalia, and they’re located on the upper and lower halves of their body, Mitsuing said.  The dance itself is fast paced, which makes it a crowd-pleaser, he said.  “It’s mixed with a lot of modern dance moves like tap dancing, break dancing, hip hop, all within a cultural step, and it’s very fast-paced dance, a lot of intricate movements, colourful regalia.” 

Donald Speidal, who works as the senior lead on Indigenous engagement for Saskatoon Public Schools, is celebrating Mitsuing’s chance to perform at the Super Bowl. Mitsuing is a former student of Saskatoon Public Schools. Speidal said he is happy to have been able to see Mistuing evolve and develop into the man he is today. “He’s young, talented and phenomenal individual,” Speidal said. 

When Mitsuing enters State Farm Stadium on Sunday, he will be only one part of a programme that acknowledges Indigenous people. For the first time in 56 Super Bowls, the NFL will recognize the Indigenous land that the games takes place on.  Speidal says it is an important step in the right direction.  “We have been here for eons, and we continue to thrive and survive,” he said. 

Mitsuing credits the work Canada is doing on truth and reconciliation as the driving force behind his appearance at the Super Bowl. 

He pointed to land acknowledgements at Toronto Raptors or Edmonton Oilers games as helping fuel a trend to openly acknowledging the role of Indigenous people in North America. 

“When I was growing up, it was really hard to find role models that that look like me,” he said. 

Mistuing said he hopes to help contribute to changing that with his performance on Sunday. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexander Quon, Reporter

Alexander Quon is a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan based in Regina. After working in Atlantic Canada for four years he’s happy to be back in his home province. He has previously worked with the CBC News investigative unit in Nova Scotia and Global News in Halifax. Alexander specializes in data-reporting, COVID-19 and municipal political coverage. He can be reached at: Alexander.Quon@cbc.ca.


January 19, 2023


First Nations

Ottawa’s Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway to get an Indigenous name

A sign displaying the name of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway is pictured as vehicles pass in Ottawa on Jan. 19, 2023
SEAN KILPATRICK/THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Globe and Mail: An Ottawa thoroughfare currently named after Canada’s first prime minister is expected to receive a new Indigenous name later this year, the National Capital Commission said Thursday.

“I’m fully supportive of this decision,” Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said Thursday after the commission’s board of directors unanimously approved the recommendation to move forward with renaming the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway. “I think this is something that Canadians and residents of Ottawa can be proud of once this process is complete,” Mr. Sutcliffe said.

In June, 2021, three Ottawa city councillors sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging the federal government to facilitate an Indigenous-led consultation process to rename the parkway. They wrote the letter after ground-penetrating radar located some 200 suspected unmarked graves at a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C., saying there was an “urgent need” for Canada to commit to projects of reconciliation.

Macdonald authorized the creation of the residential school system while he was in power in the 1880s. It is estimated that more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend the government-funded, church-operated schools, where many suffered abuse and some died. The last such school closed in 1996.

On Thursday, the National Capital Commission, a federal Crown corporation, said it will engage with Indigenous communities and the public to discuss a new name and to encourage storytelling and sharing with the community.

It will propose a new Indigenous name for the road by June, 2023. The new name for the parkway will be shared at a ceremony and public event on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Councillor Theresa Kavanagh, who was one of the three city councillors who wrote the letter to Mr. Trudeau, called the discovery in Kamloops an “absolute turning point” and a “reality check.” “It’s moving at a snail’s pace, but I’ll take it as a sign of hope,” Ms. Kavanagh said ahead of Thursday’s update. “I hope that this means that they’ve been doing some consultation with the local First Nations communities.”

CEO Tobi Nussbaum had told the commission’s board last October that the renaming project was “under way.”

And last April, the commission had said in a press release that it provided its board of directors with an updated policy on toponymy – or the study of place names – to provide “a more transparent decision-making process for naming and renaming NCC-managed assets.”

