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Contemporary Issues

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First Nations people in button blankets at Quatsino Sound
First Nations people in button blankets at Quatsino Sound, 19-- Photo Credit: Ben W. Leeson (VPL #14079)

The Vancouver Public Library has many resources about contemporary Indigenous peoples in British Columbia and Canada. Pages about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Residential Schools and Land Claims provide more resources on these topics and can be found on the menu on the left.

Useful Websites

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Independent Indigenous communications organization. Publishes Windspeaker.

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Canadian Indigenous television network.

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National broadcaster reports on Indigenous Issues.

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A free online course that “explores key issues facing Indigenous peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlight national and location Indigenous-settler relations.” Presented from an Indigenous lens by the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Native Studies. 

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A CBC series that documents Canada’s 500 year-old relationship with Indigenous peoples, as told by a team of Indigenous storytellers across the country. Access all four parts here.

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Advocates for welfare of Indigenous children.

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Provides links to First Nations resources in many subject areas.

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Published in occupied Coast Salish territory (Vancouver, Canada). Its purpose is to promote warrior culture, fighting spirit, and resistance movements.

Online Reports

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Examines key concepts, causes, experiences, and responses to the issue of Indigenous homelessness.

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Report on Frank Paul's death after being in the custody of the Vancouver Police.

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Underfunding of Delegated Aboriginal Agencies (DAAs) may mean Indigenous children are being removed from their homes and placed in care simply because the funds are not there to provide support services to their families.

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Environmental organization reports on efforts to improve drinking water in First Nations reserves.

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Report offers 85 recommendations to reduce the number of Indigenous children in provincial custody. The full report and summary of recommendations are available.

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Report examines factors that lead to First Nations children being placed in the child welfare system and offers ways to mitigate its impact on their culture.

Digital Library Resources

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General Reference Subject Icon

CBCA is a Canadian-focused database that offers access to newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals and reference sources. *Also suitable for research at the elementary, high school and undergraduate levels.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
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Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Full-text access to over 500 BC and major Canadian daily newspapers. Some titles go back as far as the 1970s.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents

Northwest History Index

This card index in Special Collection provides access to the Northwest History Collection, a heritage collection covering the early history and exploration of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.

The collection includes:

  • magazine and newspaper articles
  • pamphlets
  • books
  • chapters in books
  • many other resources

As of August 1998, no new material has been added to the Northwest History Index. It is continued by the British Columbia Index.