National indigenous history Month feature

奥丑别苍听Rick Powless聽learned that Health Sciences North in Sudbury launched its first Indigenous hospital menu, he felt a shift happen.

The third-year doctoral student at 91亚色's Faculty of Education is a Red Seal-certified Indigenous chef, an Ontario College of Teachers-certified educator and a member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Oneida Nation of the Thames, Bear Clan.

He was also the primary consultant on an initiative led by Compass Group Canada to bring Indigenous meals into Ontario hospitals 鈥� a project that recognizes the role of traditional and cultural food in healing.

His contributions also serve as a testament to his work to advance meaningful cross-cultural engagement.

"It was emotional for me," he says of the menu鈥檚 launch in Sudbury. At 91亚色, his PhD research draws on Indigenous food sovereignty, food insecurity in urban centres and strategies to integrate traditional foods and land-based knowledge into Kindergarten to Grade 12 education.

Much of Powless's work focuses on how traditional foods and land-based knowledge support well-being, identity and learning for Indigenous people living in urban communities. His research explores the impact of food and cultural disconnection on mental health while also examining how Indigenous knowledge is taught 鈥� or overlooked 鈥� in Ontario鈥檚 Kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms. For Powless, that means pushing beyond superficial, checkbox-driven approaches and creating space for stories, reciprocity and food-based learning rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing.

鈥淚f you give somebody a recipe to cook Indigenous food but don't have the stories or the history behind those recipes then the students aren't getting anything out of it,鈥� he says. 鈥淏eyond mere sustenance, our food is also a form of cultural transmission.鈥�

Part of what makes his work distinct is its attention to access. Indigenous ingredients 鈥� such as sun chokes, wild rice, butternut squash 鈥� have been more commercialized, driving up prices and making them less accessible.

Read the full story in the June 3, 2026 issue of Yfile

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The Waaban teacher education program in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education is being given a reboot designed to ensure students feel comfortable in both Indigenous and university settings.

The accelerated 16-month program is offered every two years, and applications are open through mid-January for its 2026 cohort. Cohort members move through the program together, forming a community.

Assistant Professor John Hupfield, the program co-ordinator, emphasizes Waaban鈥檚 unique pathway toward a Bachelor of Education degree and Ontario teacher accreditation.

鈥淲e鈥檙e creating a conduit for Indigenous educators,鈥� says Hupfield, an Anishinaabe educator and grass dancer from Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound, Ont. 鈥淲e鈥檙e creating an access point for mature learners and culture-based educators so they can get into the classroom. It鈥檚 a way of giving back to our Indigenous communities.鈥�

The accelerated 16-month program doesn鈥檛 require its candidates to have any university experience or a teachable subject; the Faculty of Education team considers an applicant鈥檚 knowledges, experience and interest in sharing it. People with a passion for their culture, whether they create beadwork or ribbon skirts, dance in pow wows or serve as knowledge keepers for their First Nation, are encouraged to apply.

鈥淭he university education system wasn鈥檛 designed by Indigenous Peoples,鈥� Hupfield says. 鈥淭hat construct didn鈥檛 exist in our communities, and the education system isn鈥檛 equipped to meet our needs. The Waaban program takes into consideration the unique needs of Indigenous students, rooted in history and factoring in the residential school experience and the resulting intergenerational trauma.鈥�

At Waaban, however, students鈥� Indigenous backgrounds are considered valuable and important.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not traditional teacher education,鈥� says Gabrielle Ayotte, a 2021 Waaban graduate, who is currently working on her PhD in Indigenous education at 91亚色. 鈥淭he program implements oral knowledge, and the relationship between students and teachers is at the centre. We鈥檙e able to think about land and spirit and have opportunities to bring our own stories into the classroom. Our knowledges are not usually validated in the education system.鈥�

Ayotte grew up in Montreal as a member of Garden River First Nation. She visited her community near Sault Ste. Marie each summer.

