News
National Indigenous Peoples Day
June 21, 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada.
At SOURCES, we recognize, honour and celebrate the heritage, diversity, resilience, knowledge and achievements of Indigenous Peoples. We actively aim to learn about First Nations cultures and practices and strive to create a safe space for coming together in our communities.
Knowing that there is much work ahead for all of us to do, we remain steadfast in our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, and Resurgence. The truths of our past must guide the future we build together.
FREE ONLINE EVENT
In this spirit, we invite the community to participate in a virtual KAIROS Blanket Exercise (vKBE) hosted by SOURCES.
The vKBE is a live and participatory experience led by Indigenous Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers with the goal of building a greater understanding of our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. It is a 2.5 to 3-hour live-streamed, Zoom-based, interactive presentation that is based on the KBE (pictured above) and built around a PowerPoint presentation with embedded images and videos. Participants interact by reading scrolls, using the chat feature, and changing their virtual backgrounds in response to cues in the script.
Date: August 5, 2021
Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Space is limited – registration is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Register
RESOURCES
As a member of the Federation of Community Social Services of British Columbia, we are engaged in the ongoing work of Truth and Reconciliation led by the Federation. We are pleased to share the following resources that they have made available, in addition to resources our team has found valuable through our journey with Transformative Reconciliation:
Things to Read
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action.
- 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act by Bob Joseph.
- The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King.
- Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues in Canada by Chelsea Vowel.
- Speaking Our Truth by Monique Gray Smith.
- Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese.
- Stoney Creek Woman: The Story of Mary John by Bridget Moran.
- Potlatch as Pedagogy: Learning Through Ceremony by Sara Florence Davidson and Robert Davidson.
- Highway Of Tears by Jessica McDiarmid.
Things to Do
- Learn about the traditional and unceded territory that you live and work on and think about what “unceded” means to you or what it means to live on unceded land.
- Buy orange ‘Every Child Matters’ shirts to support the Urban Native Youth Association while raising awareness.
- The City of Surrey is organizing a virtual celebration which will include cultural sharing from Semiahmoo, Kwantlen, Katzie First Nations, and Nova Métis with teachings and practice through art, music, storytelling and dance.
- Organizations around Revelstoke are hosting a variety of events both virtual and outdoors.
- Read and choose from the ’10 Things You Can Do’ in response to the findings of remains on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops from Indigenous Corporate Training Inc.
- Attend online events to commemorate National Indigenous Peoples Day including a virtual drum circle, online storytelling sessions, and Indigenous Plant Workshops.
- A drum circle is planned for National Indigenous Peoples Day at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park in Prince George.
- Join this National Indigenous History Month workshop to immerse yourself in authentic Indigenous arts & culture in British Columbia.
- More virtual learning events can be found on the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre website.
- North Shore News has suggestions on ways to celebrate National Indigenous History Month on the North Shore and beyond.
Join the Reconciliation Book Club
The Federation’s Reconciliation Book Club is preparing to launch into year four and are encouraging people to sign-up for another year of reading and learning together. The book club meets every other month to discuss a piece of literature by an Indigenous author. You can register to participate in the 2021/22 Reconciliation Book Club here.