A CELEBRATION OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ATLAS OF CANADA

As a child in a residential school, Commissioner of Nunavut Nellie Kusugak never heard her language spoken, nor could she find her birthplace of Arviat marked on maps of Canada. “It made you wonder: do we even matter?” she said. Now, thanks to the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, Inuit, Métis and First Nations people have a new opportunity to see themselves on the map of Canada, and Canadians have the chance to learn how Indigenous Peoples gave shape and meaning to this land for thousands of years before European contact. Kusugak was one of 200 people who gathered at 50 Sussex in Ottawa on National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21) to celebrate the completion of this groundbreaking educational resource, produced by the RCGS with the support of Heritage Canada and in partnership with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Indspire. “We’ve come a long way,” Kusugak said. “We have so many opportunities as Indigenous Peoples today that I did not have.” That optimism was echoed by the other project partners, including Natan Obed, president of ITK, and Oliver Boulette on behalf of the Métis National Council, who spoke surrounded by a panoramic view of the Ottawa River on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin people. John Geiger, the CEO of the RCGS, thanked the project’s contributors, saying that their efforts created a resource that is an example to the world. “This atlas will help ensure that Indigenous voices in every part of this country and throughout the world are heard and understood,” he said. Mélanie Joly, [now the former] minister of Canadian heritage, said that when the IPAC project was announced one year before to the day, it signalled the federal government’s readiness to turn apology into action and renew its relationship with Indigenous Peoples in Canada. “This gives a rightful place to the stories and perspectives of the peoples who have cared for and helped shape this land.” Ry Moran, director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation ( TOP), concluded the evening by encouraging those gathered to think about how they will continue to support Indigenous Peoples and reinvest in cultural preservation: “Let’s celebrate the Canada we’re going to build. We haven’t gotten there yet, but we are trying, and we are going to make this country better.”

‘We have so many opportunities as Indigenous Peoples today that I did not have.’