House of Common’s Report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development
In 2017, IHC Directors Karen Aird and Madeleine Redfern appeared before the Canadian House of Common’s Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development to provide input on heritage preservation and protection in Canada with an emphasis on federal responsibilities. The committee’s report [Preserving Canada’s Heritage: The Foundation for Tomorrow] incorporates their feedback with three recommendations targeted specifically to Indigenous heritage and history. A transcript of the remarks made by the IHC can be found here.
Closer to Home Symposium on Indigenous Archives Outside Canada
This event, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, was hosted by the Circle in March 2019 in Winnipeg. The event addressed concerns about information recorded in writing, art, sound, moving images and photographs being held in institutions outside of Canada. The Circle developed a report based on this event.
National Gatherings on the Parks Canada Cultural Resource Management Policy, 2020
In February to June 2020, the IHC worked with Parks Canada to host three national engagement sessions with Indigenous elders, knowledge holders, academics, and heritage practitioners. These sessions were designed for open dialogue between Parks Canada and Indigenous cultural heritage experts to help inform a revised cultural resource management policy that better integrates Indigenous perspectives, worldviews, and legal orders. These sessions also gathered recommendations from participants on future endeavors the Indigenous Heritage Circle should undertake as a national organization. The IHC will deliver a report to Parks Canada on what was heard, with formal recommendations for future policy development, that will be made available on this website.
UNDRIP 2022: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Report by the IHC, May 2022. Funded by Parks Canada
The IHC released a report in May 2022 exploring how Canada’s implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration, or UNDRIP) could help inform practices, policies, and legislation to better support Indigenous heritage. The study, which was conducted from December 2021 to March 2022, used insights from interviews with Indigenous heritage practitioners and legal experts as well as readings.