It announced that a new advisory committee on toponymy was being formed that included members of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg and Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nations, along with other local experts. “The committee’s first order of business will be to consider an existing request for the renaming of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway,” said the press release.

The parkway has carried the first prime minister’s name for just over a decade.

The Ottawa River Parkway was renamed in his honour in 2012, under the government of former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper. At the time, the NCC said it cost $60,000 to change the four major signs along the roadside.

SEAN KILPATRICK/THE CANADIAN PRESS


September 1, 2022


First Nations

Cree Nation Government announces additional investments dedicated to Youth and Trappers for protection and promotion of Cree language and culture

NationTalk: WASKAGANISH, EEYOU ISTCHEE – As part of the concerted effort to enhance the Cree Nation Government’s efforts to protect Cree language and to ensure cultural preservation, additional investments will be provided to additional regional associations tasked with the implementation of strategies and programs to fulfil these initiatives.

The Cree Nation Youth Council (CNYC) will be receiving a $670,270 envelope for programming and projects geared towards the promotion of our language and the sharing of our culture. A specific portion of these funds are to be utilized towards cultural exchange initiatives with youth from other Indigenous nations across the country.

“On behalf of the Cree Nation Youth Council and the Youth of Eeyou Istchee, I’d like

to express our gratitude to the Grand Council of the Crees and the Cree Nation Government for giving additional funding towards our Culture and Language preservation initiatives. We are proud to say that it has always been our highest priority to not only preserve, but to help enrich our Culture and Language in Partnerships with other entities and organizations. We would like to remind each other that it is our responsibility to continue to pass it down to future generations to have and protect.” – Youth Grand Chief Adrian N. Gunner

In support of the Cree Trappers’ Association (CTA) and their existing activities, an additional $572,346 is being provided to assist the moose management working group, hosting of regional forums to share expertise and traditional knowledge from the coastal and inland communities, participation in special language initiatives, as well as the review of action plans to ensure proper programming and services are provided to members.

“I’m very happy that we will be receiving additional funding from the Cree Nation
Government and pleased that the current leadership has lived up to their promises and obligation. The funds will go towards our local projects and programs where it is

the trappers that will benefit. Building action plans for language and wildlife preservation continues to be very important for our members and we look forward to offering this.” – Arden Visitor, CTA President

“I am very pleased to be sharing this announcement today. These two groups of our population, the youth and trappers, are crucial to the promotion and continuation of
our way of life, our language, and our traditions. Our culture and language are rich and defined by the environment we live in. We must continue to ensure that our
endeavours to conserve these are concerted and prioritized by all regional entities throughout Eeyou Istchee.” – Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty.

As part of this series of announcements concerning funding, the Cree Women of Eeyou Istchee Association (CWEIA) and the Nishiyuu Council of Elders (NCOE), also mandated with delivering programs and services with the common objective of protecting and promoting our language and culture, have also received additional funding for the purpose of carrying these for our future generations.

–30–

For more information:

Flora Weistche
Political Attachée to the Grand Chief
Email: flora.weistche@cngov.ca
Cell: 438-838-0228


July 17, 2022


First Nations

Mi’kmaw Language Legislation Proclaimed

Legislation to recognize Mi’kmaw as Nova Scotia’s first language was proclaimed today, July 17, by the Province and affirmed by the Mi’kmaq during a ceremony in Potlotek First Nation in Richmond County.

Mi’kmaw Chiefs signed a resolution to affirm and uphold the provincial legislation on behalf of their communities.

“Today was an opportunity to gather in community and celebrate the partnership with Mi’kmaq who co-developed this legislation,” said Premier Tim Houston. “This proclamation is another key milestone as we move forward on the path toward reconciliation.”

The Mi’kmaw Language Act will take effect on October 1, Treaty Day, and will support efforts to protect and revitalize the language. The legislation was passed by the legislature in April.

