The ArtsLink Project is funded through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada to promote awareness and public education of the personal history and legacy of individual former students of the residential schools in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia. It seeks to address both the truth‐telling and reconciliation fostering components of the TRC's mandate.

ArtsLink is a showcase to promote the art work and cultural practices of residential school survivors.

The ArtsLink website shares the wisdom, the stories and insights of residential school survivors from the Western Provinces who have reclaimed their identity and pride through art and culture. Each webpage includes a biography, a short video interview with the artist, samples of art work and documents, innovative arts and learning practices, and community arts projects.

Arts Link also provides an accessible, safe forum for discussion and expression of the residential school experience. Everyone is invited to share, participate and elaborate on the subject matter of Arts Link in order to refine the process of healing so that they can grow and change with insight and discovery.

Art bridges age, language, culture, economics, and promotes understanding by its transformative power. ArtsLink allows artists and website visitors to 'link' up in the educative process. Just as the artists have reconnected with their own inner creative selves and transformed their lives, by showcasing their artwork and sharing their amazing stories, other Canadians will be able to connect to the artistic journey and healing process too.

In 2008, a group called the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was made. Their job was to listen
to stories about residential schools and then write the stories down so we can learn from our mistakes.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission announced their 94 Calls to Action. These are 94
activities all governments, courts, businesses, schools, and people living in Canada can do to help fix the
mistakes of the past and present so that all children – including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children –
can grow up happy, healthy, safe, and proud of who they are.

This booklet is written by Spirit Bear as a youth-guide to the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action. Each of the calls is outlined in student-friendly language that will give them a deeper understanding of Truth and Reconciliation process.

Socially-based Curriculum Unit
The main focus of the unit, developed for CHC2P, Grade 10 Applied History, is to look at the curriculum from a First Nation’s perspective. The unit was developed to provide students with the knowledge and understanding of how First Nations contributed to the development of Canadian society. The unit also looks at both how events in history both impacted on First Nations communities, and how history was shaped by First Nations contributions.

The unit begins by looking at the effects of Residential Schools on individuals and communities in the past and today. Next students will look at First Nations contributions to the war effort in World War One and World War Two, by looking at some extraordinary individuals such as Tom Longboat, Francis Pegamagabow, and Henry Norwest. Students will also explore how First Nations people had to fight for equal rights in Canada through creating their own political organizations. There will also be a focus on the current realities in First Nations communities, which will be highlighted by looking at the issues of land claims and self-government. Lastly the unit will end with a culminating task that highlights a wide range of First Nations leaders and their contributions in the past and present to Canadian society.

Set on the Tsilhqot’in plateau in the 1970s, Clouds of Autumn focuses on a young Indigenous boy named William and his older sister Shayl whose carefree childhoods are torn apart when Shayl is forced to attend a residential school. Singular visual interpretations infuse co-director Trevor Mack’s family history with a slowly shifting tone that evokes loss and love.

BEST CANADIAN SHORT DRAMA - 2015 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival

This YouTube channel is full of many supports for teaching Cree. It allows the learner to hear the language in context. The channel provides pronunciations and structures to help you move forward and learn on your own!

From October 17th to 22nd, we observe Secret Path Week, an annual event dedicated to honoring the legacies of Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack. These dates mark the anniversaries of Gord Downie’s and Chanie Wenjack’s entering the spirit world. Chanie, only 12 years old, fled from Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School in Kenora, Ontario, and walked along the train tracks for 36 hours before succumbing to exposure on October 22. Although Chanie is no longer with us, his story lives on through Gord Downie’s album Secret Path.

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This video resource, created for teachers and students in Saskatchewan, offers insights from four cultural groups: Anishinabee, Cree, Métis, and Dene. It includes personal stories that emphasize the significance of the seasons and how they influence community life and traditional practices. You’ll discover reflections on the essential roles of elders and knowledge keepers, as well as the importance of kinship, family, and community connections. The resource also addresses Treaty education, storytelling, traditional foods, ceremonies, land-based learning, along with personal narratives about residential schools. By sharing these stories and perspectives, we enhance our understanding and knowledge as we progress on the journey of truth and reconciliation.

Written by award-winning Indigenous author Monique Gray Smith, this magazine, which is based on the Seven Sacred Teachings, is aimed for students in grades 5–12 and is available in both English and French.

