Support Indigenous-Led Organizations
In the last few weeks, we have taken some time to reflect on our privilege and realize our ignorance as a white-owned + operated company.
This Canada Day we would like to acknowledge the Indigenous People of Canada and apologize for the impact our company’s branding and actions have had on the Indigenous community.
We recognize that our previous celebrations of Canada Day were harmful in perpetuating colonial oppression. Our use of marketing language like: "wildcrafted Canadian beauty" and "blending the wilds of Canada" are inappropriate. We see now that these phrases generalize the medicinal history appropriated from Indigenous learnings, and make it palatable for a white consumer audience. We also need to acknowledge that our past commodification of Indigenous-grown sweetgrass and sage was cultural appropriation of sacred Indigenous traditions.
We are committed to doing better. We vow to continue to support Indigenous-led programs, organizations, and communities through donations, + will continue to examine our company's impact on Indigenous communities.
This is one attempt to right our wrongs. We understand that we need to constantly examine the privilege we have, and that the ability to self-reflect is a privilege, in and of itself. This will be a lifelong journey for us. We are committed to being accountable for our actions as a company.
Instead of our usual Canada Day Sale, we will be hosting a month-long raffle to support Indigenous-led organizations. The winner will receive a $300 PA gift card.
To enter:
- See below for a list of Indigenous-led organizations we recommend donating to + choose which organizations most resonate with you
- The minimum donation amount we will accept per entry is $10
- Each $10 you donate will grant you an additional entry in the raffle
- Please email a screenshot of your donation to donations@provinceapothecary.com
- Our winner will be announced July 31st
For ways to support Indigenous communities + organizations to donate to, here are a few links + accompanying info (please note the blurbs are copy + pasted from the corresponding website). This list was created by our staff + is by no means exhaustive.
No More Silence
http://itstartswithus-mmiw.com/no-more-silence-blog/
Free Grassy Narrows
https://freegrassy.net/
Idle No More
https://idlenomore.ca/
https://twitter.com/IdleNoMore4
Aamjiwnaang & Sarnia Against Pipelines
"Stand with the community of Aamjiwnaang First Nation in their fight against environmental racism in Canada's toxic Chemical Valley"
https://aamjiwnaangsolidarity.org/
Context: "There are 60 industrial facilities found within a 25 kilometre radius of Aamjiwnaang lands. Approximately 40 percent of Canada's chemical industry is clustered in the area.
Located at the southernmost tip of Lake Huron on the border between Ontario and Michigan, activists say the area has become one of Canada's pollution hot spots — lined with chemical plants, manufacturing plants, and refineries." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/first-nations-exposed-to-pollutants-in-chemical-valley-1.2438724
"The release of massive amounts of air pollutants into the airshed results in an obvious burden on the health of local residents as well as the environment. In the Sarnia area, the population that has become most profoundly impacted is the Aamjiwnaang First Nation. Their reserve is situated near the south end of Sarnia in close proximity to most of the facilities creating the pollution. In 2006, The Aamjiwnaang Environment Committee interviewed Aamjiwnaang band members about pollution in the area. Members of the reserve identified releases of chemicals and incidents such as spills as their primary concerns. In addition, these chemicals and related incidents have significant impacts on their cultural life, including hunting, fishing, medicine gathering and ceremonial activities. Health impacts included asthma, reproductive effects, learning disabilities and cancer. The most common reported impact was fear. People on the reserve feared the outdoors, the warning sirens, and unreported incidences (Ron Plain, CEC presentation, November 2006)." https://ecojustice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2007-Exposing-Canadas-Chemial-Valley.pdf
Afro-Indigenous Rising Collective Occupation Fund
"We are AIR. Afro Indigenous Rising (AIR) was born out of the June 2020 protests in Tkaronto, as a way to ensure that our communities maintain momentum. We are a diverse group of settlers and Indigenous peoples who are working to ensure that we are fighting for our rights 365 days a year. With a focus on social, environmental, and economic justice"
https://ca.gofundme.com/f/5tfp7u-air-community-prosperity-fund
Anishnawbe Health Toronto
"Anishnawbe Health Foundation is an Indigenous-led registered charity that works to inspire donations and partnerships to support the health and wellness of the urban Indigenous Community, and to support the preservation and reclamation of traditional healing practices."
"Our mission is to improve the health and well being of Aboriginal People in spirit, mind, emotion and body by providing Traditional Healing within a multi-disciplinary health care model."
http://aht.ca/
https://supportanishnawbe.ca/donate/make-a-donation/
GoFundMe pages for supporting the families of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi who were murdered by police this month while performing wellness checks:
- Chantel Moore
https://ca.gofundme.com/f/support-for-family-of-chantel-moore
- Rodney Levi
https://ca.gofundme.com/f/late-rodney-levi
Families of Sisters in Spirit
"FSIS is all-volunteer, grassroots, unfunded group of families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people and ally-friends."
https://www.facebook.com/pg/fsismmiwg2s/about/?ref=page_internal
https://fsismmiw.wordpress.com/
imagineNATIVE
"imagineNATIVE is the world's largest presenter of Indigenous screen content. The organisation is recognised locally, nationally, and internationally for excellence and innovation in programming and as the global centre for Indigenous media arts. imagineNATIVE (legal entity: The Centre for Aboriginal Media) is a registered charity committed to creating a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures through the presentation of contemporary Indigenous-made media art including film, video, audio and digital media."
https://imaginenative.org/
Indigenous Climate Action
"Indigenous Climate Action (ICA) is an Indigenous-led organization guided by a diverse group of Indigenous knowledge keepers, water protectors and land defenders from communities and regions across the country. We believe that Indigenous Peoples’ rights and knowledge systems are critical to developing solutions to the climate crisis and achieving climate justice."
https://www.indigenousclimateaction.com/
Indigenous Food Systems Network
"The Indigenous Food Systems Network Website was developed by the WGIFS and is designed to allow individuals and groups involved with Indigenous food related action, research, and policy reform to network and share relevant resources and information."
https://www.indigenousfoodsystems.org/
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
"We represent Canada’s 65,000 Inuit, most of whom live in communities spread across Inuit Nunangat, our homeland in Canada.
