Legacy Impacts and Redress

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

Adopted by the General Assembly in September 2007 by a majority of 144 states in favour, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of the Indigenous peoples of the world, and elaborates on existing human rights standards and fundamental freedoms. The declaration provides a trajectory for advancing lasting reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, and it should be used to inform any statements, policies, or practices related to Indigenous Peoples that your organisation is developing and implementing.

Takers Not Makers: The unjust poverty and unearned wealth of colonialism

This comprehensive report from Oxfam can help you to understand how wealth inequality is accelerating globally; the systems of colonial exploitation that underpin such inequality; the consequences such inequality is having - and will have - on societies; and actions that you can support to advance the resilience of communities.

The report is divided into five chapters. Chapter one explores the unjust poverty and unearned wealth of colonial inheritance and explains how both the depth and breadth of inequality and the power of billionaire (and soon trillionaire) oligarchs is growing. Chapter two explains the connections between the wealth of the super-rich and the colonial past, as well as their lethal legacy. Chapter three explores the socially, environmentally, and economically destructive (and ongoing) consequences of colonialism. Chapter four explores the buttresses of colonial extraction, including unequal power in the institutions that govern our world, extractive South-to-North economic systems, and exploitative corporate structures. Lastly, chapter five examines the actions required to radically reduce inequality, dethrone the new aristocracy, and decolonise our economy.

Indigenous Peoples

This article by Amnesty International offers an overview of Indigenous Peoples globally. It provides data on the world's Indigenous population and explains the rights of Indigenous Peoples, how Indigeneity can be identified, and the importance of protecting Indigenous cultures and knowledge. This brief introduction can be used by change agents as a resource to share with leaders and peers to help familiarise them with the issues affecting Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous Navigator

The Indigenous Navigator is a framework and set of tools created for - and by - Indigenous Peoples to systematically monitor the level of recognition and implementation of their rights. They have created community-based monitoring tools that help to illustrate the realisation of Indigenous rights on the ground; a community data portal to make implementation gaps more visible; and tools, publications, tutorials, and other resources to engage and support Indigenous Peoples in monitoring the implementation of their rights. The Indigenous Navigator is an excellent resource both for change agents and leaders responsible for building relations with Indigenous communities and for those seeking comprehensive tools to help anchor their work in the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues in Canada

This is a great book for understanding Indigenous issues in Canada. This resource from Chelsea Vowel unpacks culture and identity; the legacy of state violence; the relationship between land, law, and treaties; and more.

Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

The findings and recommendations of Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Final Report are essential knowledge for those who live and do business in Canada, and especially for those whose business activities immediately affect Indigenous communities.

Drawing on six years of testimony from witnesses, this resource explains the history of Indigenous cultural genocide in Canada, including the legacy of the residential school system and of institutional discrimination and assimilation; explores the challenges of reconciliation against enduring colonial politics and economics; and issues 94 calls to action that your organisation can directly or indirectly advance.

Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

The National Inquiry’s Final Report is a landmark document that reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in Canada. This report is comprised of truths and testimonies from family members, survivors of violence, experts, and Knowledge Keepers, and culminates in 231 individual Calls for Justice directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries, and all Canadians.

This document will help to familiarise you with Indigenous people's context of multigenerational and intergenerational trauma and marginalisation when engaging with, investing in, and supporting their communities and businesses.

What is Reconciliation

This short video from Murray Sinclair - the chair of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada - is a heartfelt and accessible primer that will help you to understand the context of the residential school system on survivors and their descendants, and provides thoughtful questions that can help guide your company's approach to advancing its relationship with Indigenous peoples.

Aboriginal Rights as a Tool of Colonialism

This essay from First Peoples Law can help you understand the formation of Indigenous rights in Canada and the problems within that rights framework. The author outlines how Canadian courts have created Indigenous rights that are secondary to non-Indigenous rights, and how they have maintained their limited position overtime. He explains how the Supreme Court of Canada's interpretation of rights fits into a wider project of oppression through creating and recreating 'the other,' and he explains how decolonisation cannot truly begin without truth-telling. This resource will be useful to anyone whose organisation is working with Indigenous peoples in Canada.

The Global Inequality Project

Created to make research and data on global inequality accessible to a broader audience, the Global Inequality Project provides compelling and credible data and strong summaries on a range of social and environmental topics, including global income inequality; global economic governance; unequal exchange; structural adjustment; responsibility for climate breakdown; responsibility for excess resource use; carbon inequality; climate reparations; global poverty; gender inequality; debt and financial outflows; imperial power; and more.

Explainer: Why do reparations for colonialism and slavery matter?

This concise explainer can help you to better understand reparations for colonialism and slavery, including why we need reparations for historic injustices and the different kinds of reparations. It also explains how the effects of slavery and colonialism are being felt today; the state - and trends - of governments acknowledging the need for reparations; barriers that people and communities face in getting reparations; and ways in which communities are holding states accountable for their role in colonialism and slavery.

What is Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)?

This short explainer from the Institute for Human Rights and Business can help you to understand free, prior, and informed consent (or FPIC). It explains the origin of the term and concept, the elements of FPIC, the role of the private sector, and practices that businesses should avoid when obtaining FPIC.

Indigenous Rights and Financial Institutions: Free, Prior and Informed Consent, Just Transition and Emerging Practice

Women's Empowerment Principles

Established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women, The Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) serve as guidelines that will help your leaders, HR professionals, and change agents to promote gender equality and empowerment in the workplace. Adopting these principles involves six main stages: Consider, Sign, Activate, Engage, Sustain, and Report. Towards helping you understand and progress through these stages, the WEPs has created a comprehensive brochure that features tools, examples, insights, and other resources.