Each chapter teaches children about residential schools, Treaties, and the historic and current relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Accompanied by supplementary educational resources, the magazine is both a guide and a journal for young people as they explore their feelings, build confidence, and foster greater respect and empathy throughout their reconciliation journeys.

Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate.

Resources for:
*current events
*ELA
*Social Studies
*Teaching Strategies
*Toolkits
*Lessons/Units

The lessons in this resource guide are designed to be implemented in a range of courses, such as civics, history, social sciences, English, geography, business, careers, physical education and science. The resource has been produced as a PDF file on CD with an accompanying video on this website. Although the lessons are intended for use with high school curricula, the video and activity sheet may be of use to all Federation members who work with students.

The guide includes resources on:
- land
- residential schools
- health
- identity

The Indian Residential Schools and Reconciliation Teacher Resource Guides for grades 5, 10 and 11/12 were developed by the First Nations Education Steering Committee and the First Nations Schools Association. They are our response to the call by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada for education bodies to develop age-appropriate educational materials about Indian Residential Schools.

It is our hope that these resources will help students of all cultural backgrounds gain an understanding of the history of the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people over Canada’s history, with a focus on the BC experience. The materials are also designed to engage young people to take part in the journey of reconciliation.

A video on the home page does a great job of describing the who, what, and why of the resources.

British Columbia resource.

From Apology to Reconciliation: Residential School Survivors was developed in response to the Government of Canada’s formal apology to Aboriginal people who attended residential schools. The project was created to help Manitoba students in Grades 9 and 11 understand the history of the residential school experience, its influence on contemporary Canada, and our responsibilities as Canadian citizens.

The following paper was written by a Grade 9 student from Eston Composite School.  The paper is very well-written and provides a great example for effective writing and citing sources. 

Curriculum Objectives:
- To increase awareness of the residential school system as a major part of the European colonizing effort against Aboriginal peoples, resulting in significant intergenerational impacts.
- To increase awareness and understanding of what Nishnawbe Aski Nation (Ontario) members experienced while attending the 13 residential schools in the region.
- To promote awareness in reclaiming language, culture and skills that were lost as a result of residential schools.
- To promote individual healing in the context of rebuilding links with families, communities and Elders.

Complete lessons (2013, 2002) based on Ontario Curriculum.
Grades 9-12.

Youth who participate in the art and essay stream can submit an art piece, essay, or other representation to express their vision of a reconciled Canada and what they hope others will learn from their submission.

Youth who participate in the project stream are asked to go one step further and submit a plan on how their project will address Reconciliation in their community or school.

Youth from select projects in both streams will be invited to participate in virtual leadership training exercises.

At the end of the school year, a national celebration will be held to honour up to twelve projects from the art and essay stream and up to fifteen projects from the project stream.

This is an interview with First Nations lawyer and poet Francine Merasty. The interview is in three parts with each part focusing one one of her poems.
Part 1 Homebound-Residential Schools
Part 2 Fiery Woman-60's Scoop
Part 3 Reconciliation- TRC Calls To Action

Homebound-A Reading and Conversation with Cree poet Francine Merasty on the healing power of poetry. With grace and wit, Francine discusses how has helped her deal with the trauma of residential schools and celebrate the strength of her family.

This is a collection of fabulous resources to integrate FNME into your classroom.
Some resources include:
*English First Peoples (gr. 10-12)
*Science First Peoples (gr. 5-9)
*Indian Residential Schools and Reconciliation Teacher Resource Guides (gr. 5-10)
*Math First Peoples (gr. 8-9)
*Career Journeys Role Model Program
*Online Catalog
*More

"Callysto is a free, multimodal learning program for grades 5-12 students in Canada. The program is part of a two-year pilot project by Cybera and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS), who received funding from the federal government’s CanCode program to build and employ new technologies that promote digital literacy and help Canada’s youth develop the foundational skills required to become the future drivers of innovation."

Learning modules are available for Math, ELA, Science, Social, etc.
Click RESOURCES then select - learning modules, lesson plans, Indigenous content, data, computational thinking, problem solving.
Use the "bubbles" to filter to the subject.

Click GET STARTED to find the teacher starter kit and free full courses on computing science 10, AI, computational thinking, data science.

The Legacy of Hope Foundation is a very comprehensive site that offers lots of great resources that help to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada. The Legacy of Hope Foundation's (LHF) goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential School System (RSS) and subsequent Sixties Scoop (SS) on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Survivors, their descendants, and their communities to promote healing and Reconciliation.Check out each of the sections to see the great resources they have to offer.