鈥淢y Indigenous identity was never discussed growing up,鈥� Ayotte says, 鈥渂ut family and friends began to ask questions about residential schools [when news broke about the Joyce Echaquan tragedy] and our identities. I wanted to learn more about my identity and colonization, and Waaban seemed like the perfect program for me. It had all the elements I needed to learn about and grow.

鈥淚t provided a space where my classmates and I could breathe and didn鈥檛 have to explain what it means to be Indigenous. I found community there.鈥�

Hupfield says that Waaban 鈥渢ries to create educators better equipped to meet the specific needs of Indigenous students. One of the ways we do that is by helping teaching candidates foster their own sense of identity and understand the values they carry and the teachings they know. I want to equip them to take on a leadership role.鈥�

Waaban classes have generally been held at the Urban Indigenous Education Centre (UIEC) in Toronto鈥檚 East End, but this year, the 91亚色 campus will host the classes throughout the summer. Hupfield is eager to see 91亚色 build stronger ties between the university and local Indigenous communities.

鈥淭here are lots of opportunities for the program to grow and for 91亚色 to have meaningful relationships with the Anishinaabe Nation and other First Nations,鈥� Hupfield says.

鈥�91亚色 will once again be hosting the winter Pow Wow on campus, and it is an opportunity for Indigenous people to see themselves on campus and consider it as a place for culture-based gatherings.鈥�

UIEC also has a major benefit as a classroom space; it is located next to Wandering Spirit School (K芒pap芒mahchakw锚w), a K-12 Toronto District School Board school that 鈥減rovides Indigenous children with an opportunity to learn about Anishinaabe cultural traditions in a nurturing, caring environment.鈥�

Laurie LaBrecque, who graduated from Waaban鈥檚 first cohort, teaches land-based learning and physical education at Wandering Spirit School. A member of Dokis First Nation situated along Ontario鈥檚 French River, LaBrecque, who grew up in Toronto, says 鈥淲aaban changed my life.鈥�

鈥淚 grew up in a white, middle-class environment and saw myself as white, even though I knew my culture. My grandfather was a residential school survivor who grew up on a trapline, and I went to Pow Wows with my aunt. But I struggled at university, and graduation felt very far away.鈥�

A friend who taught at Wandering Spirit School encouraged her to consider Waaban, given that she had always enjoyed working with children.

鈥淚 look at people talking about Indigenous pedagogy and a lot of them have no classroom experience,鈥� says LaBrecque, who is now working on a master鈥檚 degree at the University of Toronto. 鈥淚 believe the biggest change I can make is in the classroom.

鈥淓ducation was used as a weapon of violence against Indigenous people. The only way to make change is to have people with lived experience involved in the system.鈥�

As Waaban graduate Ayotte says,

鈥淭he media frame us as broken people, but we are reframing that.鈥�

The Waaban program is an important piece of that puzzle.

To learn more about the Waaban teacher education program or to apply, visit /edu/students/waaban/

Article by Elaine Smith, special contributing writer

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Six Indigenous scholars at 91亚色 have been awarded a combined $204,298 in new funding from the latest round of Indigenous Research Seed Fund Grants to explore language revitalization, Indigenous-led land restoration, decolonizing physical education curriculum and more.

The 91亚色 Indigenous Seed Fund was established in 2021 by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in collaboration with the Office of the Vice-President Equity, People & Culture, the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges & Languages (CIKL) and the Indigenous Council, an internal committee at 91亚色 that works to improve access, input and opportunities for Indigenous peoples in higher education. The fund aims to build on the University鈥檚 ongoing commitment to support Indigenous early career researchers, their knowledge creation and the Indigenous communities they are working with.

