Resources and Further Learning

  • There are over 12,000 Indigenous peoples currently living within Durham Region as of the 2016 census, which is an increase by 3000 people since 2011.

  • There is archeological proof of Indigenous peoples living here for over 14,000 years and oral history states that Indigenous peoples have called this land home since time immemorial.

  • Link to a CTV News article about a historical tool found recently in Edmonton.

  • Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway language) is the traditional language of this territory. There are 5 dialects of Ojibway, including the Mississauga dialect.

  • Mississauga peoples are part of the larger Anishinaabek nation. 

  • Be a Good Ancestor - Leona Prince and Gabrielle Prince.

  • When We Were Alone - David A. Robertson

  • Fatty Legs: A True Story - Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

  • Birdsong – Julie Flett

  • Shi-shi-etko – Nicola Campbell

  • I am not a Number – Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer

  • You Hold Me Up – Monique Gray-Smith

  • Raven Brings the Light – Robert Budd and Roy Henry Vickers

  • My Heart Fills With Happiness – Monique Gray-Smith

  • Spirit Bear and Children Make History – Dr. Cindy Blackstock

  • Spirit Bear: Fishing for Knowledge, Catching Dream - Dr. Cindy Blackstock

  • Spirit Bear: Echoes of the Past - Dr. Cindy Blackstock

  • Spirit Bear: Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams - Dr. Cindy Blackstock

  • Nibi’s Water Song – (in French too) Sunshine Tenasco

  • Nibi is Water – (in French and Anishinaabemowin too) Joanne Robertson

  • Not my Girl – Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiek-Fenton

  • A Promise is a Promise – Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak

  • Way Back Then – Neil Christopher

  • Bowwow Powwow – (In French as well) – Brenda J. Child

  • Wild Eggs – Susie Napayok

  • What’s My Superpower? – (in French as well) – Aviaq Johnston

  • Resurgence - Engaging with Indigenous Narratives and Cultural Expressions in and Beyond the Classroom

  • Hunting By Stars - Cherie Dimaline

  • True Reconciliation - Jody Wilson - Raybould

  • Me Funny - Compiled by Drew Hayden Taylor

  • The Night Wanderer - Drew Hayden Taylor

  • Buffalo is the New Buffalo - Chelsea Vowel 

  • Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer

  • Medicines to Help Us - Christi Belcourt 

  • The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance - Gord Hill

  • The Theory of Crows - David Robertson

  • In This Together - Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail

  • The Sentence - Louise Erdrich 

  • My Conversations with Canadians - Lee Maracle 

  • Dancing on Our Turtle's Backs - Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

  • Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues in Canada - Chelsea Vowel 

  • Genocidal Love: A Life After Residential School - Bevann Fox

  • The Reason You Walk - Wab Kinew

  • A Knock on the Door: The Essential History of Residential Schools - Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

  • Final Report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada - Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

  • Five Little Indians - Michelle Good

On March 31, we recognize National Indigenous Languages Day. We have compiled language resources for further learning.

 Online Resources

 Facebook Language Pages

 Language Apps

The following language apps are available to download on Apple and Android app stores:

  • Michif Lessons
  • Michif to Go - Metis language
  • Michif Conversation
  • Cree FHQTC
  • Moose Cree Language App
  • Anishinaabemowin Niwasa (Ojibway language)
  • Nishnaabemdaa - Ojibway language
  • Speak Mohawk
  • First Voices Keyboard
  • Speak Cayuga
  • Speak Seneca
  • Speak Oneida
  • Speak Tuscarora
  • Speak Onondaga
  • Uqausiit Pinnguarutiit - Inuktitut language
  • Inuktitut M(A)L

Please visit our National Indigenous History Month webpage for resources and activities for students and families.

About National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Monday, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. On this day of solemn reflection, we honour the children who never returned home from residential schools, and offer thoughts and prayers to the survivors, their families, and all those impacted by this painful history. Acknowledging the history and the truth of the ongoing impacts of residential schools is essential to the reconciliation process. We recognize that this is a time for our Durham Catholic learning community to renew our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. Staff and students demonstrate commitment to Truth and Reconciliation by learning about the impacts of colonization, collaborating with First Nation, Métis, and Inuit community and partners, and utilizing holistic approaches to student success. By engaging staff, students, and families in deepening our learning about residential schools, Treaties, as well as the ongoing contributions of Indigenous knowledge, culture, and perspective, DCDSB prioritizes Indigenous Education across the system. 

Ordering Orange Shirts

If you want to order your own orange shirts, please try the following links or do some research to see if the company is supporting Orange Shirt Society initiatives.

Resources

Below, please find information that you can use for your personal learning during the month of  September, so that the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day can be part of your journey toward reconciliation.  The order is a suggested progression but is not intended to be a daily plan to follow. 

Please Note: The resources included are about Residential Schools and the content can be triggering and graphic. Please watch/read in totality before sharing within your family.

