Research Guides: Resources for Decolonizing Your Teaching: Introductions to Indigenous Canada

Introductions to Indigenous Canada

*Consider taking a free course to learn about Indigenous perspectives:

University of British Colombia, Reconciliation Through Education
University of Alberta, Indigenous Canada MOOC: 12 lessons explore Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. from an Indigenous perspective.Topics include the fur trade, land claims and environmental impacts, legal systems and rights, political conflicts and alliances, Indigenous political activism, and contemporary Indigenous life and art.
University of Toronto (OISE), Aboriginal Worldviews and Education

Akena, F. A. (2012). Critical analysis of the production of Western knowledge and its implications for Indigenous knowledge and decolonization. Journal of Black Studies, 43(6), 599-619.

Battell Lowman, E., & Barker, A. J. (2016). Settler: Identity and colonialism in 21st century Canada.
Winnipeg, MB: Fernwood Publishing.

Joseph, R. (2018). 21 things you may not know about the Indian Act: Helping Canadians make reconciliation with Indigenous peoples a reality. Indigenous Relations Press.

King, T. (2012). The inconvenient Indian: A curious account of Native People in North America. Toronto: Doubleday Canada.

Ladner, K. L., & Tait, M. J. (2017). Surviving Canada: Indigenous peoples celebrate 150 years of betrayal. Winnipeg, MB: Arbeiter Ring Publishing.

Loyie, L., Spear, W. K., & Brissenden, C. (2014). Residential schools: With the words and images of survivors. Brantford, ON: Indigenous Education Press.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). (2015). Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action.

Key Reading

Vowel, C. (2016). Indigenous writes: A guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit issues in Canada. Winnipeg, MB: Highwater Press.

" In 31 essays, Chelsea explores the Indigenous experience from the time of contact to the present, through five categories – Terminology of Relationships; Culture and Identity; Myth-Busting; State Violence; and Land, Learning, Law, and Treaties."

Open Access Textbook

Our stories: First peoples in Canada

This freely downloadable book is a unique multi-media resource developed with Indigenous peoples from across Canada. Eliciting an unsettling of Western authority, it encourages recognition that moves beyond a colonial lens by engaging with Indigenous histories, culture, and knowledge in a unique format that includes videos, podcasts, and interactive tools. It ncludes:

Contemporary and historic information and media
Sources about injustice and resistance
Urban and remote Indigenous perspectives in Canada
Oral stories about the lived experiences of Indigenous community members

ECHO: Ethnographic, cultureal and historical overview of Yukon's First Peoples

ECHO is a handbook that provides the most current research pertaining to Yukon First Nations peoples. Topics include archaeology, ethnology, and lifeways, relationships with newcomers (in the past and currently), the arts, and modern-day land claims.