Project 57: Read our unlearning and learning together posts.
Women’s Memorial March and film screening for MMIWG2S
Memorial March on February 14th
The Women’s Memorial March is held every year on February 14th. This march is intended to honour the lives of women, and girls who have been murdered or are missing, including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2-spirit people (MMIWG2S).
In the morning, relatives of those who have been murdered or gone missing meet with activists from women’s rights organizations. The march itself begins at noon and proceeds through the streets of the Downtown East Side (DTES). The event also includes a moment of silence held for the stolen loved ones and offerings of prayers and roses in their honour. The event concludes with speeches given by activists, intended to galvanize us into action and refuse to accept further violence against women, girls, and 2-spirit people in our homes and communities.
Founded in 1992, the Women’s Memorial March “is organized and led by Indigenous women in the DTES because women – especially Indigenous women, girls, two spirit and trans people – face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis.” (Women’s Memorial March, homepage, 2023).
Start: 10:30 a.m. at the Carnegie Community Center building, located at 401 Main Street
March begins: 12pm (leaving from the Carnegie Community Center and processing through the streets of the DTES)
Film screening on February 12th
As a tribute to the Women’s Memorial March and to raise awareness about violence perpetrated against Indigenous women and girls, the Cinematheque is hosting a screening of the film "Broken Angel" on February 12th at 7pm:
“The powerful debut feature of InNiNeWak filmmaker Jules Arita Koostachin (Attawapiskat First Nation), inspired by her time as the director and acting CEO of an emergency shelter for Indigenous women in Toronto. The film follows Angel, portrayed by Sera-Lys McArthur (Nakota Nation), who endures spiritual, physical, and emotional abuse from her partner. Determined to protect her daughter Tanis (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation), Angel flees with her to an Indigenous-run halfway house for abused women. There they find support, connection, culture, and hope for a new beginning. Addressing themes of domestic violence, resilience, survival, and kinship, powerfully reflects a reality shared by many Indigenous women today.”
Half of the ticket proceeds go to the memorial march and the DTES Women's Centre.
This screening of Angel is part of The Cinematheque’s ongoing series “Our Stories to Tell.” This is a “monthly series dedicated to showcasing the new wave of inspired Indigenous storytelling in film, as well as spotlighting up-and-coming Indigenous artists across Turtle Island and beyond.”
SFU connection: SFU Health Sciences professor and film maker, Dr. Lyana Patrick (Stellat’en First Nation), is the advisor for the “Our Stories to Tell” series.
National Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2-Spirit Awareness Day
February 14 isn’t the only time to honour murdered and missing Indigenous women, girls, and 2-Spirit people. The National Day of Awareness is on May 05, and is also known as Red Dress Day. This day honours the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, 2 spirit, and gender diverse people in Canada by encouraging learning and building awareness to end violence against Indigenous women, girls, 2 spirit, and gender diverse people.
The library has a guide to support further learning about MMIWG2S.
~ January 21, 2025
Learning about the living, thriving Indigenous Nations all around us
On the Traditional territories: SFU's land acknowledgments page, there is an excellent set of introductions and resources for preparing and delivering land acknowledgments.
Within those resources is a reference to the nearly 200 First Nations and their languages and dialects in BC. There are links to the 10 First Nations' where parts of each SFU campus are located. Each link has overviews of contemporary governance and issues as well as current and future plans for each Indigenous Nation.
Linking out to those First Nations' webpages consistently calls attention to the fact that we work and live on the stolen lands belonging to Indigenous People who are currently living, thriving, working, and building on their lands. The Indigenous People who have been and are currently impacted by the theft of these lands should be in the front of our minds when we acknowledge any lands or think about where we are living and working. Indigenous People live here, have lived here, and will always live here.
As you go further in your decolonizing journey, please use those webpages to read and learn about the current publicly available work the Nations are doing to preserve, govern, and support their lands, people, and businesses. If you are looking for a place to start, native-land.ca provides a map that can give you an idea of whose lands you live on.
On the First Nations' web pages, you will find information, that includes but is not limited to, housing projects, education initiatives, community planning, and taxation.
An example of both an education initiative and community planning in the Katzie First Nation, is the beautiful new Katzie Early Years Centre. The new Centre provides a safe and fulfilling space for the young children that attend the programs there.
