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Author: Karine Duhamel

she/her

Dr. Karine Duhamel (she/her) is an Anishinaabe historian and a member of Opwaaganasiniing (Red Rock Indian Band) in northwestern Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education, as well as a master’s degree and PhD in history. She served as Director of Research for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (NIMMIWG) from 2018 to the end of its mandate in 2019. In 2021, she was awarded the Bruce and Lis Welch Community Dialogue Award through the Simon J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University for her work with the Inquiry. In 2021, she chaired the data working group for the MMIWG2S+ National Action Plan. In 2022, she joined the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada as Director of Indigenous Strategy, working to implement the Tri‐Agency strategic plan to better support Indigenous research and research training in Canada. In addition to her role as a public servant, she is an official Speaker for the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, an Indigenous fellow at Simon Fraser University, and a Research Affiliate of the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba.

Stories

Every Canadian’s responsibility

By Karine Duhamel

Karine Duhamel, who served as the Director of Research for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, explains how insights gathered at the inquiry shone a spotlight on human rights and Indigenous rights – and how Canada’s laws must now catch up.

A young woman with braided hair, wearing a maroon jacket and gray winter cap, looks forward resolutely. A red handprint is painted over her mouth and face.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

By Karine Duhamel

What is the UNDRIP and why is it important? What does Canada’s commitment to enact UNDRIP mean? How will it impact treaty rights, land, resources and cultural rights in Canada?

Drawing of a diverse group of people, one of whom holds up a blank page meant to symbolize the Declaration.

The murder of Elzéar Goulet and the struggle for Métis rights

By Karine Duhamel

Elzéar was raised in the Métis trapping and trading tradition and was killed for his role in the Red River Resistance. His story reflects the long struggle for Métis rights that includes the founding of Manitoba.

Riders on horseback with arrows and lances drawn ride across a rolling prairie landscape towards a herd of buffalo.

The symbol of Pride

By Karine Duhamel

The story of the iconic rainbow Pride flag. Created by Gilbert Baker in 1978, it is now a worldwide symbol of the fight for 2SLGBTQI+ rights.

Two large Pride flags waving proudly in a large crowd.

The Two Row Wampum

By Karine Duhamel

The Two Row Wampum, known as Teiohate Kaswenta in the Mohawk language, tells the story of an agreement between Indigenous people and the Dutch. The agreement is founded upon the respectful co‐existence of two different nations.

An image being projected onto a curved wall that is about nine feet tall. It is made up of many small squares and has the appearance of Indigenous bead work or a mosaic. The image is mainly made up of white squares, but it also features two thick blue horizontal lines that run parallel to each other.

Truth and reconciliation: What’s next?

By Karine Duhamel

This article series has focused on the way we present Indigenous content within the Museum and how we are approaching reconciliation.

A closeup of a carved wooden box, showing the carved face of a person with a painted red hand over their mouth.

Approaching the human rights stories of Indigenous peoples

By Karine Duhamel

This article focuses on the creation and development of exhibition content exploring the human rights stories of Indigenous people in this country. To tell these stories, the Museum engaged with communities and individuals in a process of truth‐telling.

A closeup of a carved wooden box, showing the carved face of a person against a white background.

The nuts and bolts of reconciliation

By Karine Duhamel

As a child, I often visited museums. I was lucky to be able to travel with my family, and to visit interpretive spaces across the country.

A closeup of a carved wooden box, showing a painted image of a red hand over a carved mouth.

Why reconciliation? Why now?

By Karine Duhamel

Since the publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final report in 2015, more and more Canadians seem focused on the idea of reconciliation.

Carved wooden faces

Reconciliation: A movement of hope or a movement of guilt?

By Karine Duhamel

In Why reconciliation? Why now? I talked about the idea of reconciliation as an invitation to a new and shared future and as a pathway towards a good life, both for Indigenous people and for other Canadians.

Carved wooden face

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