We Were Children (Trailer)
Watch We Were Children | Prime Video - Amazon.com
Tim Wolochatiuk 2012 | 1 min Warning: this film contains disturbing content and is recommended for audiences 16 years of age and older. Parental discretion, and/or watching this film within a group setting, is strongly advised.
In this feature film, the profound impact of the Canadian government's residential school system is conveyed through the eyes of two children who were forced to face hardships beyond their years. As young children, Lyna and Glen were taken from their homes and placed in church-run boarding schools, where they suffered years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the effects of which persist in their adult lives. We Were Children gives voice to a national tragedy and demonstrates the incredible resilience of the human spirit.
The Secret Path
Gord Downie - The Secret Path [Official Film Trailer]
STATEMENT BY GORD DOWNIE Ogoki Post, Ontario September 9, 2016 Mike Downie introduced me to Chanie Wenjack; he gave me the story from Ian Adams' Maclean's magazine story dating back to February 6, 1967, "The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack." Chanie, misnamed Charlie by his teachers, was a young boy who died on October 22, 1966, walking the railroad tracks, trying to escape from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School to walk home. Chanie's home was 400 miles away. He didn't know that. He didn't know where it was, nor how to find it, but, like so many kids - more than anyone will be able to imagine - he tried. I never knew Chanie, but I will always love him. Chanie haunts me. His story is Canada's story. This is about Canada. We are not the country we thought we were. History will be re-written. We are all accountable, but this begins in the late 1800s and goes to 1996. "White" Canada knew – on somebody's purpose – nothing about this. We weren't taught it in school; it was hardly ever mentioned. All of those Governments, and all of those Churches, for all of those years, misused themselves. They hurt many children. They broke up many families. They erased entire communities. It will take seven generations to fix this. Seven. Seven is not arbitrary. This is far from over. Things up north have never been harder. Canada is not Canada. We are not the country we think we are. I am trying in this small way to help spread what Murray Sinclair said, "This is not an aboriginal problem. This is a Canadian problem. Because at the same time that aboriginal people were being demeaned in the schools and their culture and language were being taken away from them and they were being told that they were inferior, they were pagans, that they were heathens and savages and that they were unworthy of being respected – that very same message was being given to the non-aboriginal children in the public schools as well… They need to know that history includes them." (Murray Sinclair, Ottawa Citizen, May 24, 2015) I have always wondered why, even as a kid, I never thought of Canada as a country – It's not a popular thought; you keep it to yourself – I never wrote of it as so. The next hundred years are going to be painful as we come to know Chanie Wenjack and thousands like him – as we find out about ourselves, about all of us – but only when we do can we truly call ourselves, "Canada." http://secretpath.ca/
INDIGENOUS RESOURCES for EDUCATORS
We recognize and celebrate the heritage, diversity and significant contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada and acknowledge the generational impacts of colonial violence and the systemic failures that continue to happen.
We stand in solidarity all Indigenous communities who continue to are continuing to suffer from the generational impacts of colonial violence and the systemic failures and will continue to support our Indigenous communities by being commited to the work of advancing truth and reconciliation.
In working to deepen our understanding of Indigenous histories and ongoing contemporary injustices, we have assembled the following resources.
Do you have a suggestion for a resource? Contact us to share.
Download Mindfulness Everyday Indigenous Resource List
Watch films on our YouTube playlist
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada:
http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf
Indigenous Education Strategy –
Ontario Ministry of Education
Ontario's Indigenous Education Strategy is supporting First Nation, Métis and Inuit students to achieve their full potential. The Ministry of Education is committed to improving Indigenous education in Ontario, improving student achievement and well-being, and closing the achievement gap between Indigenous students and all students. This strategy has been designed to improve opportunities for First Nation, Métis and Inuit students, to increase the knowledge and awareness of all students about Indigenous histories, cultures and perspectives and contributions.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/indigenous/
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/first-nations-metis-and-inuit-studies.html
Resources from Ontario School Boards
Toronto District School Board (TDSB)
https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Community/Indigenous-Education/Resources
https://www.facebook.com/Aboriginal-Education-Centre-134394533284167/
https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Community/Indigenous-Education/Contact-the-Indigenous-Education-Centre
York Region District Schol Board (YRDSB)
http://www.yrdsb.ca/schools/denison.ss/library/Pages/Research-Tools.aspx
https://www2.yrdsb.ca/student-support/first-nations-metis-and-inuit-education
Peel District School Board
https://www.peelschools.org/about/inclusion/indigenous/Pages/default.aspx
Wawartha Pine RIdge DIstrict School Board (KPRS)
https://www.kprschools.ca/en/our_schools/resources/programsoffered/
firstnationmetisandinuit/indigenousresources.html
Durham Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB)
https://www.dpcdsb.org/programs-services/indigenous-education
First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) Education Resources and Professional Learning Opportunities - ETFO
https://www.etfo.ca/BuildingAJustSociety/FNMI/pages/fnmieducation.aspx
School Mental Health Assist - Mental Health Support for Indigenous Students
https://smho-smso.ca/blog/online-resources/mental-health-support-for-indigenous-students/
Hope for Wellness Help Line provides immediate mental health counselling and crisis intervention to all indigenous peoples in English, French, Cree, Ojibway or Inuktitut upon request. 1-855-242-3310
The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) offers a 24-hour Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line with culturally specific mental health and addiction supports for adults, youth, and families in Ontario in both English and French, please call: 1-877-767-7572
Native Child and Family Services of Toronto
Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
Talk 4 Healing Helpline providing support, help and resources for Indigenous women in Ontario.