Quotes:

As the Grand Chief of our Mi’kmaw Nation, I always stress the importance of our language because all of our history, teachings and cultural identity is held there. The governments of the past attacked us through our language when our children were punished for speaking it, but despite all of the efforts to destroy it, our language is still here and we are still here, and that shows our resilience as a people. Since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation report and the Calls to Action, I am pleased that we have begun to work collaboratively with the government to ensure that our language thrives and flourishes for our future generations. Norman Sylliboy, Grand Chief of the Mi’kmaq Grand Council

Today is a celebratory occasion, made all the more meaningful by the ongoing tradition of the Mi’kmaw Summer Games. I am continually inspired by the sense of pride that exists in Mi’kmaw communities. All Nova Scotians benefit from the promotion and preservation of the Mi’kmaw language and all that it contributes to our cultural identity. Arthur J. LeBlanc, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia

I’m pleased we can be together here during the Mi’kmaw Summer Games, a celebration of culture and strength of community through sport. Mi’kmaw language is an essential part of cultural identity and celebrating the Mi’kmaw language here today is a great way to proclaim the Mi’kmaw Language Act. Karla MacFarlane, Minister of L’nu Affairs

Quick Facts:

  • the Mi’kmaw Language Act supports Nova Scotia’s collaboration with the Mi’kmaq to respond to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice, to ensure meaningful access to Indigenous language, culture and identity as a foundation for resilience and safety
  • the legislation reinforces the importance of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action for governments to preserve, promote, revitalize and protect Aboriginal languages through legislation and education
  • the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Summer Games are being held in Potlotek until July 24

Additional Resources:

News release – Legislation Enshrines Mi’kmaw as Nova Scotia’s First Language: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220407003

News release – Truth and Reconciliation Day Recognized in Nova Scotia: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20210903008


July 13, 2022


First Nations

Mohawk Online Announces $5 Million Donation to the Kahnawà:ke Cultural Arts Center

NationTalk: (Kahnawà:ke – 13, Ohiarihkó:wa /July 2022) Mohawk Online Limited (“Mohawk Online”), is pleased to announce that it will be making a donation of $5 million to the Kahnawà:ke Cultural Arts Center (“KCAC”) Capital Campaign, which is working to raise $16 million toward the building’s estimated cost of $37 million.

“Mohawk Online Limited was created in 2015 as a socio-economic initiative, with a mandate to make donations to Kahnawà:ke-based organizations that benefit the Community; with a special emphasis on promoting Mohawk language, culture and traditions,” said Dean Montour, Mohawk Online’s CEO. “This project meets every aspect of our donation criteria and is a great example of how successful our community can be when we work together with a common goal. The Kahnawà:ke Cultural Arts Center is a historic ‘legacy’ project for our community, and we are absolutely thrilled and honoured to be the Lead Donor to start off the Capital Campaign”.

The KCAC is a long anticipated and much needed 4,800 sq. meter state of the art building to be located on Highway 132, adjacent to the Kahnawà:ke Survival School. It will be the permanent home of the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center (“KORLCC”), Museum, Turtle Island Theatre, and a Tourism Visitors Center.

Kawennanóron Lisa Phillips, Executive Director of the KORLCC was excited to hear of Mohawk Online’s donation and stated, “On behalf of the KORLCC Board of Directors and Staff, niawenhkó:wa to Mohawk Online for their support as Lead Donor of the KCAC initiative. This project is achieving the dream of a new facility for language, culture and the arts in our community, and it is with great joy and gratitude that we acknowledge Mohawk Online’s support and commitment”.

Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs is a successful Mohawk actor currently starring in FX’s Reservation Dogs. She recently committed to help fundraise for the new building by taking on the role of Capital Campaign cabinet member. Upon learning the news of Mohawk Online’s contribution, Jacobs said, “This generous donation means so much. Beginning my acting career at the Turtle Island Theatre, it proved to be a vitally necessary resource in our community—not only for those interested in pursuing acting, but also as a creative outlet for all. The KCAC has the potential to shape our future generations with tools for creativity and access to our culture. This donation helps immensely in our efforts to make that happen.”

