The impacts of colonization and the residential school system have left many Indigenous Peoples in need of healing. Yet, systemic systems of oppression have left many without access to critical mental health services, leading to higher rates of addiction, suicide, family instability and violence.
As the women’s empowerment movement continues to sweep the world, the negative effects of colonialist views of women brought by settlers to North America can still be felt by Indigenous women today. Many were stripped of their important cultural roles and left adrift and unsure of their place in the community.
Since the 1960s, Niitsi'powahsin, the Blackfoot language, has been one of many Indigenous languages considered to be endangered. The number of fluent speakers has only continued to decline due to the lasting impacts of colonization, the residential school system, and other assimilationist policies.
The impacts of colonization and the residential school system have left many Indigenous Peoples in need of healing. Yet, systemic systems of oppression have left many without access to critical mental health services, leading to higher rates of addiction, suicide, family instability and violence.
The tiny voices of Indigenous children have echoed across the land for thousands of years. Yet, over the last few centuries they’ve grown quieter due to the intergenerational impacts of colonialism and systemic oppression.
Five years ago, Elders living in the Snuneymuxw region, also known as Nanaimo, came together with one shared purpose – to learn to read. Many who had been forced to attend residential and day schools had left receiving limited, if any, meaningful education.
Art has long been a vital form of expression and knowledge transmission within and between Indigenous cultures. Beadwork, sewing, and painting are traditional practices deeply connected to Indigenous identity and storytelling.
As people become increasingly dependent on technology and online forms of social connection, they feel more disconnected from one another than ever. While this impacts people of all ages and backgrounds, Indigenous youth are especially affected.
Spoken around a fire, whispered during ceremony, and passed down from Elder to youth, Indigenous languages have been preserved and shared orally for thousands of years. Most have never had a written alphabet, relying solely on verbal traditions to remain alive.
Indigenous communities across Canada are bringing back ceremonies that have almost been lost due to colonization. One such gathering, the Métis Rendezvous, is one of the most important events for Métis to reconnect and engage with traditional activities and demonstrations that reflect the rich cultural heritage of the Métis Nation.
