National Indigenous Peoples Day is upon us once again and there is much to reflect on from the past year on what the contributions of Indigenous peoples mean to the North.
News/North has consciously made an effort to bring Indigenous issues to the forefront to help highlight contributions that have been, and are being made to our society by First Nations, Inuit, Metis people.
Last November, we were grateful to be part of a decolonizing media event hosted by Dechinta Bush University where there was much discussion involving Northern media outlets to reflect on issues involving Indigenous people and ensuring their voices are represented and their positive experiences are properly shared.
A main lesson from that event we heard was that too often news stories relating to Indigenous people are negative and feed into colonial stereotypes and narratives from which First peoples are trying to break free.
Since that time, we have been actively trying to ensure that Indigenous issues and stories are properly and fairly represented and that positive stories -- of which there are many -- are highlighted and shared.
This edition, for example, highlights the leadership in arts that seems to be growing year-by-year among Indigenous authors. Longtime columnist and recent scholar Antoine Mountain has released his first memoir book which adds to many works that are emerging among Indigenous northerners. Similarly, another of our contributing columnists, Catherine Lafferty, who launched her first book last year, is seeking new ways of modernizing and sharing Dene legends and on-the-land experiences through the art of puppetry.
Several self-government agreements have been, or are in the process of being finalized. Northerners recently celebrated the historic 35th anniversary of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement which has given the Western Arctic Inuit self-governance and a large amount of control over resources in the Beaufort-Delta. Similarly, the Akaitcho Self-Government Agreement is expected to be signed within the next year.
In other areas, Indigenous languages -- of which there are nine in the NWT-- are being revitalized. Angela James, director of the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat, was highly optimistic this week when she spoke with News/North, stating that recent multi-year and annual funding increases in the 2019 federal budget and new GNWT education policy documents will help allow future Indigenous generations speak the languages and have them taught in their schools.
Similar positive stories can be seen in leadership roles being taken by Indigenous peoples in government, business, sports, and other areas of life.
All of these are worthy achievements that should be celebrated by Canadians.
This National Indigenous Peoples Day is perhaps partly overshadowed by the release of the report from National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Though it focuses on a negative issue, we are pleased to see that the federal government has formally recognized the pain that has been caused to women, girls, and members of the 2SLGBTQQA community. This adds to important documents that continue to push the country forward in a more healthy direction as it applies to Indigenous relations with the Crown, adding to the Truth and Reconciliation Report, UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
Ultimately we believe that Indigenous issues, perspectives and concerns are being taken more seriously within Canadian society. It is important that they do, because Canada would not exist without the contributions of Indigenous peoples.
For all of these reasons we encourage all of our readers to celebrate the day wherever they are and give thanks to the contributions that Indigenous peoples have made in our territory.