Working behind the scenes to revive programming and prepare for the new theatre, the Turtle Island Theatre Board of Directors stated: “Turtle Island Theatre is beyond thrilled and extremely grateful to Mohawk Online for their substantial contribution. With this donation, we are one step closer to the goal we set nine years ago: establishing a permanent home for the performing arts in Kahnawà:ke. The arts are for everyone and the closure of Turtle Island Theatre was felt community-wide. Generous donations like this will ensure the performing arts will be accessible to community members of all ages for generations to come. Niawenhkó:wa Mohawk Online!”.

About Mohawk Online

Mohawk Online is the operator of Sports Interaction in Canada (except Ontario), an online gaming site that offers sportsbook, casino, poker and fixed odds betting products, and is licensed and regulated by the Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission and the Jersey Gambling Commission.

Mohawk Online is a socio-economic initiative wholly owned by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke on behalf of the community, and the revenue it generates is invested back into the local community.

For more information about Mohawk Online, please visit www.mohawkonline.ca. For more information about Sports Interaction, please visit www.sportsinteraction.com.

About the Kahnawà:ke Cultural Arts Center

The Kahnawà:ke Cultural Arts Center is a community partnership between the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center, Kahnawà:ke Tourism, Turtle Island Theatre and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke. This multi-purpose building will serve as a community hub where all will be welcome.

About PlanIt Consulting & Communications

PlanIt Consulting and Communications is a First Nations business that provides a wide range of services for special projects including non-profit management, fundraising, community engagement, surveys and event planning.

PlanIt was selected as the KCAC Capital Campaign counsel to implement a detailed strategy and raise the necessary funds to complete the building project.

Media Inquiries:

Mohawk Online

Dean Montour
CEO, Mohawk Online
dean.montour@ mohawkonline.ca

PlanIt Consulting & Communications

Reaghan Tarbell
Campaign Consultant
reaghan@ planitkahnawake.ca


July 8, 2022


First Nations

Neqotkuk First Nation declares Wolastoqey the official language of the community

CBC News: Neqotkuk First Nation has announced its intention to make Wolastoqey the official language of the community in northwestern New Brunswick.

Chief Ross Perley and the band council passed a resolution to recognize Wolastoqey as the original language of the territory and establish it as the official language of the community, according to a news release issued Thursday. “Our language is part of our identity and how we, as individuals and as a community, interact with the world around us,” Perley was quoted as saying. “For too long, the colonial languages of this province have been forced upon us and overtaken our own traditional language.”

The plan is to develop a strategy to promote, protect and revitalize the language within the Wolastoqiyik nation, said Darrah Beaver, known in the community as Pine. She said Neqotkuk, formerly known as Tobique First Nation, has already started changing signs, including welcome and stop signs, to those in their traditional language.

She said the hope is that eventually services offered within the community will be offered in Wolastoqey, and that more members of the community will have some level of understanding of the language of their ancestors. 

Beaver believes Neqotkuk is the first community in New Brunswick to make its traditional language the official language. 

Imelda Perley, a Wolastoqi elder who grew up in Neqotkuk, was surprised but thrilled by the news on Thursday while she was in the midst of a gathering of elders. “I’m so happy,” she said by phone. “It’s good news. I can’t wait to tell the community elders inside.” 

Perley, who was recently named a member to the Order of Canada for her work as an educator and knowledge keeper, said she and many others have been “asking for that for a long time.” She hopes it inspires other First Nations communities to do the same with their own languages “because I don’t think the province ever will.” 

Perley said she’s currently working with a group of young people who are struggling to learn Wolastoqey. She said that’s a product of how previous generations were punished for speaking their mother tongue.  “It was really harsh, so we were afraid to speak,” she said. “And so we have a generation still that’s afraid to speak.

“Young people need to know that it’s OK to speak their language.” 

Perley said it’s also important to protect Indigenous languages in the same way that French and English are protected. 

Language in decline

The announcement said the decision comes “at a particularly critical time for Wolastoqey language revitalization as recent census data has demonstrated a record low number of respondents indicating fluency or competency with the language.”

