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July-August 2017

Inside the battle for bilingual education in Nunavut schools

A new bill could help the territory reach its goal to establish a bilingual education system

Allyson Aritcheta@ariCheddar

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Ours is a country of rich history—but not all Canadian stories are told equally. In this special report, This tackles 13 issues—one per province and territory—that have yet to be addressed and resolved by our country in a century and a half Although the last residential school in Canada closed in […] More »
July-August 2017

Canada has failed its Indigenous women and girls

Even after years of resistance, more needs to be done for Manitoba’s murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls

Justine Ponomareff

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Ours is a country of rich history—but not all Canadian stories are told equally. In this special report, This tackles 13 issues—one per province and territory—that have yet to be addressed and resolved by our country in a century and a half For decades, Indigenous women in Canada have been resisting […] More »
July-August 2017

Why are First Nations men overrepresented in the Yukon’s penal system?

No formal Gladue report system currently exists in the territory, which could help reduce recidivism among Indigenous offenders

Rhiannon Russell@rhrussell

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Ours is a country of rich history—but not all Canadian stories are told equally. In this special report, This tackles 13 issues—one per province and territory—that have yet to be addressed and resolved by our country in a century and a half In 2015, the auditor general of […] More »
July-August 2017

Q&A: Canadian artist Adrian Stimson on Canada 150 and diverse storytelling

In conversation with the curator behind Vancouver Queer Arts Festival's UnSettled

Carine Abouseif@carineabouseif

How were you chosen to curate UnSettled? I was approached in August when they had already created the UnSettled theme, linked to reconciliation. In taking it on, I decided to drop the reconciliation piece, since it’s a fundamental part of a lot of things Indigenous people are doing right now. I also wanted to give […] More »
July-August 2017

Meet the man tackling the over-incarceration of Indigenous people in Canadian prisons

On Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow and his Gladue reports

Kyle Edwards@kylejeddie

Nearly every day, Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow hears stories from Indigenous men and women that they’ve often never told. The exchange usually begins at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, within which Indigenous people accused of various crimes are awaiting trial. Their stories are turned into a Gladue report, a document that outlines their personal history and how they were […] More »

Canada 150: Resistance, empowerment, calls for change

A special feature by Indigenous writers and writers of colour

This Magazine

This year, Canada celebrates 150 years since Confederation. It’s a milestone that’s been marketed since the clock struck midnight on January 1: There are parties to go to, maple leaf-encrusted foods to buy, special landmarks to take selfies with. Celebrating Canada’s birthday this year should be, according to many, a fun time. But it’s hard […] More »
May-June 2017

Sixties Scoop survivors are still fighting for justice

After eight years in court, Ottawa has finally awarded Sixties Scoop survivors with reparations. But the battle is not over

Justine Ponomareff

After decades of self-advocacy by Indigenous people, parts of Canada’s painful colonial legacy, such as residential schools, have finally been publicly acknowledged by the government. But the same government has yet to apologize for the Sixties Scoop, an era where thousands of Indigenous children were “scooped” from their communities to be fostered and adopted by white […] More »
March-April 2017

Q&A: Renu Mandhane of the Ontario Human Rights Commission

The chief commissioner on the fight to end solitary confinement in provincial jails

Carine Abouseif

In the fall of 2016, an inmate spoke to Renu Mandhane through a small hole in the glass at a provincial jail in Thunder Bay, Ont. He told her he had been in segregation, or solitary confinement, awaiting trial for more than four years. The Ontario Human Rights Commission and Mandhane, the chief commissioner, brought […] More »
January-February 2017

Q&A: Why a Mohawk community established its own legal system—the first of its kind in the country

In conversation with Joyce King

Blair Mlotek@blairmlo

The Mohawk community of Akwesasne straddles the Ontario, New York, and Quebec borders. As of August 2016, it holds the first Indigenous legal system in Canada outside of a federal framework. The Council is a community government that is elected by residents and is composed of elected chiefs from each district along with a Grand […] More »

Inside the Toronto rally for Standing Rock

Hundreds showed up in the city to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline

Mick Sweetman@MickSweetman

As more than 200 people rallied against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Toronto’s financial district Saturday night it began to snow. The significance of the snow wasn’t lost on the attendees: their slogan, after all, is “water is life,” and they welcomed it joining them on the cold night. The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is a […] More »
January-February 2017

2017 Kick-Ass Activist: Vanessa Udy

Whether it’s through her work as a law student or a volunteer, Vanessa Udy wants all Quebecers to feel included

Jennifer M. Joseph@IamJenniferMJ

In 2011, the Navajo Nation made headlines after an American clothing retailer appropriated its name and started using its traditional patterns on products. It wasn’t the first time Indigenous communities faced such appropriation. That’s why Vanessa Udy, a corporate commercial lawyer from Montreal, is trying to find solutions to these problems. This year, the 30-year-old took a leap […] More »