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Nine ways your co-op can participate in Indigenous History Month

Published May 16, 2018

Did you know that June is National Indigenous History Month? Here are a few ways your co-op can get involved:

  1. Visit Native Land to learn what Indigenous territory your co-op is on, and why it’s important to acknowledge that.
  2. Work with a local Friendship Centre or Indigenous student centre to host a cultural event, or a workshop to teach members about Canada’s history of colonization, including residential schools, and the impact they continue to have today. Invite other nearby co-ops to join in.
  3. Host a KAIROS Blanket Exercise
  4. See if there are any events in your community for National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21st, and share the information with your co-op
  5. Host a movie night at your co-op, and screen a film from the National Film Board’s free library of films on First Nations, Inuit, and Métis subjects.
  6. Since June is also Pride Month, learn more about two-spirit traditions in Indigenous cultures.
  7. Read the Truth & Reconciliation Commissions’ calls to action and have a discussion about how your co-op can be part of the reconciliation process. Consider screening a video like this one to help your members understand the history. Or encourage members to pledge to read the Truth and Reconciliation report!
  8. Read the June selection of the Amnesty International Canada Book Club, Tanya Talaga’s Seven Fallen Feathers. Consider hosting a book club or discussion group, or donating a copy to your co-op’s free library if you have one.
  9. Read and discuss CHF Canada’s resolution on Housing Co-ops and Reconciliation with Indigenous People, which will be voted on at our Annual Meeting in June.

These small steps are a great way to start a conversation about how co-ops can be part of the process of reconciliation. If you have more suggestions, please send them to us and we’ll share them on social media!

Thank you to Linda Campbell, CHF Canada Board member representing the Aboriginal Community, and Lisa Forbes, CHF Canada Diversity Committee member, for contributing suggestions.


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