A new historic protocol has been put in place to open the monthly Toronto City Council meetings. As of last week, the Speaker (Frances Nunziata) announced that following the singing of the national anthem, the Speaker will acknowledge that Toronto is traditional Indigenous territory of the Mississaugas...
Painting by Arnold Isbister I was careful for a long time not to wear red and purple together, lest I be taken for a genetic throwback. When I was in grade seven, growing up during the Civil Rights and AIM (American Indian) movements in the United States, my mom got a new job and moved ...
Idle No More Offers Up Meaningful-Co-Existence, Happiness, and Human Survival. “The state is invisible; it must be personified before it can be seen, symbolized before it can be loved, imagined before it can be conceived” Department of Canadian Heritage[1] What is your title [2] to the land that is know...
Melina Laboucan-Massimo, member of the Lubicon Cree First Nation, discusses the impacts of the Tar Sands project on her family and her traditional territories. Melina shares about the significance of the land for her and the roots of her strength and knowledge. Melina points out that the Tar Sands is a...
Aboriginal women are the real threat to the status quo and pose the greatest threat to the male dominated power structures in Canadian society. I’ve seen many commentaries on the Idle No More protest movement in the media and on blog posts, but have not personally seen any from the perspective of a Firs...
Dustin Johnson speaks to identity as key in defending the land. An interview with youth activist Dustin Johnson who was born and raised Tsimshian from the Killerwhale Clan from the northwest coast of BC. Dustin has worked on decolonization initiatives and anti-oppressive social justice organizing in Van...
Writer and activist Zainab Amadahy discusses ARTIST as WARRIOR. “Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness – an...
Interview with lawyer and advocate for the rights of Indigenous Peoples, TRC Commissioner Chief Wilton Littlechild. At THE MEETING PLACE – truth and reconciliation gathering hosted by Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre in June 2012, TRC Commissioner Chief Wilton Littlechild brought to light the...
Interview with Darlene Ritchie, President of Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre. Darlene Ritchie discusses the motivation to host the MEETING PLACE – truth and reconciliation gathering held May 30th – June 2nd 2012. Ritchie shares how Council Fire acted to move healing forward on their own term...
Interview with J’net Cavanagh on Truth & Reconciliation. J’net Cavanagh shares how she and her siblings survived the “60’s scoop” and how the Truth & Reconciliation Commission must expand its mandate to include impacts of the still severely flawed child welfare system in Canada.