It says census data show “the number of Wolastoqey speakers who use their traditional language in the home has decreased by a third.”

According to the  2016 Census, 36,405 people — or five per cent of New Brunswickers — reported being of First Nations descent, but only six per cent of them — or 2,320 New Brunswickers — reported speaking an Indigenous language at least “regularly” at home. 

That was down from the previous census, when 2,600 reported doing so.

Findings from the most recent census, collected in 2021, will not be available until Aug. 17, according to Statistics Canada. 

“Our language has been sleeping and it is up to us to awaken it and bring it back to life,” said Chief Perley. “We have learned through the past that we can’t count on others to recognize and make use of our language. It is up to us to reclaim our identity.”

Chief Perley did not respond to several interview requests. 


March 4, 2022


First Nations

Kokum scarves honour relationship between Canada’s Indigenous and Ukrainian communities

Global News: Since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, people have rallied around the globe in support of Ukraine.

It also marked a time when people in Canada began to learn about the history between the Indigenous peoples and people from Ukraine who immigrated to the Prairies. The historic relationship is on display in the so-called kokum scarves movement, in which Indigenous peoples are wearing the colourful Ukrainian scarves as a sign of solidarity.

Nadya Foty-Oneschuk, a professor of Ukrainian language and culture at the University of Saskatchewan, said that when Ukrainians started immigrating to Canada in 1891, they faced discrimination by other settlers. Yet when they crossed paths with Indigenous peoples, she said they were welcomed and treated with respect.

“We are starting to hear more and more stories about the little-known history of friendship between the first wave of Ukrainian settlers and their Indigenous neighbours,” Foty-Oneschuk said. “They truly helped each other when others discriminated against (the Ukrainians). They’ve always had a genuine connection.”

Foty-Oneschuk said they traded goods including the Ukrainian hustka, which Indigenous peoples adopted as kokum scarves.

That all resulted out of the friendship and partnership,” she said.

Candace Linklater, founder of Relentless Indigenous Women Inc., was one of many who encouraged Indigenous people across Canada to wear their kokum scarves to show support for the Ukrainian community. “What we’re seeing is solidarity,” Linklater said. “We want to be with them in prayer to show that these kokum scarves are that symbol for that solidarity with Ukraine.”

Seeing so much global support, including the kokum scarf movement, gives those some comfort during a difficult time in Ukraine.


May 25, 2021


Ankosé”, “Everything is Connected”,

The Natonal Gallery – The Gallery’s first ever Strategic Plan highlights the 5 Strategic Pillars including “Centre Indigenous ways of knowing and being”. The National Gallery of Canada has also developed new purpose, vision and mission statements which will guide its work over the coming five years. In consultation with four Indigenous Elders the National Gallery was given an Algonquin word to describe its new purpose which is “Ankosé”, “Everything is Connected”, “Tout est relié”. “The Elders brought us to this idea of Ankosé – connection, it means that the Gallery must be connected to the land, the water, the creatures and the sky that surrounds it. To art that connects us, to history, to the present and beyond. It’s a beautiful ideal, one that we want to live up to every day as we build the new National Gallery of Canada,” added Dr. Sasha Suda.


May 11, 2021


Gwich’in Tribal Council and Manitoba Métis Federation

Manitoba Métis Federation – The Canadian Commission for UNESCO, Library and Archives Canada and the NWT Archives are pleased to announce the inscription of two new collections on the Canada Memory of the World Register. These unique and irreplaceable documents highlight the preservation and transmission of Indigenous cultures and knowledge. Created in 2017, the Canada Memory of the World Register promotes the immense diversity of the country’s significant documentary heritage that extends from the initial settling of the land by Indigenous Peoples up to the present time.

