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Additional Resources

Additional Resources

The following resources may assist our members to enhance their cultural competency in accordance with Call to Action #27:

What is Reconciliation

  • A video featuring the Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair, TRC Chair, explaining the reconciliation process

Resources from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission:  Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future

  • The Commission heard from more than 6,000 witnesses, most of whom survived the experience of living in the schools as students. This volume is a summary of the discussion and findings contained in the Commission’s final multi-volume report, which discusses what the Commission did and how it went about its work, as well as what it heard, read, and concluded about the schools and afterwards, based on all the evidence available to it. 

TRC YouTube Channel – videos explaining many aspects of the TRC process, including the following, which provide an overview of the TRC purpose and process:

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

  • Adopted by the General Assembly of the UN in 2007, UNDRIP is the most comprehensive international instrument on the rights of indigenous peoples. It establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world and it elaborates on existing human rights standards and fundamental freedoms as they apply to the specific situation of indigenous peoples.

Office of the Treaty Commissioner for Saskatchewan

  • The mandate of the Office of the Treaty Commissioner (OTC) is to facilitate a bilateral process to discuss treaty and jurisdictional issues between Saskatchewan First Nations and the government of Canada, with the government of Saskatchewan present as an observer.  
  • The OTC works to make sure the people of Saskatchewan have a good understanding of treaties, the treaty relationship and reconciliation, through the education system, offering a speakers bureau, holding events and sharing the stories of reconciliation initiatives taking place throughout Saskatchewan.
  • The OTC has a number of resources available to groups and individuals looking to learn and educate.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada: First Nations in Saskatchewan

  • Information about the 70 First Nations in Saskatchewan and the Treaties that cover the Province of Saskatchewan.

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations

  • The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan. The Federation is committed to honouring the spirit and intent of the Treaties, as well as the promotion, protection and implementation of the Treaty promises that were made more than a century ago.

Native Law Centre at the University of Saskatchewan

  • The Native Law Centre was founded in 1975 to facilitate access to legal education for Aboriginal peoples, to promote the development of the law and the legal system in Canada in ways which better accommodate the advancement of Aboriginal peoples and communities, and to disseminate information concerning Aboriginal peoples and the law.

Law Society of Saskatchewan Benchers' Digest Summer 2017 "National Aboriginal Day: Respecting Diversity"

Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples

  • Developed by The Advocates’ Society in partnership with the Indigenous Bar Association and the Law Society of Ontario, the Guide is intended to act as a resource for lawyers to learn about important historical and cultural elements that provide context for the professional relationship between an Indigenous person and their lawyer. The Guide also provides practical tools to help lawyers represent Indigenous clients as effectively as possible.

But I Was Wearing a Suit

  • Mini-documentary about the racism that Indigenous lawyers and law students face within the legal profession. It is a grassroots project of a group of Indigenous Lawyers, produced with the support of the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC and the Law Society of BC.

ayisiyiniwak: A Communications Guide

  • This Communications Guide was prepared by the City of Saskatoon in cooperation with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner (OTC) and with the assistance the Elders, staff and cultural advisors of the Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre (SICC). The goal of ayisiyiniwak: A Communications Guide is to increase understanding, respect and awareness of Indigenous culture to facilitate improved relationship building. This is a living document that will continue to develop as our relationships and understanding grows. Many of the practices and teachings in the following document belong to the Cree people, as the majority of Indigenous people on Treaty 6 Territory are Cree. We also wish to acknowledge the many Saulteaux and Dakota people on this territory as well. As you read this Guide, it is important to acknowledge that respectful engagement protocols, language and teachings differ from nation to nation and even within treaty territories. For example, content in this Guide may not be appropriate for communication with Indigenous people in Regina, Moose Jaw and Yorkton, which are located on Treaty 4 Territory where many Ojibwa people live. It is up to you to gain a deeper understanding of appropriate practices by working directly with Indigenous people.

National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

Reclaiming Power and Place Executive Summary

  • The National Inquiry’s Final Report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people.  The two volume report calls for transformative legal and social changes to resolve the crisis that has devastated Indigenous communities across the country.  The Final Report is comprised of the truths of more than 2,380 family members, survivors of violence, experts and Knowledge Keepers shared over two years of cross-country public hearings and evidence gathering.  It delivers 231 individual Calls for Justice directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries and all Canadians.  For the full report https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/

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