National Indigenous History Month 2022

Join us this June as we acknowledge, learn, and celebrate

The Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion acknowledges and celebrates the determination, resilience and dignity of the Indigenous – First Nations, Inuit and Métis – people and nations in British Columbia and Canada.

For June 2022 – National Indigenous History Month, and for June 21^st – National Indigenous Peoples Day, there are many Indigenous peoples and communities that are simultaneously coming to terms with the historic colonial past as well as celebrating their unique and customary cultures and ceremonies. There are many Canadians in colonial settler communities that want to learn, understand and embrace the processes of Truth and Reconciliation as well as to honor the beauty of Indigenous cultures that make Canada all that more extraordinary. In the midst of telling the truth and reconciling for the future, we must choose to stand with Indigenous peoples and to acknowledge their families and communities in this commemorative month and day. It is with a great sense of pride and joy as well as sadness and a profound awareness that we stand with all Indigenous peoples in this era of truth, reconciliation, redress, celebration, and grief.

It is important to consider your actions for September 30^th in acknowledgment of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as we take the time to celebrate, participate and reflect on these important commemorative occasions that acknowledges and upholds all Indigenous peoples and nations in this month of June. Let this summer, and this year, be the time for all of us to come together in a true spirit of telling the truth and reconciling for the future.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the Faculty of Medicine’s response

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was launched in 2008 with the aim of learning the truth regarding the Indian Residential School System and its consequences. This laid the foundation for the critically important work of reconciliation. As stated in the UBC Faculty of Medicine Response to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action:

The Faculty is a part of Canada’s colonial history, the impact of which continues to the present day
2015: the TRC identified 94 Calls to Action, a number of which are linked to academic institutions
2019: the Association of the Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) issued a position paper – Joint Commitment to Action on Indigenous Health
- This listed 10 separate possible actions that Canadian medical schools could undertake to advance Reconciliation efforts

Read the full response here

During National Indigenous History month, REDI encourages members of the Faculty of Medicine community to learn more about Canadas’s colonial history and the impact on Indigenous people and communities.

Learn more about the on-going work being done within the Faculty of Medicine to improve and support Indigenous health: https://www.med.ubc.ca/about/indigenous-health/

Learning and Celebrating

Watch recordings of REDI’s Indigenous Speaker Series

Indigenous Peoples of Canada

First Nations
The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada provides an in-depth look at the heritage and history of First Nations across Canada.
Xwi7xwa Guide to Land Acknowledgements
Indigenous Foundations: histories, politics, cultures of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada
The Canadian Encyclopedia: Indigenous Peoples
Explore topics from treaties, suffrage and residential schools to First Nations, Inuit and MétisNation involvement in the War of 1812.
Indigenous cinema at the National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada has a vast collection of First Nations, Inuit and Métis-created films from different periods of history and on a variety of subjects for Canadians to watch online.
Indigenous Connections
This YouTube playlist of Indigenous Peoples sharing their homelands and traditions in collaboration with Parks Canada. Indigenous Day Live broadcast on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) on June 18, 2022. https://www.aptntv.ca/

Indigenous Peoples, Health and Well-Being

Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre

Watch: Intergenerational Trauma and the Impacts of Colonial History on the Health and Wellbeing of Indigenous People

Intergenerational Trauma and the Impacts of Colonial History on the Health and Wellbeing of Indigenous People
VCH Aboriginal Health and UBC iCON (Department of Emergency Medicine)

Watch: The Unforgotten

The Unforgotten
BUILD. Films and Networked Health

A five-part film exploring the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples living in Canada. The film is accompanied by an educational toolkit. Created by BUILD. Films and Networked Health, with funding and support from the Canadian Medical Association.