The two new inscriptions are:

Gwich’in Tribal Council – Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute fonds
The Gwich’in Tribal Council – Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute (GTC-GSCI) fonds held at the NWT Archives consists of the complete research and administrative records created by the GTC-GSCI over 25 years of work. The fonds is an irreplaceable collection of Indigenous knowledge, created expressly for the preservation and promotion of Gwich’in culture, language, history, archaeology, place names, land use, ecology, genealogy, ethnobotany and traditional skills. This collection is significant as it is the most rich, comprehensive, and meticulous documentation of Gwich’in knowledge in the world. The Gwich’in Tribal Council and the NWT Archives work together to honour the intent of the Gwich’in Elders who wished to safeguard, preserve and provide access to this knowledge for future generations.

Métis Nation River Lot Settlements Maps

Library and Archives Canada holds plans of Métis river lots as required by the Manitoba Act and the transfer of Rupert’s Land and the North Western Territories. These river lot plans, created by Canadian government surveyors beginning in 1870, are important documents in the understanding of the Métis Nation. They are invaluable to the entire Métis Nation because they show where Métis ancestors lived before their homeland was included in Canada. While these river lot plans do not include any Michif, they clearly show where this language originated in Red River and delineate the families that spoke this unique Métis heritage language.

“The history of the Manitoba Métis originating in Red River is the history of the Métis Nation. We are the only Indigenous people to bring a province into Canadian Confederation. On behalf of our Cabinet and Citizens, I’m proud to see our history recognized by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. These river lots show our original role of strength and leadership in the Red River Settlement and give us a chance to reflect on where our Nation would be today, if we had not been forced off these lands. If we had been allowed to flourish and develop, I know our economic growth would have been impressive.”
– David Chartrand LL.D (hon.), O.M., President, Manitoba Metis Federation


March 31, 2021


Yukon Native Lanuage Cetre

Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) and Yukon Native Language Centre – marked National Aboriginal Language Day by announcing the launch of a significant collection of digital language resources produced as part of a multi-year Yukon First Nations languages documentation and preservation initiative.

The initiative supported Yukon First Nations in building language documentation capacity through training and skills development in the use of technology to create digital language recordings and implement best practices in language documentation. Yukon First Nations that participated were supported to create, annotate and preserve high-quality digital video recordings of Elders speaking Yukon First Nation languages.
The two-year project facilitated the creation and sharing of documentation of approximately 1,200 minutes of
footage resulting in a library of 79 newly-released videos of Yukon First Nation language content. The library of
language videos has been made publicly available on YNLC’s website and YouTube channel in accord with the YNLC principle of accessibility of Yukon First Nations language learning resources.

The library of new digital resources will be instrumental in promoting language learning, and will contribute to the
creation of language learning resources for years to come. In addition, the videos carry immeasurable cultural
knowledge including legends and stories.


March 29, 2021


Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs

Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs – The Assembly will be working with their communities to revive traditional and ancient Mi’kmaw customs by looking to our language for guidance. The Assembly is exploring Mi’kmaw concepts found in Wmɨtkik and Nmɨtiknen. Wmɨtkik is an old Mi’kmaq word, not commonly used today, that may hold the Mi’kmaw concept of how the lands and waters that we are connected to (the territory from which we are from and live) is to be harvested (hunted, fished and gathered) in a manner that respects the resources and all our relations who live or harvest there (Msit No’Kmaq) . Nmɨtiknen holds the concept of territory and the process of how we make decisions together, and much more.

Chiefs in the Kespukwitk District and their respective communities – Acadia, Bear River and Annapolis Valley First Nations – will begin the development of a Nmɨtiknen approach to the stewardship of the Kespukwitk district of Mi’kma’ki. These three communities will be working together, alongside the Mi’kmaq Grand Council and other Mi’kmaw communities on this important work. Together they will be looking into developing a traditional approach to managing the resources and recognizing conservation and protection of all the resources.
As recognized and affirmed by s.35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, the Mi’kmaq have inherent rights of self-determination and self-government, including the right to self-regulation and to manage our internal affairs and relationships.


