All Stories: Ready to explore?
Human rights stories are all around us. We explore contemporary and historic human rights stories, from Canada and around the world.
Stories listing
“My future children will never get to experience the home I knew”
By Damhat Zagros
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Black Lives Matter and the struggle for racial justice in Canada
By Debra Thompson
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Caring for the Witness Blanket
By Skylar Wall, Cindy Colford, Carolyn Sirett, Stephanie Chipilski and Carey Newman
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The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
By Karine Duhamel
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Nursing and Indigenous peoples’ health: reconciliation in practice
By Maureen Fitzhenry
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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.
“My future children will never get to experience the home I knew”
By Damhat Zagros
A first person’s reflection on being forced from home and wrestling with what that means for him and for future generations. The article provides evocative narrative as well as background on international law as it relates to refugees and internally displacement peoples and the intergenerational effects of trauma and displacement.
The Impact of War on Children Worldwide
By Shelly Whitman Ph. D.
“The world is waging war on its children, in an obscene mockery of international law,” wrote Simon Tisdall in The Guardian. In 2022, one in six of all children on the planet were living in conflict‐affected areas. As of 2024, we are witnessing unprecedented levels of attacks against children in armed conflict areas. How can we protect our youth?
What Is Two‐Spirit? Part One: Origins
By Scott de Groot
Discover the history and meaning of Two‐Spirit. The term speaks to community self‐determination, rejects colonial gender norms and celebrates Indigenous sexual and gender diversity.
Heartbeat of a People
By Dave McLeod
First Nation, Inuit and Métis music has demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability throughout history. Music by the people is still at the heart of who they are, as it has been for millennia.
Beyond the Beats and Rhymes Is Life
By Mark V. Campbell (DJ Grumps)
For decades, hip hop has spoken truth to power. Its lyrics, rhythms, dance and art express youth culture, challenge inequality, and resonate around the world.
The Amchitka Campaign
By Barbara Stowe
Music played a key role in the founding of Greenpeace. Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and others played a benefit concert to raise money for its momentous first mission.
An interview with Tegan and Sara
By CMHR Curatorial Team
Tegan and Sara, identical twin sisters hailing from Calgary, Alberta, have been performing together for more than 25 years. The sisters have openly identified as queer and as such, their music has motivated, encouraged and inspired a generation of LGBTQ+ and feminist fans at home and abroad.
Gender‐based violence across Canada
By Julie S. Lalonde
Violence limits and threatens the lives of women in Canada every day. The legal system and communities can do more to support and defend targets of male violence.
Treaty 3: Honouring its truths
By Carlie Kane
Treaties were meant to ensure peaceful co‐existence between settlers and Indigenous peoples. But they became instruments of colonial control. Together, we can return to the original goal of mutual respect and care.
Black Lives Matter and the struggle for racial justice in Canada
By Debra Thompson
Protest movements reveal and resist the injustice of systemic racism in Canada. Black community activism includes public protest, policy change and collective care.
Online misogyny: the “manosphere”
By Steve McCullough
Digital misogyny is on the rise. Why do some men and boys get drawn into – and even seek out – extremist influencers and groups?
Caring for the Witness Blanket
By Skylar Wall, Cindy Colford, Carolyn Sirett, Stephanie Chipilski and Carey Newman
Discover the collaborative, decolonizing approach taken to preserving the Witness Blanket as a monument commemorating Canada’s residential schools.
Pass the Mic: Let’s Talk About Racism
By Sarah Adomako-Ansah
When it comes to racism, there is a lot to learn and unlearn. Listening to those with lived experiences is an important first step in taking a stand against discrimination.
The Doctrine of Discovery
By Travis Tomchuk
Learn about this 500‐year‐old colonial idea that still affects Canada’s treatment of Indigenous peoples.
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?
Manitoba’s Mincome experiment
By Travis Tomchuk
A landmark study performed in Manitoba in the 1970s showed that guaranteed annual income could improve the lives of people in poverty.
Justice after genocide: Rwandan Canadian community activism
By Jeremy Maron
Explore how members of the Rwandan Canadian community mobilized to pursue justice, within Canada, for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Canada, antisemitism and the Holocaust
By Jeremy Maron
Widespread antisemitism in Canada in the 1930s and 1940s kept the nation’s borders closed to Jews trying to escape the Holocaust.
Nursing and Indigenous peoples’ health: reconciliation in practice
By Maureen Fitzhenry
Nurses’ long‐time partnership shows that decolonizing our health care systems is necessary for enhancing respect, fairness and social justice for First Nations, Inuit and Métis.