Lived experiences

"This achievement brings us great joy and marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to the well-being of our citizens. Water is life, and we must all work together for the protection of the waters, from the smallest streams to the wetlands, to the rivers, lakes, and oceans. We borrow these lands and waters from our grandchildren, and we must look after and respect these gifts and responsibilities we have been given."

"This was such a tremendous way to start our journey. Our dreams of implementing our own curriculum, our own certifications for our teachers and our schools, that day is here."

"…While it has taken generations of our leaders to achieve this work, the signing of the Devolution Agreement is primarily for young Nunavummiut across our territory."

"We are rejoining our nations across Manitoba and Ontario  as brothers and sisters and we are seeking to include our cousins in the north. Together, we are taking back control and setting ourselves on a path to a place where there will be no hungry babies and no more hungry elders."

"Thanks to NNC’s nutrition education initiatives, seniors and children indeed all community members get to eat healthy snacks and meals, which they may not always get at home."

"I think a Survivor would naturally, as a defence, kind of take those memories and push them back into the darkness. However, Mi'kmaw culture is one of oral tradition passed down from generation to generation. It's how we come to learn, how we come to understand, right?"

"Seeing the passion and drive in ARENA participants, in the communities we have visited, and the experts that we have brought together gives a great deal of hope that together we can overcome the existential threat that climate change poses, particularly in the North."

"If someone told a younger me that one day I would be walking into the UN in New York in moccasins and a ribbon skirt, I don't know if I would have believed them."

"This was a formidable undertaking […] not just by the size and scope of the project but by the selection of people she brought together to share their cultural perspectives."

"Developing tourism isn't just about the economy. It's also about reconciliation. It's both for us, in the community, but also about changing people's perceptions of us."

One day, Northern Tutchone artist Lianne Marie Leda Charlie asked a local Elder "What comes to mind when you think of Indigenous Peoples working together?"

"This is a (once) in a lifetime film. It's not something that could have happened even 5 years ago, but we also understood the responsibility."

"For me, I know the Arts as a healing form. When you have an audience watching – they're feeling. They're not thinking. And that is how we create change in the world."

"The Moose Hide Campaign – it was easy to say that it aligned with my virtues and values, not only as an Indigenous man and my community, but also as a human being and community. Around not only how we look after our families, but how we provide love and compassion, so that our families grow up safe, comfortable, and acknowledge who they are and the gifts that they carry."

"Reconciliation is about peaceful co-existence, restoring balance in relationships, and living together in mutual respect and harmony."

"We are in the most isolated inhabited community in North America, and the change in weather patterns, shore erosion, permafrost reduction, are not lost on us, and any investments to slow the changes that Grise Fiord can participate in, is to the benefit of all."

"My family and I would benefit from the grant in order to have proper clothing and supplies that we need when we are out harvesting in the land. We would like to continue teaching our children the life skills in the land and continue the traditions we long to keep alive and pass on to our children."

"Before colonization, Indigenous people had a strong economy. When we agreed to share this beautiful territory, we were kind of cast aside, and I think there's a really important history that all of Canada needs to learn about."

"What's going to fundamentally change is the curriculum and all the teachers' work. They will have the financial tools to provide students with a safe learning environment that will have all the possible options to learn their language, learn their culture, work with Elders, and work with parents."

"Wanuskewin keeps on giving, and I like that... It won't just be archaeological stuff, it will be the depth of the cultural experience. The story of how these people lived in this environment. This didn't happen in other parts of North America - it is a plains story."

"The Survivors created this flag as a symbol of the complicated journey we are on together toward healing. I know the Survivors' Flag flying on Parliament Hill will serve as a reminder to all of us that we must continue to hear and understand the truth of residential schools."

"I have heard that many other communities all around the world are being affected by climate change. We will have to adapt, maybe change our diet. The ring seal has been one of the most important parts of our diet for generations. There is no better food than sea animals."

"The more understanding you have of an Indigenous culture, the more respect and appreciation comes along with that. And so we feel that we are the best people to represent our people, because we're coming from a place of cultural knowledge"

"The Katinnganiq project uses a "life promotion" approach to suicide prevention, which is based on the belief that all young people are capable of finding their own paths to holistic and meaningful life. We present this project as a way to provide the tools to enable youth to unlock modes of expression, economic opportunities, and emotional outlets."

"When visitors come here one of the most important things that we're trying to do is to have them see things through an Indigenous perspective. We're really hoping to build bridges of understanding, it's an important part of our mandate. It's more than just a tourism company to us, and I really believe that the way forward is building that communication between the two different cultures."

"Climate change is occurring and it's going to impact everyone, but it's especially going to impact the Manitoba Métis citizens who use the lands, water, and resources."

"The Tk'emlúps te Secwe̓pemc chose to keep this former residential school intact so that we may never forget its history. In this very building that was created to irradiate our culture, our language, and ways of being, we are using it to reclaim, renew and revitalize Secwepemc language, tradition and ways of knowing."

"The pellets we make here carry with them an economic benefit. We've turned waste into a useful product. They also carry 2 environmental benefits. We're reducing our dependence on fossil fuel driven transport to bring in external fuel sources and we're reducing the amount of material that ends up in the local landfill."

"It's been the young leadership that have really championed the solar project. They've embraced the science, they've done the research, they're passing on the teachings of the Elders and it's this energy and enthusiasm and understanding that have really brought this project to its success."

"This is extremely important because it connects us to our Indigenous values, which I think that is our systems need to evolve on which include whole personhood, purpose, belonging, confidence, respect, and relationships the way that we see ourselves in relationships with not only ourselves and others, but also the way that we see ourselves in relationship with the land.

"Blubber will be converted to oil and the omega-3s found in the oil would be used in health care products. The remainder of the meat as well as the pelts will stay in the community to increase food security and improve clothing and art opportunities for the pelts as well."

"The solar demonstration project is very reflective of First Nations values. Particularly those related to environmental sustainability and sustainable economic development."

"As a young Métis woman and mother, UNDRIP means that I have the right to be proud of my culture and the responsibility of teaching my son what it means to be Métis for future generations to carry on."

"Nishnawbe Aski Nation wants to tell you about how the Treaties have affected our Peoples from inception to this very day. This is not an easy story but it is a necessary one. We share this knowledge in order to inform, education and teach how all our Nations can move forward in a good way."

"Employees get to go out and serve communities the right way and come back with their stories about how they responded."

"I use my heritage stories in my designs...we use different Indigenous prints. They all have a really nice story, because for me, it's important to tell the story of our Indigenous people across Canada, and I've always believed fashion is also history."

"SHB Apparel means spirit of a warrior, hope for the future, and the beauty of life. So SHB Apparel is not only an apparel company, we provide resources and support those who struggle with mental health."

"Métis Crossing provides us an opportunity to share and celebrate who we are. From our perspective, we can talk about the contributions that the Métis people have made to Canada. We can talk about what our young people are doing now and what our goals are for the future."

"Colouring It Forward is an Indigenous social enterprise, whose goal is to help people to learn about Indigenous culture by reading stories and teachings from elders, having a chance to reflect on them, and also being more aware of the artwork."