鈥�91亚色 is wholly invested in advancing Indigenous research excellence, recognizing the critical importance Indigenous perspectives have in the pursuit of new knowledge and learning capable of creating positive change,鈥� said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. 鈥淭he seed fund grants contribute to an emerging area of research expertise at 91亚色 focused on Indigenous futurities, which emphasizes scholarship that can directly benefit Indigenous communities and imagines a brighter future for nations, communities and individuals.鈥�

Recipients of these grants, supported through CIKL and the Office of the Associate Vice-President Indigenous Initiatives, include:

• Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing, assistant professor, Faculty of Education
  鈥淕ekinoomaadijig Mashkiki Gitigaaning Endazhi-Baakwaanaatigikaag: Restoring Urban Land Relations through Indigenous Leadership, Towards Establishing a Land Education Collaboratory鈥�
  
• Kiera Brant-Birioukov, assistant professor, Faculty of Education
  鈥淩esearch Support to Conduct Literature Review for 2024 SSHRC Insight Application鈥�
  
• Ashley Day, assistant professor, School of Kinesiology & Health Science
  鈥淲iisokotaatiwin 鈥� Gathering to Discuss & Re-Imagine Health & Physical Education鈥�
  
• Jeremy Green, assistant professor, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
  鈥淭ehontenhnhonteront谩hkwa 鈥楾hat by which they are connected鈥� 鈥� Co-creating supportive learning environments for second language learner teachers of Kanien鈥檏茅ha 鈥楳ohawk鈥�, an indigenous language鈥�
  
• John Hupfield, assistant professor, Faculty of Education
  鈥淭he miikaans: movement lab鈥�

鈥淭hese projects cultivate positive relationships between university-based researchers and Indigenous communities,鈥� said Susan Dion, associate vice-president Indigenous initiatives, who served as co-chair of the committee that reviewed the applications alongside Sean Hillier, interim director of CIKL.

鈥淭he institutional commitment to supporting these scholars through the Indigenous seed grant will have impacts beyond their own work and will reverberate throughout the Indigenous communities and peoples they engage with, as well as the wider 91亚色 community,鈥� said Hillier, as institutional grants for early career researchers provide not only support for foundational and pilot projects but often lead to larger grant proposals.

鈥淭he seed fund program is not only about supporting these specific researchers and research programs; it represents a longer-term and wider-ranging commitment to creating conditions in which Indigenous students, colleagues and communities can thrive at 91亚色,鈥� said Laina Y. Bay-Cheng, interim vice-president equity, people and culture.

驰辞谤办鈥檚鈥�University Academic Plan 2020-2025鈥痑ffirmed its commitment to the鈥�痑nd identified six priorities for action for building a better future, including stronger relationships with Indigenous communities.鈥�

Additionally, 91亚色鈥檚 Strategic Research Plan 2023-2028 (SRP) identifies Indigenous futurities as an opportunity to help research make a positive impact on Indigenous communities and advance social, cultural, artistic, legal, policy, economic and justice areas that holistically shape Indigenous experience.

The Indigenous Research Seed Fund supports the goals of 91亚色鈥檚 Academic Plan and SRP. The pilot round of the fund awarded a total of $204,298 to 10 scholars in May 2022.

Article originally published in the April 25, 2024 issue of

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In May 2021, the truth that all residential school survivors and many Canadians knew deep down came out. Two hundred and fifteen unmarked graves were discovered of precious children that were forcefully made to attend the Kamloops Indian Residential School. The two-pronged weaponry of treaties and residential schools had come to full fruition. Canada鈥檚 genocidal plans and actions opened up a new set of wounds, and more unmarked graves were (and are) to come.

Celia Haig-Brown, a Professor in the Faculty of Education at 91亚色, wrote a master's thesis on Kamloops residential schools in the mid-1980's, the work was published as a book but was ignored. Haig-Brown has returned to the work and recently published 'Tsqelmucw铆lc: The Kamloops Indian Residential School鈥昍esistance and a Reckoning' in light of recent events. "Now that we have heard the stories, we have a responsibility to act and to contribute to just and respectful change," says Haig-Brown.

Read the full article on the .

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In recognition of the site鈥檚 Indigenous heritage, 91亚色 unveiled Indigenous art exhibits on the construction hoarding for the 91亚色 Markham Campus on Sept. 28.

The site of the new campus is part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. In view of the tie to the site鈥檚 Indigenous heritage, when 91亚色 partnered with a public art initiatives organization to showcase community artwork for Markham Campus, it encouraged the artists to contemplate reconciliation with Indigenous communities.

Marissa Magneson is a Cree-M茅tis artist, photographer, educator, and workshop facilitator. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at 91亚色 this fall. Her research explores Indigenous methodologies using beadwork as visual storytelling.

She submitted an ethnographic photograph 'Frozen Chains of Childhood' that reflects upon the isolating and immobilizing pain Indigenous children endured in the residential school system. The photograph was captured in 2017 after a January ice storm in Barrie, Ont.

鈥淚t is through education that I have begun to melt these chains and unpack my own identity as a Cree-M茅tis woman who came through the public education system without ever learning about residential schools. It was not until the third year of my undergraduate degree, when I chose to enrol in an Indigenous Health and Healing course with Prof. Jon Johnson of 91亚色, that this truth was shared with me. Until then, I did not understand why members of my family had kept our Indigenous identity a secret and felt compelled to pass as white, for the safety of themselves and their children. Learning the truth has forever changed my life. It has put me on a path of learning, unlearning, and relearning so that I can reclaim my culture and pass it on to future generations. Although it was not safe for my ancestors to be Indigenous, I hope that my future children can grow up in a world where it is not only safe but celebrated.鈥�

The community artworks have been installed on the construction hoarding at Markham Campus site along Enterprise Boulevard until the construction hoarding is no longer required on site.

Read the full article in the on the website.

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Professor Celia Haig-Brown shares her collaborators鈥� stories of their experiences of residential schools and reconciliation. Haig-Brown talks about returning to earlier work on surviving the Indian Residential School in her forthcoming book, 'Tsqelmucw铆lc: The Kamloops Indian Residential School鈥昍esistance and a Reckoning', and the journey to its publication.

"I think in terms of reconciliation, this book has allowed the opportunity for me to return to the people I interviewed initially, to the children of those people who have passed on, and to offer them the opportunity to claim their words for themselves by using their full names. At the time that I was doing this work - it was not possible to do that," says Haig-Brown.

"There's a number of them who have agreed to have their names attached to their words and a number of them have also done some follow-up writing about the ongoing impact of residential schools," continues Haig-Brown, "How they're moving on and reconciling themselves to their understandings of what residential schools have done to culture, language, family and making positive moves in the direction of a change."

Listen to the full interview on the .

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Shanice Perrot is a student in the Children, Childhood and Youth BA program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. She is currently the Student Success Mentor at the Center for Indigenous Student Services. Perrot is Nehiyaw (Cree) from Frog Lake First Nations. She wrote the following reflection about the significance of National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous People鈥檚 Day.

National Indigenous Peoples Day falls on the summer solstice (June 21), which is the longest day of the year. It is a day of significance, as Indigenous Peoples and communities have honoured their cultures and histories on the summer solstice for generations. Indigenous Peoples invite all non-Indigenous Canadians to participate in the festivities.

鈥淣ational Indigenous Peoples Day and National Indigenous History Month is an opportunity to engage with the Indigenous knowledges, languages, practices and ways of being that Indigenous people bring to 91亚色 and their importance to Canadian society,鈥� said Faculty of Education Professor Susan Dion, associate vice-president Indigenous Initiatives. The Indigenous Initiatives department was established in 2021 to advance Indigenous Initiatives across 91亚色. The department focuses on Indigenous community relationships, supporting Indigenous鈥� students, staff and faculty, cultivating Indigenous 鈥媖nowledges and languages鈥� and ensuring that Indigenous presence is 鈥媐elt, lived and actively respected.

What is National Indigenous Peoples Day?

In 1996, the governor general of Canada, Rom茅o LeBlanc, declared that June 21 be designated as National Aboriginal Day by the federal government. This name was changed to 鈥淣ational Indigenous Peoples Day鈥� in 2017 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

National Indigenous Peoples Day is an official day of celebration to recognize and honour the First Nations, Inuit and M茅tis people. It is significant because it is a day of celebration of Indigenous resilience and the preservation, and restoration of Indigenous cultures. The day is marked by ceremonies and celebrations that showcase cultural performances and activities. There are also displays of Indigenous arts and crafts along with other kinds of events to recognize the valuable contributions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

What is National Indigenous History Month?

National Indigenous History Month provides opportunities to learn from and with Indigenous Peoples and histories including, the legacies of residential schools, and the Sixties Scoop. Participating in the workshops, events, panel discussions and webinars during Indigenous history month is an act in support of new and better relationships. Through immersion into the vibrant histories, cultures and traditions of First Nations, Inuit and M茅tis people, one can recognize how these First Nations contribute to the diversity and add to the richness of cultures within Canada.

Learning about residential schools, treaties and Indigenous Peoples鈥� historical and contemporary contributions to Canada builds capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy and mutual respect. It provides a space for understanding how race and racism affected the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous History Month is important because it encourages people to go beyond the superficial multicultural approach of celebrating differences with song, dance and food.

The month of June is an important time for learning about the and the . These documents provide an ethical standard for equity. Reconciliation requires a new vision based on a commitment to recognize and respect the rights and freedoms of Indigenous people. Education on the colonial impacts of Indigenous Peoples can be used as an instrument for transformation and creating a new path forward; one of respect, love, humility, wisdom and truth.

Learning and participating in National Indigenous History Month events is an important step in recognizing the history between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians and the important steps that must be taken together towards creating a different future. Education is the key to reconciliation and increasing the awareness of this history is a necessary course of action that each of us has a role to play.

For more information on events happening at 91亚色 during Indigenous History Month visit /about/indigenous-history-month/.

Article originally published in the June 17, 2022 issue of

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Congratulations to Faculty of Education Professor and Associate Vice-President Indigenous initiatives Susan Dion (91亚色) and Jane Griffith (Ryerson University), on being awarded the prestigious 2021 F.E.L. Priestly Prize for their article 鈥淣arratives of Place and Relationship: Bev Sellar鈥檚 Memoir They Called Me Number One鈥�. The award was presented by the Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English (ACCUTE).

The F.E.L. Priestley Prize recognizes and acknowledges the best essay published in ACCUTE鈥檚 scholarly journal, English Studies in Canada, over the past year. The 2021 F.E.L. Priestley Prize Committee was constituted by Shama Rangwala (91亚色), Heidi Tiedemann Darroch (Camosun College), and committee chair Hannah McGregor (Simon Fraser University). The committee agreed that 鈥淣arratives of Place and Relationship: Bev Sellars鈥檚 Memoir They Called Me Number One,鈥� is notable for how it diverges from traditional academic essays, using Sellars鈥檚 memoir as a starting point to develop a broader understanding of place and relationality building upon Indigenous scholarship.

The committee made the following comments about the article:

Dr. Dion and Dr. Griffith鈥檚 article is notable for how it diverges from traditional academic essays, using Sellars鈥檚 memoir as a starting point to develop a broader understanding of place and relationality building upon Indigenous scholarship. In this illuminating and engaging work, Dr. Dion and Dr. Griffith propose using a framework of recuperation (rather than reconciliation or resistance) to read the Secwepemc author鈥檚 autobiography. They argue persuasively that 鈥淭hey Called Me Number One offers the potential to learn from Indigenous knowledge acquired through place and story to act on obligations to live in relationship premised on reciprocity, protection, and care.鈥� They go on to demonstrate how these reciprocal relationships are interrupted by institutions including residential schools as well as hospitals and jails, part of a systematic and deliberate 鈥渄isruption of Indigenous ways of being in relationship with the land.鈥� They conclude by looking at Sellars鈥檚 interest in strategies of recuperating land and Indigenous ways of knowing, connecting her memoir to her contemporary organizing: 鈥淥utside of her memoir, Sellars is literally taking back land and insisting on relationship.鈥�

In addition to offering a significant new reading of Sellars鈥檚 memoir, this article is also methodologically sophisticated; its nuanced and well-researched analysis is grounded in the writing of Indigenous scholars, including Secwepemc authors Marianne Ignace and Ronald E. Ignace, in order to foster a reading of Sellars鈥檚 work that is attentive to the specificity of place, nation, and identity. Drawing on extensive scholarship and rich historical context, the article connects textuality in life-writing to relationality and land in a compelling way, modeling how the study of literary texts benefits from deep engagement with Indigenous scholarship and philosophy.

We would also like to emphasize the article鈥檚 structural innovation; it moves away from conventions of distanced critique by explicitly acknowledging the subjectivities of the authors, building the practices of collective authorship into its politics from the first page. A model of clarity and accessibility, this article offers a broad range of readers, without specialized knowledge of the field of Indigenous literary studies, a welcome introduction to Sellars鈥檚 work, and its aesthetic, social, and political significance. We believe that this article will be particularly useful for teachers interested in introducing Sellars鈥檚 memoir into their classrooms, and hope that it will be read, taught, and cited widely.

Hannah McGregor (Simon Fraser University), Shama Rangwala (91亚色), and Heidi Tiedemann Darroch (Camosun College)

Click to read the article through the 91亚色 Library system.

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Dion, asked M茅tis artists Marissa Magneson and Jason Baerg about their roles as artists and advocates, and how the visual arts are important in educating others.

鈥淎s an academic in the Faculty of Education and the University鈥檚 inaugural vice-president of Indigenous initiatives, there are many important lessons that can be taken from Indigenous artforms, both related to self discovery and celebration of important days of history,鈥� said Dion. 鈥淢any Indigenous artists, such as M茅tis artist Marissa Magneson, use art to signify important moments in Indigenous Peoples鈥� histories. A good example is Louis Riel Day, which is marked each year on November 16.

鈥淚t is an important day for M茅tis Peoples because Riel well known for his role in the Northwest Resistance, which was a stand against government encroachment of M茅tis lands. He is also widely considered a hero for defending M茅tis language, culture and political rights,鈥� said Dion.鈥淔ollowing the defeat at the siege of Batoche, Riel was arrested, convicted of treason and executed. Despite this tragedy, Riel knew that artists would take the lead in the revitalization of M茅tis history and culture. This is best illustrated by his often-quoted words, 鈥楳y people will sleep for 100 years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who will give them their spirit back.鈥欌��

91亚色 alumna Marissa Magneson鈥檚 work is centred around decolonizing education, strengthening community and cultural reclamation. 鈥淚t is through the arts that I have found my way back to my culture and now I use art to educate and share this journey with others. For many of my ancestors, it was safer to pass as French than admit they were M茅tis,鈥� said Magneson. 鈥淚f you could pass as white, you did for the safety and future of yourself and your children. Today I am proud to be M茅tis. The seeds my ancestors planted within me are now blossoming as I reclaim our culture, languages, traditions, artforms and ways of life.鈥�

Magneson鈥檚 medicine pouch is beaded on leather that was sourced from her cousin, John Somosi and includes a design from M茅tis artist, Dylan Miner. 鈥淔or me the design represents this phase of awakening that Riel spoke about. As the flower begins to bud, we are reclaiming what was taken, but never forgotten,鈥� said Magneson.

Magneson is a Cree-M茅tis artist, photographer, educator, and workshop facilitator. An alumna of 91亚色, Magneson has a BFA (honours) degree from 91亚色 and an MA in Canadian and Indigenous Studies from Trent University. Her master鈥檚 research explores Indigenous methodologies through a decolonial approach centred in beadwork as visual storytelling.

For M茅tis artist Jason Baerg, his work draws on work by the late Norval Morrisseau, considered to be the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous art.

鈥溾�楥opper and Red Thunderbird鈥� is a tribute to Norval Morrisseau (Copper Thunderbird) and my Spirit Name Mihko-Pih锚siw Nap卯w (Red Thunderbird),鈥� said Baerg. 鈥淚 was given my second Spirit Name, Mihko-Pih锚siw Nap卯w (Red Thunderbird), by Elder Raymond Ballentine from Pelican Narrow First Nations, which is in the vicinity of my homeland and where I was raised in Prince Albert. In the ceremony, he mentioned that he sensed Norval鈥檚 energy around and gifted me the name.

鈥淭he central repeating pattern in the installation is a quote from a Norval Morrisseau Thunderbird painting,鈥� explained Baerg. 鈥淚 used the positive and negative space of the wingspan of one of his compositions to create a laser cut out used in the installation, and the four suspended paintings.鈥�

As an artist, Baerg is committed to the goal of supporting M茅tis self-determination and its advancement in the arts through forms of gathering, knowledge sharing, research and advocacy. He brought together a group of M茅tis artists, curators, writers and educators and formed the Shushkitew Collective to build capacity, and to support intergenerational dialogue and learning, while concurrently activating the visioning of M茅tis futurities. In reference to the Shushkitew Collective Baerg writes, 鈥淲e engage with the concept of man芒wewin to speak to the precious resources we need to sustain our bodies, our communities and our creative spirit.鈥�

Baerg is a registered member of the M茅tis Nations of Ontario and serves his community as an Indigenous activist, curator, educator, and visual artist. He graduated from Concordia University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, a Master of Fine Arts from Rutgers University and is enrolled in the PhD program at Monash University. Baerg teaches as the assistant professor in Indigenous Practices in Contemporary Painting and Media Art at OCAD University. Exemplifying his commitment to the community, he co-founded The Shushkitew Collective and The M茅tis Artist Collective. Baerg has served as volunteer Chair for such organizations as the Indigenous Curatorial Collective and the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition. As a visual artist, he pushes digital interventions in drawing, painting and new media installation.

To see more of Magneson鈥檚 work, visit her on Instagram: @MagnesonStudios / @MarissaMagnesonPhotography or through her website at . To see more of Baerg鈥檚 work and to learn more about his exhibitions and advocacy, visit his website at .

Article originally published in the November 14, 2021 issue of .

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Dr. Pamela Rose Toulouse (Anishinaabe), Kiera Brant-Birioukov (Haudenosaunee), Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing (M茅tis), Marianne Groat (Haudenosaunee & English/Welsh) and Natasha Bascevan (Anishinaabe & M茅tis) encourage colleagues and their families to take the time to reflect on September 30 鈥� the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The following resources on truth and reconciliation are suggested wise practices as starting points to unlearn (truth) and relearn (reconciliation) together.

Miigwetch, Nia:weh, Maarsi and thank you.

Websites

• Official Site for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation -
• Spirit Bear鈥檚 Guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action -
• Gord Downie/Chanie Wenjack National Day for Truth and Reconciliation -
• Official Site for Orange Shirt Day -
• CBC Truth and Reconciliation offers 94鈥� calls to action -
• Official Site for the Federal Indian Day Schools Class Action -
• UBC鈥檚 Research on Indian Day Schools -

Videos

• TRC Mini Documentary 鈥� Senator Murray Sinclair on Reconciliation -
• 鈥楾his is not just neglect, this is a cover up鈥� 鈥� Dr. Niigaan Sinclair -
• Truth and Reconciliation 鈥� Kevin Lamoureux 鈥� TEDx University of Winnipeg -
• Truth and Reconciliation Progress? Five Years On -
• When We Were Alone Book Final Edit Read Aloud by Fairlawn Public School -
• How to change systemic racism in Canada -
• Dr. Susan Dion 鈥� Introducing and disrupting the 鈥減erfect stranger鈥� -

Books

• The Inconvenient Indian (2015) by Thomas King -
• 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality (2018) by Bob Joseph -
• Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Schools (2018) by Dr. Pamela Rose Toulouse -
• Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation (2017) by Monique Gray Smith -
• The Reason You Walk (2017) by Wab Kinew -
• Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story (2021) by David A. Robertson -
• Indigenous Ally Toolkit (2018) by Dakota Swiftwolfe and Leilani Shaw for the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network -

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