Wikipedia Editathon

Oki, and welcome to the University of Lethbridge. Our University’s Blackfoot name is Iniskim, meaning Sacred Buffalo Stone. The University of Lethbridge acknowledges and deeply appreciates the Siksikaitsitapii peoples’ connection to their traditional territory. We, as people living and benefiting from Blackfoot Confederacy traditional territory, honour the traditions of people who have cared for this land since time immemorial. We recognize the diverse population of Indigenous Peoples who attend the University of Lethbridge and the contributions these Indigenous Peoples have made in shaping and strengthening the University community in the past, present, and in the future.

Lethbridge is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III. The Blackfoot name Iniskim was gifted to the University of Lethbridge in 2002 by Elder Bruce (Makoyiipookaa) Wolf Child. 

Siksikaitsitapii (Sik-si-kay-tsida-be) is Blackfoot for Blackfoot Confederacy.

Why an Edit-a-thon?

Wikipedia is "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit" and is available to anyone with an internet connection. It allows for the global sharing of knowledge, but the strength of its knowledge base is dependent upon informed editor activists who seek out errors and omissions.

We will come together to fix what we can, in order to show the world the truth of Niitsitapi and Métis knowledge, language, and culture, and to contribute to reconciliation between Indigenous Peoples and Settlers (those who share a cultural link with the colonizers of what is now Canada).

We will share only what is to be shared, for we recognize that some knowledge is sacred.

We will continue to edit wherever and whenever we see misrepresentation.

We welcome you to join us.

The Yellowhead Institute

"In the short time we have been annually observing Canada’s record on its supposed progress, we’ve
held the tension of the promise of reconciliation with the actual reality — and are exasperated by
the deep chasm between the two and frustrated by the discrepancy between inaction and Canada’s
fantastical myths of benevolence."

Read more in the Yellowhead Institute's Calls to Action Accountability: A 2023 Status Update on Reconciliation.

Indigenous Watchdog

Indigenous Watchdog Calls to Action is a comprehensive resource documenting current Canadian commitments to and fulfillments of the 94 Calls to Action listed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada listed 94 Calls to Action "to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation" (2015).

These calls to action were based upon extensive research conducted across the nation, wherein many Indigenous Peoples shared their own personal experiences in residential schools. For many survivors, it was their first time speaking of the trauma they carried since childhood. We respect their strength for having shared, so publicly, the stories that Canada needed to hear in order to heal. 

Read the TRC's What We Have Learned: Principles of Truth and Reconciliation (2015)

Read the TRC's The Survivors Speak (2015)

Read the TRC's summary of the final report Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future (2015)

Source: Yellowhead Institute. (2023). 

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations. 

The NCTR was created as part of the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). The TRC was charged to listen to Survivors, their families, communities and others affected by the residential school system and educate Canadians about their experiences. The resulting collection of statements, documents and other materials now forms the sacred heart of the NCTR.

The NCTR Archives and Collections is the foundation for ongoing learning and research. Here, Survivors, their families, educators, researchers, and the public can examine the residential school system more deeply with the goal of fostering reconciliation and healing.