“FEATURE”

150 years of resistance on Indigenous land

As many in the country mark Canada’s 150th anniversary today, many Indigenous peoples have been refusing to celebrate, and have sustained efforts to resist Canada’s colonial history.

Just Wednesday night, a group of Indigenous people and supporters led an action to erect a teepee on Parliament Hill as a symbolic gesture to reclaim traditional Algonquin territory. It was also done to as an education against revisionist Canadian history promoted by the state and corporations. Nine people were arrested and it took all night for the RCMP to “allow” for the action to proceed.

We have compiled a selection of reading that illustrates that the reconciliation process is not over. Far from a patriotic celebration, Canada Day allows us to reflect on Canada’s colonial past and, for activists, what we can do to move the reconciliation process forward.

• Indigenous protesters in Ottawa erect teepee on Parliament Hill to counter Canada 150 celebrations

• Deer: Why the Parliament Hill teepee matters for reconciliation

• ‘Don’t speak to us that way’: Indigenous activists react to reporters

• Members of Okanagan-Syilx Nation are unsettling Canada 150. It’s time for Canadians to listen.

• ‘If We Are All Here to Stay…’: To live together peaceably, First Nations and Canadians have much more work to do.

• Canada is an abusive partner: Why one Indigenous woman won’t be celebrating Canada 150

• Alanis Obomsawin’s documentaries chronicle Indigenous life and resistance

• Unsettling Canada a necessary wake-up call

• News Conference – Families Discuss MMIWG Inquiry

• Gord Downie, when it comes to collective Indigenous resilience, let us speak for ourselves

• Canada’s Hidden History, My Mother and Me | The New York Times

• Ryerson students’ union chooses not to celebrate Canada 150