A fun way we engaged with National Indigenous History Month!
We hope our SVS BINGO card was an inspiration for your own activities at the corporate, school or community level.
For the month of June, we celebrated the diverse cultures and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples across Canada with a fun game of bingo! SVS used the bingo card as a way to share information, resources, stories and events.
This week for our final post, we are shouting out a few individuals who inspire us and some great resources referenced by our staff over the month- see below!
Hope everyone enjoyed a celebratory month, thanks for playing bingo along with us.
Here are a few of the inspiring people we have come across and wanted to shout out:
John Manitowabi
To honor June 21st our team had the pleasure of watching a live presentation by John Manitowabi. John shared the history of his community and their values.
John Manitowabi is the Director of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources for Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island. He has the responsibility for management and administration of various program areas under the department including lands, estates, surveying, forestry, species at risk and oil and gas well abandonment.
He's also one of the negotiation team members for the Wiikwemkoong Boundary Islands claim that is currently in final stages of negotiations with Ontario and Canada.
Just recently John completed his level one and two professional lands management certification with Vancouver Island University and the National Aboriginal Lands Management Association.
Prior to becoming the Lands director, he was the land use planner for the department for seven years and a tribal game officer for five years.
John has also been the chair of the Ontario Aboriginal Lands Association and board director of the National Aboriginal Land Managers Association for the past few years.
James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw
James, a descendant of Turtle Mountain, is a renowned international speaker, digital creator, and author of 'The Seven Generations and the Seven Grandfather Teachings.'
His keen insights were developed through speaking with and recording elders and native language speakers across North America as part of the Ojibwe Language Dictionary Project.
James is a passionate advocate for sharing how to live a life of ‘mino-bimaadiziwin,’ the good life.
You can follow James on FB, Youtube, Instagram or TikTok. Check out his website here.
Sandy Boucher
From Sandy's Youtube channel:
Non-Indigenous ask us all the time, ‘If it is so bad in the communities, why do you keep going back?' The answer is simple – it’s home. There we do not need to explain why we see things the way we do, why certain things hurt us more than others. There we are surrounded by people who get it. But, Indigenous-centered spaces are SO incredibly rare outside of our communities. So I wanted to create one, here, online. A space where Indigenous felt comfortable and non-Indigenous could learn without the power to hurt us. Welcome to Through Indigenous Eyes.
Check out Sandy's channel here
Here is Sandy's website
Here at SVS, we are constantly learning! Here are some great resources that our staff referenced and shared during the month of June:
Destination Indigenous
To plan an Indigenous experience, check out this vacation planning website. Very cool site with lots of resources and beautiful images: https://destinationindigenous.ca/
For millennia, Indigenous Peoples have called these lands home. Destination Indigenous invites you to see the beauty of nature through our eyes, experience the best of our legendary hospitality, and feel a deep connection through our shared traditions and storied history. Join Indigenous guides on a transformative journey on their traditional territories, and enjoy the wit and wisdom of storytelling handed down through generations. Indigenous tourism awaits.
Downie and Wenjack Fund website
Inspired by Chanie Wenjack’s story and Gord Downie's call to build a better Canada, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund aims to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
"Our goal is to improve the lives of Indigenous people by building awareness, education, and connections between all peoples in Canada."
Check out the website here: https://downiewenjack.ca/
Beyond 94- Truth and Reconciliation in Canada
In March 2018, CBC News launched Beyond 94, a website that monitors progress on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action.
The site provides up-to-date status reports on each call to action, as well as extensive summaries explaining those status reports. It includes in-depth features and short video documentaries that tell some of the community stories behind the calls to action. It also features residential school survivors sharing their experiences.
Go to the website here: https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/beyond-94/
Seven Generations Education Institute
A great education resource including information about the Seven Grandfather teachings:
https://www.7generations.org/seven-grandfather-teachings/
Online Language Resources:
Ojibwe People's Dictionary
The Sound of our Language
https://ojibwe.net/lessons/beginner/the-sound-of-our-language/
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