The Truth About What Happened

Before Europeans arrived, Turtle Island was home to hundreds of Nations with advanced governance, laws, diplomacy, trade systems, agriculture, technology, education, medicine and spirituality. Calling these places “wilderness” or “empty land” was a lie used to justify taking everything.

Nations include: Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, Cree, Dene, Mi’kmaq, Blackfoot, Haida, Coast Salish, Inuit, Métis and many others – each with their own laws, territory and language.

Treaties were meant to be living, nation‑to‑nation agreements about sharing land and protecting future generations. Indigenous Nations treated them as sacred commitments. The Crown often treated treaties as obstacles – something to ignore once land and resources were secured.

Many people living in Canada today still don't know which treaties apply where they live, or what those treaties actually promised.

Start learning: Native‑Land.ca – Interactive Treaty Map

The Canadian government and churches ran a network of residential schools designed to erase Indigenous identity. Over 150,000 children were taken. Many experienced abuse. Thousands never came home.

A government official, Duncan Campbell Scott, openly said he wanted to “get rid of the Indian problem”. That is the mindset behind the school system – not “good intentions”.

Even as residential schools began to close, governments shifted to a new tactic: taking Indigenous kids through the child welfare system. In what's now called the Sixties Scoop, thousands of children were taken from their families and adopted into mostly non‑Indigenous homes, sometimes in other countries.

Today, Indigenous children are still hugely over‑represented in foster care. That's not a coincidence – it's the same system continuing in a different form.

Violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people is not random crime – it's connected to colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia, plus police and government inaction.

Families and communities pushed for a National Inquiry because the number of missing and murdered loved ones was – and is – far too high.

Learn more: MMIWG Final Report

From the Red River Resistance and the Northwest Resistance, to Oka, Ipperwash, Gustafsen Lake, Elsipogtog, Wetʼsuwetʼen and many more – Indigenous Nations have always defended their people, lands and waters.

Modern movements like Idle No More and Land Back show that resistance isn't only in history books – it's happening right now.

Truth means more than saying “sorry” once a year. It means:

• Understanding real history, not the watered‑down version.
• Acknowledging that harm is ongoing, not just in the past.
• Respecting Indigenous laws, Nations and treaties.
• Supporting Indigenous‑led movements and listening when you are corrected.
• Knowing whose land you live on – and acting like a good guest.

Truth isn't about carrying guilt forever. It's about responsibility, respect and action.