Ashley Kyne & Justin Piché challenge the “Indigenization” of prisons, arguing these efforts reproduce colonial space through carceral policies – ultimately misrepresenting Indigenous life & normalizing confinement.
Art: ‘Genocide’ - Nshannacappo
Full Brief: yellowheadinstitute.org/2026/the-pri...
How do treaties provide a framework for new futures and why and these frameworks especially critical today as we face uncertain times? Join us on March 24 1PM for a Yellowhead Fire with Crystal Fraser, Sara Komarnisky, Gina Starblanket, and Hayden King. Register: treaties-fire.eventbrite.ca
Anton Clark highlights the role of the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), built on decades of Indigenous advocacy, to enact these principles by supporting Indigenous creators and shaping international diplomacy and the circulation of their stories.
Read the full Brief on our website, linked in bio.
Applications are now open for the Misko Aki Knowledge Exchange (MAKE) spring session! 📚🌏 MAKE is an ideal program for Indigenous, Black, and racialized community helpers involved in local, place-based initiatives.
Visit yellowheadinstitute.org/make-2026/ to learn more and apply!
Across Canada and beyond, Indigenous Peoples are reclaiming and rematriating place names – not just as acts of recognition, but as assertions of law, governance, and jurisdiction.
Read the full special report on our website, linked in bio
P.M. Carney’s speech in Davos received a rare standing ovation. In comments to build an alternative system, he inadvertently described the Crown-Indigenous relationship. Janna Wale & Michaela M. McGuire ask what this means for Indigenous Peoples.
Full Brief: yellowheadinstitute.org/2026/reflect...
Kalaallit voices are once again pushed to the margins. Vivi Vold & Kunuk Inutiq offer context to Kalaalliit Nunaat's (Greenland's) re-emergence in the centre of global geopolitics, centering Kalaaliit perspectives on colonial trauma and solidarity.
Read the full Brief, linked in bio.
Check out the Yellowhead Treaty Map's new Indigenous Treaty-Making Layer.
While the inter-dimensionality of Indigenous-led treaties cannot be fully captured in any map, the new layer breaks the user away from the Treaty Map boundaries into an immersive digital experience.
Linked in bio.
Announcing version 2.0 of the Yellowhead Institute Treaty Map! New features added to the map include a re-imagined Indigenous Treaty-Making Layer and an Education Guide.
Visit the treaty map and download the education guide today: treatymap.yellowheadinstitute.org
Today marks ten years since the TRC issued its 94 Calls to Action. JoLee Sasakamoose and Miranda Field argue that Canadian healthcare systems have perfected “Reconciliation Theatre,” prioritizing symbolic gestures over the structural change the Calls to Action demand.
Full report linked in bio.
Last week the Carney Government tabled their first budget. In this Brief, Riley Yesno reviews the commitments to Indigenous communities and highlights the gaps, limitations and general disappointment.
Full Brief linked in bio.
B.C.’s LNG boom is called progress—but for Indigenous women, it signals danger. Linked to man camps and state neglect, Michaela M. McGuire asks: what’s being done to protect women?
Read the full Brief, linked in bio.
In this Brief, Dakota Erutse traces the arc of these narratives and reflects on what Mark Carney's new unifying legislation obscures about Canada's relationship with the North.
Read the full Brief on our website, linked in bio.
Canada frames “Cows and Plows” as one-time settlements meant to close the books on agricultural treaty promises. In this Brief, Gina Starblanket & Courtney Vance explore what happens when restitution is narrowed to cash and closure. Is this truly honoring treaty promises?
Full Brief linked in bio.
In the latest Special Report, JoLee Sasakamoose & Miranda Field find little progress in Canada's healthcare systems on restoring Indigenous wellness systems, creating ethical spaces, or transforming service delivery – showing how institutions remain performative.
Full Report linked in bio.
On the surface, Ontario's "Safer Municipalities Act" seeks to address public drug use. In this brief, Brianna Olson-Pitawanakwat Mskwaasin Agnew, and Kelsi Balaban argue it maintains too-familiar traditions of Indigenous displacement and colonial harm: yellowheadinstitute.org/2025/ontario...
Great little feature on the amazing research of @miskoaki.bsky.social and its growing Northern focus.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
September 30th is National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. As we approach this day, how can we avoid symbolic performances of reconciliation and equip ourselves to work toward transformative change? Check out these resources and more on our website: yellowheadinstitute.org. Linked in bio.
In this Brief, Veronica Fuentes explores the question, how can harm reduction reflect our traditions of care, mitigate harms, and sustain the life of people we love who use drugs? Read here: yellowheadinstitute.org/2025/a-love-...
We're recruiting instructors for our Public Administration and Indigenous Governance Program! For application information, please write to us at: info@yellowheadinstitute.org.
Canada has renewed its focus on Arctic sovereignty. Jessica Penney argues that Arctic security cannot exist while Inuit communities face unmet basic needs. With food insecurity still alarmingly high, Arctic sovereignty must centre Inuit self-determination.
Read the full Brief on our website.
We’re thrilled to announce the renewed Public Administration and Indigenous Governance (PAIG) Program, run in partnership with FNTI based at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and the Dept. of Politics at TMU. Visit yellowheadinstitute.org/paig-program for more details and how to apply 📚
As governments pass legislation to fast track resource development, a long-delayed LNG pipeline in B.C. has been approved. Buried Burdens considers PRGT's history, identifying a number of issues.
Read the full Special Report on our website: yellowheadinstitute.org/buried-burde...
In this Brief, Michaela McGuire and Rosanna Carver discuss the impacts of resource development infrastructure in the ocean and the Crown's limited interpretation of Indigenous oceanic rights and title.
Read the full Brief on our website: yellowheadinstitute.org/the-yellowhe...
Janna Wale and Michaela McGuire review BC's Bill 14 and 15, finding much to be concerned about related to Indigenous rights and the health of the environment – both sacrificed for "fast-tracked" industrial development in the province.
Read the full Brief on our website.
Indonesian governments have neglected the protection of Indigenous rights, resulting in the theft and destruction of Indigenous lands and food. Nikodemus Niko describes "hidden hunger" and calls the Indonesian government to implement reforms to protect Indigenous rights.
Full Brief on our website
Despite First Nations protests, Ontario passed omnibus legislation creating "Special Economic Zones," gutting key environmental and consultation laws. Hayden King warns this trend sidelines Indigenous rights and may spark renewed land and legal conflict.
Full Brief on our website, linked in bio.
Canada and Indigenous communities collaborated on a new Indigenous Justice Strategy framework to reduce Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system. As mass criminalization of Indigenous people is widely recognized as a national crisis, can the IJS offer change?
Linked in bio.
Land Back Online is a free online course based on the Yellowhead Red Paper, Land Back. Through narrated slides, video explainers, and recommended resources, Module 4, Recognition, examines the limited land rights offered by the Crown and industry. Access today at: learnonline.yellowheadinstitute.org
Interested in receiving Yellowhead swag? Fill out a five-minute survey to help us understand how you're using our research & resources, and be entered in a draw to win a Yellowhead gift bag! Access the survey here: forms.gle/d15WGeN1vvM9...