National Indigenous History Month 2024: Celebrating the richness and diversity of Indigenous Peoples

June is National Indigenous History Month, an opportunity to learn about the unique cultures, traditions, history and experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation.

Celebrated every June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day is a time to reflect on our collective history and on how each one of us can support reconciliation efforts. Knowing and acknowledging the past and its ongoing impacts is the first step towards healing and reconciliation. Numerous activities are organized across the country.

June 21 also marks the 5th anniversary of the Indigenous Languages Act. To highlight this important milestone, take a look at the Nations to Nations: Indigenous Voices at Library and Archives Canada, a multilingual and interactive e-book that provides unique perspectives of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation. It shows the diversity of the histories, languages and cultures of Indigenous peoples.

Each week of June is dedicated to a different theme highlighting specific aspects of Indigenous history and perspectives. For these last weeks of National Indigenous History Month, discover the archives we preciously preserve in our collections, including resources and projects that celebrate the diversity and richness of Indigenous cultures and languages.

Week 3: Languages, cultures and arts

• Collection: Annie Pootoogook : life & work highlights the art of Inuit artist Annie Pootoogook (1969–2016), whose drawings depict life in the North.
• Collection: Tomson Highway is a Cree musician, author and playwright from Northern Manitoba. His play, The Rez Sisters, is one of the first successes by a First Nation playwright. Take a look at the Tomson Highway fonds for more.
• Project Naming: Group of Inuit artists at the art centre in Kinngait, Nunavut, August 1961. Do you recognize anyone in this photo? More on Project Naming and how you can help.
• Blog: Northern Dene have been playing Dene Handgames, or “Stick Gambling,” for many years. In this guessing game, players or teams hide objects in one hand, while the other side must guess which hand the object is in to score points. Learn more: The Art of Dene Handgames / Stick Gambling / ᐅᐨᘛ / oodzi
• Flickr Album: The Dene

Week 4: Women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people

• Collection: We Are Here: Sharing Stories. Hair is connected to the cultural identities and spiritual traditions for many Indigenous Nations. As seen in photos from the Olaus Johan Murie collection, many women wear beaded hair ornaments as part of their regalia.
• Collection: Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada was founded 40 years ago to represent all Inuit women. Their collection contains documents, written in both English and Inuktitut, related to the creation and work of the organization.
• Project Naming: More on Project Naming and how you can help. Do you recognize anyone in these photos?
  • Young Mi’kmaq girl paints a picture, Millbrook reserve, Truro, Nova Scotia, ca. 1969.
  • Inuit women and children stand in front of a wooden building, Kuujjuarapik (formerly Great Whale River) Quebec, ca. 1901–1904.
• Podcast: Kahentinéhtha' Horn: Nothing but the Truth – Part 1 and Part 2
• Blog: Inuit women and seals: a relationship like no other and the related Flickr album, Inuit women and seals: a relationship like no other.

We acknowledge that a great deal of records related to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation peoples held in our collections lack important contextual information. As outlined in Vision 2030: A strategic plan to 2030, LAC is doing more to place collections in context, making them easier to understand by setting them in a wider historical and cultural landscape. We do this in various ways, including by offering theme-based collections and programs and by encouraging a variety of uses for the collections. The projects We Are Here: Sharing Stories and Listen, Hear Our Voices support this commitment.

LAC preserves stories of First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation from across Canada. Providing access to more diverse historical documents will allow us to work towards healing the harms of the past, with hopes to forge a better future. Reconciliation will not be accomplished overnight and is a journey that requires commitment from all people in Canada.

#NIHM2024

Associated Links

• National Indigenous History Month
• Images for National Indigenous History Month (rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca)
• Project Naming | Facebook / Project Naming (canada.ca) / @project_naming
• Resources related to week 1: Environment, traditional knowledge and territory
• Resources related to week 2: Children and youth
• Resources related to week 3: Languages, cultures and arts
• Resources related to week 4: Women, girls and Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people