All Month 

Resources for the Month of September

Week 1: Introduction – About the Land Acknowledgement

Suggested Reading

  • Be a Good Ancestor *K - Leona Price
  • We Give our Thanks *K - Alyssa M. General
  • The Berry Song *K – Michaela Goade
  • This is How I Know *K - Joshua Mangeshig
  • The Water Walker - Joanne Robertson
  • There’s Something in the Water – Ingrid R.G. Waldron (Canada)
  • Fresh Banana Leaves -Jessica Hernandez (Global)
  • Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Monique Gray Smith, et al. (Canada)
  • Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer (Canada)

Suggested Videos/Articles

Week 2: Communities Near DCDSB and Beyond – Curve Lake, Chippewas of Georgina Island, Scugog, Mississaugas of the Credit

Suggested Reading

  • I Hope *K - Monique Gray Smith
  • When We are Kind*K - Monique Gray Smith
  • You Hold Me Up - Monique Gray Smith
  • Beautiful You, Beautiful Me - Tasha Spillet-Summer
  • What’s My Superpower *K - Aviaq Johnston
  • 21 things you may not know about the Indian Act-Bob Joseph
  • This Place: 150 Years Retold (graphic anthology)

Suggested Videos/Articles

Week 3: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day/Residential Schools

Suggested Reading

  • Every Child Matters *K – Phyllis Webstad
  • When We Were Alone – David Roberston
  • The Day I Became Number 54 – Lorrie Gallant
  • Shi-shi-etko – Nicola Campbell
  • Shin-chi’s Canoe – Nicola Campbell
  • Dear Canada: These are my Words: The Residential School Diary of Violet Pesheens (fiction novel)
  • Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools: A Memoir by Theodore Fontaine (Secondary)
  • They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School-Bev Sellars (Secondary)
  • Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues in Canada by Chelsea Vowel (secondary students and adults)

Suggested Videos/Articles

Week 4: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day/Residential Schools

Suggested Reading

  • Orange Shirt Day Books:
  • With Our Orange Hearts *K – Phyllis Webstad
  • Phyllis’s Orange Shirt – Phyllis Webstad
  • The Orange Shirt Story – Phyllis Webstad
  • When I was Eight (PB) or Fatty Legs (novel) -Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton
  • I am not a Number - Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
  • I Lost My Talk – Rita Joe
  • Secret Path – Gord Downie and Jeff Lemire

Suggested Videos/Articles

Continued Learning

We will be working to continue providing Indigenous Education resources throughout the school year.

Please find below some resources for the dates of significance in Indigenous Education for the month of November, including Treaties Recognition Week, International Inuit Day, Indigenous Veterans Day, Louis Riel Day, and Rock Your Mocs Week.

 All Learning begins with the Land Acknowledgement: 

We respectfully acknowledge that we, here in the Durham Region, are on the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island.  

Reflection Questions

  • What do you feel when you hear the land acknowledgment?  
  • If you were asked to say the acknowledgment, why would you find this important?  
  • Which treaty partner is benefitting more from the treaties?  
  • Are you aware of your roles and responsibilities as a treaty person?  
  • How is learning about Treaties a part of responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action?
  • How do you reconcile with the land?  


PLEASE NOTE:  The resources included, and the content can be triggering and graphic. PLEASE watch/read in totality. 

Treaties Recognition Week - First Full Week of November

Suggested Reading

  • A Promise is A Promise - Michael ArvaarlukKusgak, Robert Munsch (Resource also available in French and is Kindergarten-friendly)
  • Treaty Words - Aimée Craft (Resource also available in French)
  • We Are All Treaty People – Maurice Switzer (Resource also available in French)
  • Treaty Tales – Betty Lynxleg 
  • Dakota Talks About Treaties – Kelly Crawford (Resource also available in French)
  • Alex Shares His Wampum Belt – Kelly Crawford (Resource also available in French)
  • There’s Something in the Water – Ingrid R.G. Waldron (Canada) 
  • Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Monique Gray Smith, et al. (Canada) 
  • Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer (Canada) 
  • Red Alert - Daniel R. Wildcat (Resource also available in French)
  • Land-Based Education, Embracing the Rhythms of the Earth from An Indigenous Perspective, Herman J. Michell, PHD 
  • To Be a Water Protector, The Rise of the Wiindigoo Slayers, Winona LaDuke 

Suggested Videos

  • Unceded (Intermediate, Secondary)  

Additional Resources

International Inuit Day - November 7

Suggested Reading

  • Feelings with Tuktu and Friends - Nadia Sammortuk (Kindergarten)
  • Tundra Friends:  Sometimes I Feel Series (francaisaussi) - AmielSandland and Nadia Sammortuk (Kindergarten) (Resource also available in French)
  • My Arctic 1,2,3 – Michael AvaarlukKusugak (Kindergarten)
  • A Walk on the Tundra – Anna Ziegler and Rebecca Hainnu 
  • Fishing with Grandma – Maren Vsetula and Susan Avingaq (Kindergarten)
  • When I Was 8 and Not My Girl – Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton (Resource also available in French)
  • Fatty Legs and A Stranger at Home – Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton (Resource also available in French)
  • Tainna, The Unseen Ones, Short Stories 

Suggested Videos

  • Project Naming : (Intermediate, Secondary) (Resource also available in French)

Indigenous Veterans Day - November 8

Suggested Reading

  • Meet Tom Longboat – Elizabeth McLeod (Resource also available in French)

Suggested Videos

Louis Riel Day - November 16

Suggested Reading

  • A Girl Called Echo series –Katherena Vermette, Scott B. Henderson and Donovan Yacivk (Resource also available in French)
  • Louis Riel Day: The Fur Trade Project – Deborah L. Delaronde 
  • The Rebel Gabriel Dumont – David Robertson (Resource also available in French)
  • Women of the Fur Trade-Frances Koncan 
  • Buffalo is the New Buffalo-Chelsea Vowel 
  • Medicines To Help Us, Traditional Metis Plant Use, Christi Belcourt 

Suggested Videos

Rock Your Mocs Week

Suggested Reading

  • Rock Your Mocs – Laurel Goodluck

Suggested Videos

Continued Learning and Resources

We will be working to continue providing Indigenous Education resources throughout the school year.