TODAY is Indigenous Peoples Day!

Check the Hastings School website for more info on the above Coast Salish inspired project plus more beautiful art around the school.

If your child has participated in any projects celebrating Indigenous Heritage Month, please send a photo to info@hastingspac.ca – we’d love to feature it on the PAC website!

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The Hastings Anti-racism Committee (HARC) is a sub-committee of the Hastings PAC, and would like to share the following message…

Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day!!

Today is a day to recognize and celebrate the cultures and contributions of the first peoples of this land – First Nations, Metis and Inuit people. We hope you find the below links helpful for starting some conversations and planning events with your family!

1. Consider adding your name to the petition calling for all BC educators to receive mandatory training in the Truth & Reconciliation Commission and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
 

2. The First Peoples’ Map of BC has just launched. It’s a unique platform where Indigenous people can upload their local languages, cultural touchpoint and highlight local artists.
 

3. Urban Ink is a Vancouver theatre company that uplifts Indigenous and diverse voices through storytelling and performance and they are celebrating their 20th anniversary!
Check out Urban Ink

4. Orene Askew, aka DJ O Show, is a local DJ, a member of the Squamish Nation council and a motivational speaker. Also being black and a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community has given her a unique perspective and now a documentary is being made about her!
Learn More

5. Now that we can travel throughout the province again (hurrah!), maybe the Indigenous Tourism BC website can help plan your trip. 

 6. Join Autumn Peltier – 16-year-old Chief Water Commissioner from Anishinabek First Nation – in calling for an end to boil water advisories on First Nation reservations.
Tell your kids about this TEEN activist!

And now message from HARC… 

As we did for Black History Month, the PAC’s Hastings Anti-Racism Committee (HARC) will be sending out a series of emails to celebrate Indigenous Heritage Month. We encourage you, as parents, to bring some or all of these stories to your kids. Without further ado, let’s get to it!

1. Haida artist, Tamara Bell, started the growing memorial on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery – placing 215 pairs of childrens’ shoes, in tribute to the remains found by the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation at the residential school there. Above the memorial, a sign reads,

‘Know more than the names of the land. We are past the point of gratitude. It’s time to commit to more than live, work and play.’

A land acknowledgement rolls easily off most people’s tongues but how much do you know about the people you are thanking?
Learn more about the…

Musqueam Nation 
Tsleil Waututh Nation – People of the Inlet
Squamish Nation

2. Abigail Echo-Hawk, of the Pawnee Nation, and the chief research officer at the Seattle Indian Health Board, asked for PPE to help protect the community from Covid-19. She received something very different and turned it into an act of resistance and resilience.

Read the Story

3. Speaking of fashion, Supernaturals Modelling, is the first Indigenous Modelling Agency.

Learn More

4. Let’s stay in the fashion category…Christian Allaire, member of the Ojibwe Nation and a writer for Vogue magazine, has just released his first book – “The Power of Style – How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures.”

Learn More

5. Kaniehti:io Horn, member of the Mohawk Nation, hosts a new podcast – ‘Telling Our Twisted Histories,’ in which Indigenous stories are decolonized and retold.

Learn More

6. A month-long gathering and showcase of Indigenous Performing Arts and Indigenous artists has already begun as the Talking Stick Festival (TSF) continues its 20th Anniversary celebrations!

Did you know June is also Filipino Heritage Month AND Pride Month?! SO many people and stories to celebrate!!