We produce advice, knowledge, strategies, action plans, policy tools and learning resources to protect and advance the rights and interests of Inuit in Canada."
https://www.itk.ca/
Inuit Food Insecurity in Canada
"Food insecurity has reached crisis levels in all four Inuit regions.In one Inuit region, 70% of Inuit adults were found to be living in food insecure households. This is six times higher than the Canadian national average and represents the highest documented food insecurity prevalence rate for any Indigenous population residing in a developed country."
https://www.itk.ca/nuluaq-mapping-project/inuit-food-insecurity-canada-background/
Legacy of Hope
"The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) is a national Indigenous-led, charitable organization founded in 2000 with the goal of educating and raising awareness about the history and many legacies of the Residential School System."
http://legacyofhope.ca/
Native Women's Resource Centre of Toronto
The Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto (NWRCT) began when a dedicated group of Aboriginal women recognized the need for a gathering place in Toronto where Aboriginal women could share resources, support one another, and practice their traditional ways. In 1985, this vision resulted in the downtown basement office that affectionately became known as “The Pit.”
Today, the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto provides a safe and welcoming environment for all Aboriginal women and their children in the Greater Toronto Area. Our programs fall under six broad categories: Housing, Families, Advocacy, Employment, Education, and Youth. We also host a variety of Cultural Activities for our clients and the general public, including the annual Minaake Awards, Sisters In Spirit Vigil, and Winter Solstice.
http://nwrct.ca/
Native Youth Sexual Health Network
"The Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) is an organization by and for Indigenous youth that works across issues of sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice throughout the United States and Canada."
"The Native Youth Sexual Health Network has been working for over 10 years to support Indigenous youth leadership across Canada and the U.S in addressing issues of sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice. NYSHN supports Indigenous youth responses and community based responses to colonial gender-based violence from addressing the criminalization of HIV, environmental violence on our bodies and lands, decreasing stigma and shame, creating media arts justice, supporting Indigenous peoples in the sex trade, sex industry and street economies and reclaiming sexuality on our own terms"
https://www.nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/
Nimkii Aazhibikong
"Nimkii Aazhibikong is an independent Indigenous led camp that is focused on connecting young people with elders for arts and cultural land-based teachings. The camp is an Ojibway language revitalization camp for youth that is working towards producing the next generation of fluent speakers on the land. Guided by elders, it is also a camp for cultural resurgence of sustainable Indigenous practices and restoration of traditional Indigenous land and resource protection and management."
http://onamancollective.com/research/
Treaty Truckhouse Legal Fund
"For almost three years, water protectors have held a continuous presence along the Shubenacadie River, where Alton Gas intends to dump salt brine equivalent to 3000 tonnes of hard salt every day. This is part of Alton's plan to create underground salt caverns for high pressure natural gas storage."
"Please help us raise a proper Legal Fund to Stop Alton Gas from destroying the Shubenacadie River! Mi'kmaq water protectors have the strongest rights to a clean river, but legal campaigns are expensive. Please help us protect the water for all living beings and future generations."
https://www.gofundme.com/f/720lt7c?fbclid=IwAR1M0-P7rczer8IxG5BAjDtFNOyH9D4X2JzeypNUcYV4MsHj1WJ8dEiSTLM
Tiny House Warriors
"Ten tiny houses will be built and placed strategically along the 518 km Trans Mountain pipeline route to assert Secwepemc Law and jurisdiction and block access to this pipeline."
"The Tiny House Warrior movement is the start of re-establishing village sites and asserting our authority over our unceded Territories. Each tiny house will provide housing to Secwepemc families facing a housing crisis due to deliberate colonial impoverishment. Each home will eventually be installed with off-the-grid solar power."
http://www.tinyhousewarriors.com/
Urban Native Youth Association
"Our Mission: Urban Native Youth Association is the centre of Indigenous youth excellence, supporting youth on their journeys by amplifying and celebrating their voices. Our Vision: Empowered Indigenous youth leading and inspiring all Nations."
https://unya.bc.ca/
2-Spirit Collective
"UNYA's 2-Spirit Collective provides support, resources, and programming for Indigenous youth, ages 15 to 30, who identify as 2-spirit or LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, gender non-conforming, along with many other identities), and for those who are questioning their sexual or gender identities."
"The 2-Spirit Collective ensures that you have non-judgmental, supportive spaces to get together and explore your identities and what that mean to you. We do this through events, ceremony, workshops, and collaborations with other programs, both at UNYA and with other organizations in the community."
https://unya.bc.ca/programs/2-spirit-collective/
2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations
"To create a place where Two Spirited people and Aboriginal people living with HIV/AIDS can grow and learn together as a community, fostering a positive self-sufficient image, honouring our past and building a future.
We offer a place to meet, address homophobia and heterosexism, improve the quality of life of Aboriginal persons affected by HIV/AIDS, promote tolerance and diversity, promote healthy relationships and healthy lifestyles and reclaim the sacred role as Two Spirit people."
http://www.2spirits.com/
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/2-spirited-people-of-the-1st-nations/
Wet'suwet'en:
Unist'ot'en Camp Legal Fund
https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/unistoten2020legalfund/
Gidimt'en Strong
https://www.gofundme.com/f/gidimt039en-strong
Support the Likhts'amisyu Spring Build
https://www.gofundme.com/f/likhtsamisyu2019?utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer