260 years of promises made and promises broken to Canada’s First Peoples
What progress has been made since the TRC Calls to Action were released in June 2015?
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As of October 1, 2024 36% of the 94 TRC Calls to Action are either NOT STARTED or STALLED? Why?
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Featured Updates
Business and Reconciliation (92)
A new path for a fair energy transition with Indigenous communities
Okikendaht power, a run-of-the-river hydro project co-owned by Dokis First Nation, was highlighted as a positive example of Indigenous leadership in the renewable energy sector……
October 17, 2024
Justice (25-42)
How a resolution at the B.C. Law Society became a debate about residential school denialism
Proposed wording change attempted to ‘turn down the volume on [the] truth,’ one lawyer said A hand-painted stone lies in the grass at a memorial……
October 17, 2024
Child Welfare (1-5)
Chiefs gather in Calgary to vote on $47.8B child welfare reform proposal
Child advocate Cindy Blackstock concerned deal on ‘long-term’ reform lasts 9 years Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, then Manitoba regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations,……
October 16, 2024
Child Welfare (1-5)
AFN leader questions if Tories would top $47.8B child welfare reform offer, urges chiefs to back it
National chief tells delegates ‘time is running out’ for Trudeau’s Liberals Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre chats with National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak after speaking to……
October 16, 2024
Health (18-24)
Canada must act now to be prepared for the next health emergency, new pandemic report warns
A future pandemic could be swifter and more severe than COVID-19, experts say in independent report A nurse in full PPE leans over a COVID-19……
October 16, 2024
Education (6-12)
Incompetence or Worse? The Case of the Conservatives’ Education Platform
Rustad’s party set out their education plans Sunday. And then changed them hours later. Like the Conservatives’ impossible promise to remove income tax on tips……
October 16, 2024
Justice (25-42)
Legislation to handle miscarriages of justice in Canada could be law by Christmas
David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law would create a commission to review possible wrongful convictions. ‘Canada needs a commission that can independently investigate miscarriages of justice,’……
October 16, 2024
Urban Commitments to Reconciliation
City of Saskatoon and Muskeg Lake Cree Nation sign new urban reserve agreement
It will be Muskeg Lake’s 3rd urban reserve and the city’s 11th Saskatoon and Muskeg Lake Cree Nation have cleared the path for a new……
October 16, 2024
Call to Action # 92
Mi’kmaw embrace flagship Canadian offshore wind project
Canada’s National Observer: CGI of Nova East floating wind project being developed off the coast of Nova Scotia (Handout: Nova East Wind)Listen to article An……
October 15, 2024
Health (18-24)
Saskatchewan Health Authority launches ‘critical incident’ investigation after Elder’s ponytail cut off
Ruben St. Charles says his hair was cut while he was unconscious in hospital. https://player.vimeo.com/video/1019987774?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479 APTN News: After Ruben St. Charles fell at home, his……
October 15, 2024
Why is Indigenous “Reconciliation” necessary?
King George III issued the Royal Proclamation in 1763 – 260 years ago. The Proclamation “explicitly stated that Aboriginal title has existed and continues to exist, and that all land would be considered Aboriginal land until ceded by treaty”1. In 1764, the Treaty of Niagara, attended by over 2000 Indigenous leaders ratified the Proclamation and established a new alliance between the British and Indigenous people who used their traditional way of representing treaties – the wampum belt.
The belt consists of two rows of purple wampum beads on a white background. Three rows of white beads symbolizing peace, friendship, and respect separate the two purple rows. The two purple rows symbolize two paths or two vessels travelling down the same river. One row symbolizes the Haudenosaunee people with their law and customs, while the other row symbolizes European laws and customs. As nations move together side-by-side on the River of Life, they are to avoid overlapping or interfering with one another.
It was understood by the Haudenosaunee that the Two Row agreement would last forever, that is, “as long as the grass is green, as long as the water flows downhill, and as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.2”
Breaking the treaty didn’t take long. The colonial government determined that in order to secure the land for future settlement and development, the Indigenous population needed to be moved onto reserves where they could be more easily controlled, marginalized and kept out of the way. The Indian Act of 18764 institutionalized Canada’s racist policies by denying to Indigenous people the basic rights that were available to every other Canadian like:
- the right to vote: granted in 1960
- the right to practice their religion: denied until 1940
- the right to speak their own languages: late 1880s to early 1960s
- permission from Indian agent to leave reserve: 1885 to 1951
- the right to wear traditional regalia: 1906-1951
- the right to organize political organizations: 1927-1951
- the right to hire a lawyer: 1927-1951
Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982 Section 35 recognizes and affirms Aboriginal title. The biggest challenge facing Indigenous peoples is the continuous refusal of the federal, provincial and territory governments to recognize and acknowledge this fact.
Notes:
- indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca
- “A short introduction to the Two Row Wampum”. Briar Patch.Tom Keefer. March 10, 2014
- Two Row Wampum Belt – Gä•sweñta’ image above courtesy of Onondaga Nation, N.Y.
- “21 Things You May Not Know About The Indian Act”. Bob Joseph. Indigenous Relations Press. 2018
About Indigenous Watchdog
Indigenus Watchdog is a federally registered non-profit created to monitor and report on critical Indigenous issues including the 94 Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. Our mission is to raise awareness and educate all Canadians on how reconciliation is advancing – or not.
And if not – why?
Perspectives Posts
This space links to the “Perspectives” post for the latest “Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action Status Updates” on the Indigenous Watchdog site. “Perspectives” contains all the Indigenous Watchdog commentary on selected Indigenous issues current at the time of posting
See all blog postsTRC Calls To Action Status: October 1, 2024
Continue readingWhat’s New in Indigenous Watchdog. 233 New Entries: September 1 – September 30,2024
Not Started Stalled In Progress Complete 15 19 46 14 16% 20% 49% 15% Status Legacy Calls to Action(1-42) + 50-52, 62-65 Reconciliation Calls to Action(43-94) Not Started 2, 9, 10, 26, 34, 42, 51, 52, 64 45, 46, 47, 55, 56, 89 Stalled 6, 8, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 25, 29, 30, 35
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