October 1 is Treaty Day in Mi’kma’ki. Since 1986, on this day, all citizens of Nova Scotia are invited to remember and reaffirm the treaties signed between Mi’kmaq People and the British Crown. The purpose of Treaty Day is to promote the public awareness of Mi’kmaq history and culture for all Nova Scotians, and to recognize the continued importance of these treaties. As such, since 1993, October is recognized as Mi’kmaq History Month. This is a month to recognize and celebrate Mi’kmaq culture, and to educate ourselves on Mi’kmaq history. Across the provinces there are events that showcase this history.

For Treaty Day, we acknowledge that our members work in institutions that are in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship, which Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, and Passamaquoddy Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1726, and were reaffirmed in subsequent treaties. These treaties did not deal with the surrender of land and resources, but in fact recognized Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik title, and established rules for what was to be an ongoing relationship between nations.

You can read these treaties here:

https://archives.novascotia.ca/mikmaq/results/?Search=AR5&SearchList1=all&TABLE2=on

The ongoing validity of these treaties means that we are all Treaty people. As educators, CUPE 3912 members have particular opportunities to include treaty recognition and education, and Mi’kmaq culture and knowledge in our work. There is a growing list of resources on diversifying our classroom practices on our website, and look for upcoming workshops on diversity and inclusion. Take some time to learn about treaties, decolonization, and Mi’kmaq culture and heritage this month, and to reflect on how this can be incorporated into our teaching.

For more information on Mi’kmaq History Month: https://mikmaqhistorymonth.ca

To learn more about Treaty Day visit: https://www.unsm.org/treaty-day

In anticipation of the start of fall term, we have put our CUPE 101 introductory slide show, and our introductory brochure online.

They are also attached below (click the download links below, or try reloading the page if they aren’t visible).

If you need any more information please contact your VP, or our Outreach Coordinator.

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Today marks the start of the Halifax Pride Festival, a time to celebrate 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and to reflect on the ongoing struggle for equality and justice that members of these communities have and continue to face.

As workers in post-secondary institutions, we are in positions to work towards equality and inclusion in our workplaces, and to implement lessons from 2SLGBTQIA+ activists and organizers into our pedagogical approaches and practices. Last fall, with South House, gender and sexual resource centre, CUPE 3912 organized a workshop on 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion in the classroom, and how to incorporate tangible allyship in our work. But there is always more to learn! Resources are available at SMU, MSVU, and Dalhousie.

While celebrating Pride, we should also take time to learn about the origins of Pride in Halifax and, more broadly, the intersection of the Stonewall Riots, Pride, and the Civil Rights Movement. Racism, transphobia, and homophobia operate together, and activists have led intersectional resistance against all of them. Two racialized trans women, Marsha Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, led the Stonewall Riots 51 years ago – and Black, Indigenous and racialized LGBTQ2+ activists have spearheaded the most radical cross-movement struggles since that time around the globe.

Given the ongoing pandemic, Halifax’s Pride Festival will be virtual this year. A schedule of online events can be found here: https://www.halifaxpride.com/calendar

There are also live streams of events that can be seen here: https://www.halifaxpride.com/stream

We will miss marching with fellow CUPE members in the Pride parade, but online access provides members across the province opportunities to remotely engage with workshops and events.

We wish all members a happy Pride!

Given the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, and the range of likely effects on post-secondary institutions, CUPE 3912 has joined an alliance of 19 unions and associations, representing over 18,000 students, staff and faculty, that have united to demand that university administrators consider the implications of plans for Fall 2020 on students, university staff and faculty.

Here is a letter you can send to your MP, MLA, and University President to add your voice to the opposition to tuition hikes, layoffs, and cuts that will hurt faculty, staff, and students.

ANSUT is providing shareables to promote this letter and campaign.

June 28-July 3 marks the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a catalyst for the 2SLGBTQ+ rights movement. As we reflect on this, we can celebrate the progress that has been made, and learn more about how to better support 2SLGBTQ+ rights and freedoms.

In Halifax, South House is a gender and sexual resource centre, and they provide advice and training on building an inclusive classroom. There are also resources available at SMU, MSVU, and Dalhousie.

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day, an opportunity to honour and celebrate the diverse cultures of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.

It is also an opportunity to acknowledge and respect the rights of Indigenous peoples to their unceded territories. The institutions where our members work — Mount Saint Vincent, Saint Mary’s, and Dalhousie universities — are in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. We are all treaty people, and must all be committed to working with Indigenous nations, communities, organizations, and students toward decolonization, reconciliation, and respecting the on-going treaty relationships.

Here is a statement from CUPE national.

Here is a statement from CAUT.

To learn more about the ongoing legacies of colonialism read the resources provided by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission or resources provided by the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. You can CUPE’s response to that report here.

Here is a primer on the Peace and Friendship Treaties.

Today marks the commemoration of Juneteenth, the day of the emancipation of the last enslaved African-Americans in the United States, in 1865. Take some time to honor all those who have stood against racism and racial discrimination, and to reflect upon the continuing struggles for equality and justice in our own communities and institutions.

“Juneteenth may mark just one moment in the struggle for emancipation, but the holiday gives us an occasion to reflect on the profound contributions of enslaved black Americans to the cause of human freedom.”

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CUPE 3912 stands in solidarity with those protesting police brutality, white supremacy, and all forms of racist violence.

Here you can find a statement from CUPE National and a call for solidarity.

“We must challenge and not be silent in the face of police brutality, white supremacy, and all forms of racist violence in the workplace and in our society. CUPE will remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure diversity and inclusiveness and to fight racism and hate in all its forms.”

Here are suggestions for what Nova Scotians can do to stand up to racism and injustice.

“And I think the violence that I want to mention is really the violence of the silence of the white population. It’s those of us who derive the privileges from what’s happening in Canada and in the United States, who cannot wait another day to speak. It’s the overwhelming majority of white people in this country who need to say, ‘You cannot do this in my name.'”

If you are looking for a way to support the local African Nova Scotian community, if you are able, please donate to Black Lives Matter Solidarity Fund NS, which gives $100 grants to African Nova Scotian people during this pandemic.