September 21, 2020


Indigenous Education scholar: Onawa McIvor

Uvic News – Language revitalization continues to thrive in Indigenous communities across Canada and the world, according to new research Indigenous education scholar, Onowa McIvor University of Victoria’s newest President’s Chair, received COVID-19 Emergency Research Funding from the Faculty of Education to conduct a short-term study of the effects of COVID-19 on Indigenous language revitalization work. Early findings show that many communities have successfully adapted in ways that allowed for the continuation of language revitalization. The study also illustrates the vital role that language is playing in keeping communities safe and informed during a time of crisis.

“Indigenous communities quickly began to create digital resources in their own languages to teach community members about the new virus as well as how to protect themselves,” says McIvor. This shift to virtual language learning may also have lasting benefits for language revitalization work. Their study shows greater accessibility to new online classes from those who were previously unable to participate in face-to-face learning due to geographic location.


February 21, 2019


HELISET TŦE SḰÁL – ‘Let the Languages Live’

In celebration of the United Nations 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages, these groups will host HELISET TŦE SḰÁL (pronounced ha-LEE-sut-te-skwayl) – ‘Let the Languages Live’ – 2019 International Conference on Indigenous Languages in BC from June 24-26. The focus is on Indigenous language revitalization. Indigenous languages around the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate. Approximately 40 per cent of the estimated 6,700 languages spoken around the world are in danger of disappearing. The fact that most of these are Indigenous languages puts the cultures and knowledge systems to which they belong at risk. More than 60 Indigenous languages exist in Canada and all are considered endangered. The greatest language diversity exists in British Columbia, which is home to more than 50 per cent of all Indigenous languages in the country.


January 29, 2019


BC First Nations Summit

Article 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [the Declaration] calls upon nations to take effective measures to protect the right of Indigenous peoples:

  • to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and person.

Article 25 of the Declaration states:

  • “Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain their distinctive spiritual relationships with their…lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities

“Indigenous Languages are the essence and fabric of Indigenous cultures and are fundamental to our survival, dignity and well‐being as Indigenous peoples. Language is our inherent right and is central to our cultural and spiritual identities as First Nations. Furthermore, language plays a fundamental part in indigenous peoples’ identity by connecting individuals to communities, therefore providing cultural and spiritual context in the daily lives of Indigenous peoples. Grand Chief Edward John, member of the First Nations Summit Political Executive and Co‐chair of the UNESCO IYIL2019 Steering Committee “

B.C. is home to the greatest diversity of Indigenous languages in Canada (more than 50 per cent of all Indigenous languages in the country), with 34 unique First Nations languages and more than 90 dialects.


January 7, 2018


Tessa Ericson, Nak’azdi Whut’en First Nation

Williams Lake Tribune – Creating an application and organizing a summer camp to help get younger people in her central BC community speaking the Nak’azdi dialect of the Dakelh language. Members were fluent in the dialect about three generations ago before the advent of residential schools. “A huge amount of local understanding of culture, ecology, relationship with ancestors, with the past and with the land id all encoded in language” Mark Turin, chairperson of the First Nations and endangered languages program at UBC.


June 12, 2005


First People’s Cultural Council

BC is the only province to establish a Crown Corporation dedicated to leading First Nations language, culture and arts initiatives. First People’s Cultural Council was established in 1990 to provide funding and resources to communities, monitor the status of First Nations languages and develop policy recommendations for First Nations leadership and government.


June 6, 2005


NWT Official Languages Act

In 1984, the Legislative Assembly passed the first Official Languages Act. Modelled after the Federal Official Languages Act, it had two essential purposes; the Act guaranteed equal status for English and French by members of the public using government programs and services, and the Act officially recognized the Aboriginal languages in use in the Northwest Territories.

In 1990, the Legislative Assembly made major amendments to the Act to give greater status to northern Aboriginal languages. Recognizing the official status of Aboriginal languages was intended to preserve and promote Aboriginal cultures through protection of languages. Under section 4 of the language legislation, the official languages of the NWT in addition to English and French are Chipewyan, Cree, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tåîchô.