Learn1
- Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP)
- The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- Residential Schools
- Indigenous Canada [link]
- Timeline [
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was established by Order in Council on August 26, 1991, and it submitted its report in October 1996. The RCAP was mandated to investigate and propose solutions to the challenges affecting the relationship between Aboriginal peoples (First Nations, Inuit, Métis), the Canadian government and Canadian society as a whole. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). In 2016, Canada adopted UNDRIP. This document, apprised of 36 articles, recognizes and affirms the rights of Indigenous people e.g. self-determination, language, culture, equity, and education. UNDRIP supports the constitutional rights of Aboriginal people and the TRC 94 Calls to Action.
The National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation is a creation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history. One part of the Settlement Agreement created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada to facilitate reconciliation among former students, their families, their communities and all Canadians. In 2015, the TRC released its final report. All Canadians are encouraged to read the summary or the final report (reports linked here) to learn more about the tragic history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools. The TRC created 94 "Calls to Action" (or recommendations) to further reconciliation between Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. If you are curious about the progress being made on the TRC's 94 Calls to Action, you can view up-to-date status reports and summaries on each call to action at Beyond 94. This website is a project launched by CBC News in 2018 following a year's worth of research and interviews with survivors, stakeholders and all levels of government.
For a more comprehensive timeline of residential schools in Canada, check out this exhibit from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. It features several documents and materials that show the construction and operations of residential schools, their legacy and impact on generations of Indigenous Peoples and communities, and some of the steps taken on the path towards healing and reconciliation. To see the locations of known residential schools, visit this interactive map also created by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Indigenous Canada is a free 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the University of Alberta's 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.
Indigenous Peoples have been inhabitants of the land that is now Canada since time immemorial – a timeline helps individuals to understand the historical experiences of Indigenous peoples, and to inform the present. These timelines highlight the collective experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit, their encounters with colonization and colonialism, their existence since time immemorial and their ongoing resilience. However, it is important to note that these timelines are not exhaustive in their coverage.