260 years of promises made and promises broken to Canada’s First Peoples
What progress has been made since the TRC Calls to Action were released in June 2015?
Welcome to Indigenous Watchdog
As of May 1, 2024 36% of the 94 TRC Calls to Action are either NOT STARTED or STALLED? Why?
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Indigenous Watchdog, a federally registered non-profit, is committed to transforming the reconciliation dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians into ACTION.
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By curating details from multiple sources – government stakeholders as well as local and national media, research reports, studies, white papers, statistics, budgets – Indigenous Watchdog will deliver relevant, current information to raise awareness on Indigenous issues through an Indigenous lens.
Where are we today?
Start with clicking “Learn More” below to go directly to the Calls to Action landing page: a single page view to the status of all 94 Calls to Action with links to dive deeper into any Indigenous issue you wish to explore.
Be informed. Speak up. Take action. Only then will reconciliation happen.
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In Progress
Stalled
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Featured Updates
Environment
Spiraling salmon populations ignite calls for urgent revisions as Alaskan fisheries continue to overfish
The federal fisheries committee will be hearing from DFO Minister Diane Lebouthillier on Thursday. APTN News: Three conservation groups met virtually with the federal fisheries……
May 7, 2024
Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation
Appeals dismissed for father, son convicted in killings of Métis hunters
Lawyers for father and son argued that the jury was not properly instructed Anthony Bilodeau is serving a life-sentence with no chance to apply for……
May 6, 2024
Justice (25-42)
Trial of Winnipeg man who admits to killing 4 women to be heard by judge alone
Jeremy Skibicki asks to be found not criminally responsible in the deaths Jeremy Skibicki was silent in the accused box in court on Monday as……
May 6, 2024
Suicide Prevention
This mom took her 14-year-old daughter off life support. She says her suicide was preventable
Darcel Lidd, seen here during a photography project that involved the CBC, loved her siblings and family, her mother said. (Heidi Atter/CBC) WARNING: This story contains……
May 6, 2024
Justice (25-42)
Q+A | N.W.T.’s outgoing top RCMP officer on reconciliation, change and ‘an unprecedented year’
Chief Supt. Sydney Lecky leaving after a year and a half on the job Chief Supt. Sydney Lecky, the head of the RCMP in the……
May 6, 2024
Justice (25-42)
Red Dress Day must result in more than just awareness, says mother of murdered Indigenous woman
Charlotte Wolfrey, the former angajukKak of Rigolet, is a longtime advocate for murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls. (Eldred Allen/Bird’s Eye Inc) CBC News: After……
May 6, 2024
Call to Action # 92
Indigenous Economic Participation Key to Growth in Saskatchewan
Province Proclaims Indigenous Economic Development Day NationTalk: The Government of Saskatchewan is pleased to proclaim May 6 as Indigenous Economic Development Day in Saskatchewan. The……
May 6, 2024
Environment
AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak Calls for Equitable Funding and Control in First Nations Emergency Management
NatIonTalk: (Unceded Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, Ontario) – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, is marking Emergency Preparedness Week by calling for……
May 6, 2024
Environment
The Governments of Canada and Yukon Announce Funding to Further Support Flood Mapping Efforts in the Yukon
NationTalk: Natural Resources Canada – Communities and governments are working together to prepare for and adapt to impacts of climate change, to help improve quality……
May 6, 2024
Call to Action # 24
Ensuring incoming cohorts of medical students better represent the diversity of Indigenous communities in Canada
Nicholas Brisebois and Nicole Cardinal NationTalk: May 6, 2024 CMAJ April 29, 2024 196 (16) E563-E565; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.231272 Article Responses Metrics PDF KEY POINTS Indigenous students from reserves, rural, and Northern communities……
May 6, 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?
Featured Content
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
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: May 1, 2024
Continue readingWhat’s New in Indigenous Watchdog: 244 New Entries: April 1 – April 30, 2024
Calls to Action (C2A) Status: May 1, 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,
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