Indigenous Initiatives in Environment

• The Office of Indigenous Relations is a central hub for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students, faculty, and staff, along with allies within the University of Waterloo community. They've created a collection of resources and tools to strength your learning. Topics include: terminology, online courses, educational facts, treaties, allyship, and more!
• The University of Waterloo Library has developed a specialized Indigenous Research Guide to help researchers identify Indigenous-related resources that have been overlooked or ignored in Western academic practices.
• The Inclusive Research Resource Hub is a cross-disciplinary document library of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenous Research resources to facilitate access for University of Waterloo faculty members, students, and staff to incorporate EDI into research design and team planning. 

• The Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre provides a nurturing environment for Indigenous students -- offering support in cultural, academic, well-being, and social aspects of campus life.
• The Office of Indigenous Relations has thoughtfully curated a comprehensive list of bursaries, awards, and scholarships specifically designed to support Indigenous students in their academic journey. These financial resources aim to alleviate some of the financial burdens, enabling students to focus on their studies and personal growth.

Indigenous Peoples in Canada Reading List

The Indigenous peoples in Canada reading list has been compiled to expand and build on current understandings of the experiences of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples in Canada. The list includes biographies, memoirs and fictional accounts of lived experiences during and after the end of the residential school system.
 

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was established by the Government of Canada in 1991 in response to the Kanesatake Resistance (Oka Crisis), a standoff between Mohawk protesters, police, and army from July 11 to September 26, 1990, over a land dispute. In October 1996, the five-volume final report was published.

The objective of the commission was to investigate the historical and current-day relationship between First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, the Government of Canada, and broader Canadian society. The Commission included 440 recommendations to renew the relationship with Indigenous peoples over a 20-year span.
 

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC)

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was established in 2007 by the Government of Canada as an element of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The Commission was responsible for collecting the truths of survivors, families, and communities affected by the harms of the residential school system and for sharing what happened to Canadians. Currently, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) is mandated to continue the work initiated by the TRC.

The final six-volume TRC report was released in December 2015, and includes 94 Calls to Action for reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and Canadians. 

Visit CBC: Beyond 94 to learn about the progress of the TRC 94 Calls to Action since March 2018.
 

Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was established in 2016. Their mandate was to investigate and report on the systemic causes of all forms of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual) people in Canada. This included examining the social, economic, cultural, institutional, and historical factors that contribute to their vulnerability, as well as assessing the effectiveness of existing policies in addressing such violence.

The final report, Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, was published in 2019 and contained 231 Calls for Justice to end the violence.

This seven-module online course from the Yellowhead School is based on the Yellowhead Institute Red Paper, Land Back.

In this course, you will learn about the scope of land dispossession in Canada, historically and in the present, as well as examples of resistance that result in the enforcement of Indigenous models of consent. The course also considers the future of the Land Back movement with reference to climate activism and solidarity with non-Indigenous communities.

Register today!

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada.

From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores complex experiences Indigenous peoples face today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations.

Registration is now open