MENU

Recommended Resources from Chief Leanne Joe

Tue, 28 Sep 2021

In our On Equity interview series, part of our 2021 Community Summit Series: Towards Equity, we talked to people working towards equity, justice and systemic change. One of the things we ask them is whether they have any recommendations for ways people can engage with these topics.

We interviewed Sxwpilemaát Siyám (Chief Leanne Joe), Lackett Joe Hereditary Chief of the Squamish Nation, and the transformative storyteller for economic reconciliation at SFU’s Community Economic Development Program. She went above and beyond with this question, sharing a comprehensive list of recommendations for learning about economic reconciliation and engaging more deeply with Indigenous histories and perspectives.

Take a look at this fantastic collection of resources, including books, podcasts, videos, and free and paid courses and training for individuals and organizations.

On this Page

Courses and Training

  • Indigenous Canada is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the University of Alberta's 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.
  • Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education is an online course from the University of British Columbia, taught by Jan Hare. The purpose of the class is to provide community leaders, service workers, teachers and managers with insight into how Indigenous histories, perspectives and worldviews impact learning.
  • Indigenous Peoples' Rights is an online course from Columbia University that examines how Indigenous Peoples have been contesting norms, institutions and global debates in the past 50 years, and how they have been re-shaping and gradually decolonizing these systems at international and national levels.
  • Ladders to Kindness Training aims to minimize lateral violence and promote lateral kindness and cultural safety through trauma-informed training programs. As a core value and emphasis for creating meaningful relationships and moving forward, reconciliation is foundational.
  • Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. offers free and paid in-person and online training programs for every Canadian. They specialize in corporate training. The blog and books are a wealth of knowledge also.
  • Reconciliation Canada's Reconciliation Dialogue Workshops create a safe place to engage all peoples in Canada in dialogue that increases understanding of our shared history, and explores the meaning of reconciliation and our respective roles to play.
  • Decolonizing Practices offers workshops, workbooks and other resources for individuals and groups who want to learn about and commit to decolonizing practices.
  • Mi tel'nexw Leadership Society offers training for leaders and organizations with Squamish-led teachings centred in decolonizing practices, indigenization, reconciliation and self-actualization.
  • Hold or attend a virtual KAIROS Blanket Exercise. The Blanket Exercise is based on using Indigenous methodologies and the goal is to build understanding about our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada by walking through pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization and resistance. Everyone is actively involved as they step onto blankets that represent the land, and into the role of First Nations, Inuit and later Métis peoples. By engaging on an emotional and intellectual level, the Blanket Exercise effectively educates and increases empathy.
  • Pulling Together: A Guide for Indigenization of Post-Secondary Institutions is a set of professional learning guides that are a result of a collaboration between BCcampus, the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training, and a Steering Committee of Indigenous education leaders. The learning series includes guides specifically for teachers and instructors; front-line staff, student services and advisors; leaders and administrators; curriculum developers; and researchers.

Books and More to Read

Must Watch

  • 8th Fire: Wab Kinew's Walk Through History (CBC) — A 500-year-old relationship ... coming out of conflict, colonialism and denial. Join Wab Kinew on a two-minute walk through 500 years of aboriginal history and then watch the entire four-part "8th Fire" series.
  • Namwayut: we are all one. Truth and reconciliation in Canada (CBC) — Chief Robert Joseph shares his experience as a residential school survivor and the importance of truth and reconciliation in Canada.
  • Treaties, reconciliation and Indigenous history in Canada (CBC) — How well do Canadians know Indigenous history? What role did treaties play in forming our country? Are the stories told through truth and reconciliation changing our understanding of Canadian history?
  • What is reconciliation? Indigenous educators have their say (TVO) — Is hanging Indigenous art in an office "reconciliation?" In this web series called "First Things First," Indigenous experts take a look at what it really means to reconcile after generations of systemic racism against Indigenous peoples.
  • Truth and Reconciliation Progress? (TVO) — Just over five years ago Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its report. In it there were almost 94 recommendations. Now there are 10 that are considered completed and even that is debatable. The TRC was established to research the harms to the Indigenous communities over the practice of sending children to residential schools. What happened as a result has been termed cultural genocide. We look at progress on true reconciliation in Canada.
  • Beyond 94 — An immersive website on the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a curated selection of Beyond 94 video content, as well as other videos on the theme of reconciliation, are featured in this collection.
  • National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation — Hosted by the University of Manitoba, the TRC legacy lives on here with archived statements and videos, research, reports, etc. available on this website.
  • Any video of Senator Murray Sinclair or Chief Dr. Robert Joseph is powerful and worth watching.
  • Reconciling the Power of One Story (TEDxJIBC) — Growing up, many were only exposed to media centered on white characters and white points of view. Today, in the age of reconciliation, the public is hungry to learn more about Indigenous world views. But many are grappling and flailing with education about Indigenous people and communities. Angela Sterritt takes us on a journey of how Indigenous people went from victim, to victors, in the eyes of a slowly learning public.
  • CBC Unreserved — Unreserved is the radio space for Indigenous community, culture and conversation.
  • Chief Robert Joseph’s Epiphany (short film by Andy Keen)
  • Economic Reconciliation: Paving the Way to Concrete Economic Solutions (documentary by Maurice Switzer, Andrée Cazabon and Adam Gualtieri for Reconciliation Education)

Podcasts

Here are some recommendations from ChatelaineIndigiNews and UBC Library, including:

On Equity Interviews