Anishnawbe Toronto provides mental health counseling and traditional counseling that provides support which considers the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical needs of every individual.
CAMH Aboriginal Service – The Aboriginal Service provides outpatient groups and individual counselling to Aboriginal people experiencing substance use and other mental health challenges.
Brighter Days: An Indigenous Wellness Program Brighter Days: An Indigenous Wellness Program by Kids Help Phone was developed by Indigenous experts to empower First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth with skills, tools and resources to support their well-being.
Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program
The IRSRHSP has a National Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419 that provides immediate emotional support for former Indian Residential School students. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
CAMH has also created this comprehensive list of supports.
Indigenous Education - Canadian School boards Association (CSBA)
http://www.cdnsba.org/resources/aboriginal-education
The CSBA Indigenous Education Committee addresses Indigenous issues at the national level and seeks to develop and support a framework for analysis of how we can contribute to action/ deliberation on those issues by member associations. Below is a listing of valuable news and resources.
The Assembly of First Nations has developed a Tool Kit for Educators to use in classrooms to raise awareness and provide history and a cultural perspective for Indigenous Education that has become so important to our Canadian Identity. Find the free tools on Apple iTunes at https://education.afn.ca/toolkit/
Educators can sign up to get a free Legacy School toolkit from the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund! Toolkits include copies of the Secret Path book, educational resources (virtual & in class), a reconciliACTIONGuidebook, tote bag, and more. Educators also get access to free virtual resources (K-12) and live engagements with Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians, artists, scientists, writers and more! www.LegacySchools.ca
Indigenous Canada University of Alberta Course - FREE
Indigenous Canada is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada.
From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores key issues facing Indigenous peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations.
Indigenous Canada is for students from faculties outside the Faculty of Native Studies with an interest in acquiring a basic familiarity with Indigenous/non-Indigenous relationships.
Registration is now open
https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/indigenous-canada/index.html
The fur trade and other exchange relationships,
Land claims and environmental impacts,
Legal systems and rights,
Political conflicts and alliances,
Indigenous political activism,
Contemporary Indigenous life, art and its expressions.
Delivery: Online
Commitment: 12 weeks of study, 2—3 hours/week
This course consists of twelve modules, each with a series of:
video lectures,
a set of course notes and course glossary,
and required and recommended readings.
Not open to students with credit in NS200. Not designed for Native Studies majors.
Indigenous Awareness Canada
The World Leader in Indigenous Awareness Training
https://indigenousawarenesscanada.com/
100% Indigenous Created and Owned
Indigenous Awareness Canada offers Online Indigenous Awareness Training and facilitates in-person workshops. Our mission is to assist you, and all Canadians, to learn about Canada's Indigenous People and to help non-indigenous Canadians and Indigenous peoples move toward reconciliation.
We offer Indigenous Awareness Certification and Training approved by employers across Canada. Get your Certification from the original and most widely recognized Aboriginal Awareness training company.
Beyond Indigenous awareness training, Indigenous Awareness Canada can help you succeed with your organization's needs for meaningful Indigenous Consultation and successful Outreaching, Recruitment, and Retention of Indigenous employees.
Online Indigenous Awareness Training
Indigenous Awareness Training Workshop
Outreaching, Recruitment and Retention Workshop
Indigenous Communication & Consultation Workshop