Nahanee Creative

Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee is a decolonial facilitator whose work focuses on transforming colonial narratives through workshops, educational workbooks, and her company Nahanee Creative. The company itself consists of a small team of Squamish creative professionals who create decolonial and anti-racist workshops available for organizations.

Cowboys and Indians Alliance

The Cowboy and Indian Alliance is a movement put together by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Although the Keystone XL portion of this pipeline is based in the United States, it is a continuation of the Canadian pipeline, and the alliance consists of Canadians as well. 

Moosehide Campaign

The Moosehide Campaign is a grassroots movement in which Indigenous and non-Indigenous men and boys join together to stand up against violence towards women and children. The executive director, Paul Lacerte, of the British Columbia Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres first started the campaign, which includes an annual event held on February 13th each year. 

February 14th Annual Women’s Memorial March

Since 1991, the Women’s Memorial March has been held on Valentine’s Day each year in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Coast Salish Territories. As their website states, the purpose of the March is “to honour the memory of all women from the Downtown Eastside who have died due to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual violence in any form.” 

Sisters in Spirit Vigils

Sisters in Spirit Vigils occur annually on October 4th across Canada. Vigils are hosted by various organizations and communities each year, including the collaborating partners Amnesty International Canada, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC), and Canadian Federation of Students (CFS).

Rising Tide Toronto

Rising Tide Toronto (RTT) is a “grassroots collective that challenges environmental injustice and the root causes of climate change on Turtle Island through direct action, in solidarity with people’s struggles locally and globally.” Most recently RTT has been working especially on resisting tar sands production and pipeline projects. For instance, RTT has been working with other groups throughout Ontario and Quebec to stop the Enbridge Line 9 reversal.

Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement: Ottawa (IPSMO)

IPSMO is “a grassroots organization that directly supports Indigenous peoples in diverse struggles for justice. We also work within communities to challenge the lies and half-truths about Indigenous peoples and colonization that dominate Canadian society.” The organization, which is a working group of OPIRG Ottawa, is open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and focuses on local and regional campaigns.

Unist’ot’en Action Camp

The Unist’ot’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation have established an Action Camp on their traditional territory in the northern part of settler-named British Columbia. This initiative began in 2010 and has since seen visitors from across the country. The purpose of this project is to fulfill the responsibilities that the Unist’ot’en have to protect their land and to assert their sovereignty and rights.

Idle No More

Idle No More (INM) is an ongoing Indigenous-lead social movement that began in December 2012. The Idle No More manifesto states:

Idle No More calls on all people to join in a peaceful revolution, to honour Indigenous sovereignty, and to protect the land and water.

Mother Earth Water Walk

The Mother Earth Water Walks are annual walks lead by Anishinaabe Grandmothers. The walks, started by Josephine Mandamin in 2003, are yearly spiritual celebrations of water. Indigenous women and men, along with allies, walk around an entire body of water, all the while praying for the water, celebrating water, and raising awareness around water issues.

Walking With Our Sisters

Walking With Our Sisters in a commemorative art installation for missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. The website states:

It is estimated that 600+ native women in Canada have gone missing or have been murdered in the last 20 years. Many have vanished without a trace with little to no concern paid by the media, the general public or politicians. This is a travesty of justice.

Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs)

Public Interest Research Groups, or PIRGs, are non-profit organizations that advocate for social and environmental justice, and employ grassroots activism to affect policy change. Historically, PIRGs have been tied to college and university campuses, and thus have been rooted in setter institutions. However, in recent years, PIRGs have formed alliances and coalitions with Indigenous groups and Indigenous PRIG members to take decolonized approaches to building social justice movements and influencing public policy.