In addition to all of the other good work being done to run each Nation, you might also find information about any ongoing legal cases between Indigenous Nations and the BC province or corporations. These legal cases only become necessary after years, or even decades, of advocacy and good-faith pressure by Indigenous People and Nations to compel the BC or Canadian governments or corporations to adhere to the contracts and agreements that they have made with sovereign Indigenous Nations.
An example of this is right now the Katzie First Nation is involved in a lawsuit “alleging breaches of a contract to mitigate impacts of power generation work on the Alouette River.” (Katzie.ca) This suit outlines 25 years of alleged failure by the province of BC and BC Hydro to meet contractual obligations to mitigate the cultural, ecological and economic damage caused to the river by the Alouette Dam.
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When you are considering where you live, where you work, and plans for your future, I would encourage you to also learn what the Indigenous Nation's vision is for their lands as part of your thoughts and plans for your home.
As many of these Indigenous Nations often do not get positive, meaningful, and sovereign coverage in the news or popular culture, it is important to take the time to seek out this information so you know what each Nation publicly announces.
It is a good idea to explore these webpages when you are preparing to deliver a land acknowledgment. Ask yourself questions like: what are the land plans are for the Indigenous Nations we are on? What issues has a Nation made publicly available? Has a First Nation asked for public support for a particular issue? Is a Nation celebrating the completion of a project? Knowing this information and checking in on it regularly will help you frame your calls to action when you offer a land acknowledgment, and more importantly help inform the decisions you make about the places where you live and work.
~September 29, 2023
Attend the It Stops Here book launch with Rueben George and Guests
The book launch is being put on in collaboration between Massy Arts Society, Massy Books, SFU Library, and SFU Public Square.
Salish Weave Box Sets: Art & Storytelling Project companion website
The Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre is now open!
Tea & Teachings: Conversations around Indigenizing Curriculum
What is curriculum indigenization? What forms can curriculum indigenization take? How can instructors implement curriculum indigenization in their classes?
If you are a faculty or teaching staff member with an interest in these questions, the Centre for Educational Excellence and SFU Library’s Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre invite you to a series entitled “Tea and Teachings: Conversations about Decolonizing and Indigenizing Curriculum.”
Using conversation and co-learning processes, this series will help you to develop foundational knowledge related to indigenizing and decolonizing curriculum.
~ September 27, 2021
Salish Weave Storytelling Project
The ICRC is thrilled to welcome Courtney Vance to the team! Courtney is joining as a Research Assistant on a project looking into art as pedagogy and storywork, as described by Q’um Q’um Xiiem in her 2008 book, Indigenous Storywork. The project will be centred around the art and artists included in the Salish Weave Box Sets, and has been generously funded by the Salish Weave Fund at the Victoria Foundation.
Courtney (Selkirk First Nation) graduated in 2021 with her BA in Sociology and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, alongside a minor in Anthropology. She is starting her Masters in the Sociology program in September 2021. She’s particularly interested in integrating Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing at the forefront of urban planning on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nations.
The Salish Weave Storytelling Project will invite the artists represented in the Salish Weave Box Sets to have a conversation about their artwork. These conversations will be recorded, with participants receiving a copy, and will be made available through SFU Library. It is envisioned that many SFU Faculties and Departments will be interested in hearing from the artists, from Indigenous Studies, to Contemporary Art, to Literature, and Education. Future ideas for these conversations include developing post secondary curricula around the Box Sets, and collaborating with campus partners on events.
~ June 10, 2021
Welcome to the Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre!
Taanshi and welcome! My name is Ashley Edwards, and I’m the Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre librarian. I want to extend a warm welcome to you, and share a little about what can be found within the Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre (ICRC).
Both historically and currently, education systems often repress, negate, and ignore Indigenous knowledge. Because of this it can be hard to know where to begin making changes in your own teaching. The ICRC gives educators at all stages a place to explore and get started with interrupting these harmful practices by Indigenizing curriculum.
Start your journey with six core resources
We have curated these online ICRC resources specifically to assist faculty, instructors, and TA/TM/RAs with understanding how and why to decolonize and Indigenize curriculum.
Learn about why this work is important, what Indigenous pedagogy is, and find resources you can use in your classroom. Exploring further, you will find assignment examples and much more as our site expands.
The six core pages are supported by an increasing number of pages on topics like:
Questions? Feedback? Suggestions? Please reach out to Ashley at avandijk@sfu.ca