Field Notes '26: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | Reconciliation & Inclusion | Seneca Students

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A historical novel for anyone who assumes colonization's harm started with residential schools. 

Daughters of the Deer
by Danielle Daniel

Set in 1600s Quebec, this novel follows Nikki, an Algonquin woman during the earliest years of colonization. It traces resistance as much as loss, and grounds the history well before residential schools were in their history.

For those who process hard history better through story than fact.

The Marrow Thieves
by Cherie Dimaline

In a near-future Canada where most people have lost the ability to dream, Indigenous people are hunted and harvested for it. The author uses speculative fiction to make the history of exploitation within Indigenous communities in the 'now'.

Give me a personal account at what the "after" of residential schools looked like.

Five Little Indians
by Michelle Good

This story follows five childhood friends after they leave a residential school in 1960s British Columbia, into adulthood in Vancouver. The award winning book is a must read for all Canadians.

I want to learn about land and reciprocity through essay-style chapters that can be read between classes.

Braiding Sweetgrass
by Robin Wall Kimmerer

A collection of essays from Robin Wall Kimmerer, a botanist and Potawatomi woman, on plants, land and reciprocity. Each essay considers what it means to treat the natural world as kin rather than resource, and what has been lost as that relationship erodes.

For readers drawn to grief written with tenderness and not just tragedy.

The Reason You Walk
by Wab Kinew

Wab Kinew's memoir centers on his relationship with his father, a residential school survivor, during the last year of his father's life. The memoir follows his father's history through the schools, activism and his path to becoming a respected Elder.

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Immerse me in a search for a missing Indigenous women that grounds MMIWG2S in one family's story

Fancy Dance

Lily Gladstone stars as Jax, a woman on the Seneca-Cayuga Nation searching for her missing sister while raising her niece, Roki. As Jax searches for her sister and prepares Roki for an upcoming powwow, she also fights to keep custody against a foster care system that threatens to separate them.

Before I judge someone struggling with addiction or homelessness, I want to hear their story.

#skoden

A short documentary exploring the story behind the viral 'Skoden' meme and the real man it came from, Pernell Bad Arm. It traces his life on the Kainai reserve in Alberta and the reality behind an image that circulated online for years without context.

I want a present-day mystery drama that treats MMIWG2S as part of their story and not a separate history lesson

Three Pines

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache investigates a series of murders in a small Quebec village of Three Pines. Across the season, the show also follows a subplot involving missing and murdered Indigenous woman, drawing attention to Canada's ongoing MMIWG2S crisis.

I want an audio version of Indigenous stories that fit my 20-minute commute

Unreserved

A weekly CBC show hosted by Rosanna Deerchild featuring interviews, music and storytelling from Indigenous artists, writers and musicians across Canada. Topics shift from week to week, spanning culture, politics, humour and personal stories.