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Human rights stories are all around us. We explore contemporary and historic human rights stories, from Canada and around the world.

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The Doctrine of Discovery

By Travis Tomchuk

Two people in braids and ribbon skirts raise fists and hold a large cloth banner reading “RESCIND THE DOCTRINE” on the steps of an enormous cathedral.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

By Karine Duhamel

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

Manitoba’s Mincome experiment

By Travis Tomchuk

Late 1960s-era photo of downtown Winnipeg showing the Eaton’s building decorated with many bright Christmas lights.

Justice after genocide: Rwandan Canadian community activism

By Jeremy Maron

A group of people walking down a street with sign that reads “Commémoration du génocide contre les Tutsi du Rwanda. Avril-Juillet 1994. www.pagerwanda.ca”.

Canada, antisemitism and the Holocaust

By Jeremy Maron

Black and white photo of three signs on a post, reading “Christians only,” “Jews not allowed” and “Danger.”

Nursing and Indigenous peoples’ health: reconciliation in practice

By Maureen Fitzhenry

A group of Indigenous women nurses stand together outside.

Covering the Holodomor: Memory Eternal

By Jeremy Maron

A statue of a girl holding stalks of wheat.

Star Trek and human rights

By Murray Leeder and Alana Conway

A humanoid alien stands next to a wall.

The murder of Elzéar Goulet and the struggle for Métis rights

By Karine Duhamel

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

Remembering the Srebrenica Genocide

By Jeremy Maron

Two uniformed soldiers sit on a large vehicle, overlooking a densely packed crowd of people that stretches into the distance.

From refugee to firefighter

By Maureen Fitzhenry

A smiling man stands in front of a fire truck.

A Canadian flag for equality

By Rémi Courcelles

A Canadian flag flies atop a large tower. In the foreground stands a statue of a veiled woman carrying a sword.

Picking Up the Pieces: The Making of the Witness Blanket

Large artwork consisting of objects set in cedar frames.

Graphic truths

By Stephen Carney

The covers of many graphic novels.

Us vs. Them: The process of othering

By Clint Curle

A group of men building a stone wall across a city street

Dick Patrick: An Indigenous veteran’s fight for inclusion

By Jason Permanand and Steve McCullough

A snow-covered country road with mountains in the background.

The Wilcox County integrated prom

By Matthew McRae

A smiling woman stands in front of a red prom dress and a black tuxedo mounted on mannequins. Both the dress and suit are on display behind a glass case.

Claiming our rights as a transgender family

By Amanda Jetté Knox

A smiling family of six in a living room.

Seven awesome accessibility features at the Museum

By Matthew McRae

A hand touches braille letters on a museum exhibit.

The stain of antisemitism in Canada

By Jeremy Maron

A black-and-white photograph of a crowd of people, most of them standing, on a beach.

The Doctrine of Discovery

By Travis Tomchuk

Learn about this 500‐year‐old colonial idea that still affects Canada’s treatment of Indigenous peoples.

Two people in braids and ribbon skirts raise fists and hold a large cloth banner reading “RESCIND THE DOCTRINE” on the steps of an enormous cathedral.

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.

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.

Late 1960s-era photo of downtown Winnipeg showing the Eaton’s building decorated with many bright Christmas lights.

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.

A group of people walking down a street with sign that reads “Commémoration du génocide contre les Tutsi du Rwanda. Avril-Juillet 1994. www.pagerwanda.ca”.

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.

Black and white photo of three signs on a post, reading “Christians only,” “Jews not allowed” and “Danger.”

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.

A group of Indigenous women nurses stand together outside.

Covering the Holodomor: Memory Eternal

By Jeremy Maron

Explore the role of journalists and the media in hiding and revealing the story of the genocidal famine in Ukraine engineered by Josef Stalin.

A statue of a girl holding stalks of wheat.

Star Trek and human rights

By Murray Leeder and Alana Conway

Star Trek has offered an intelligent, socially conscious approach to science fiction since it debuted in 1966. Current Star Trek series feature complex, nuanced perspectives on important human rights matters such as genocide, migrancy and refugees.

A humanoid alien stands next to a wall.

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.

Remembering the Srebrenica Genocide

By Jeremy Maron

Kerim Bajramovic and Aida Šehović are both Bosniaks touched by the Srebrenica Genocide in different ways. Their perspectives offer distinct personal lenses through which we can learn about Srebrenica and its legacy.

Two uniformed soldiers sit on a large vehicle, overlooking a densely packed crowd of people that stretches into the distance.

From refugee to firefighter

By Maureen Fitzhenry

In 1991, Ali and his wife fled a brutal civil war in Somalia, ending up in a Kenyan refugee camp with their 3 children. After a long process, they immigrate to Canada.

A smiling man stands in front of a fire truck.

A Canadian flag for equality

By Rémi Courcelles

A Canadian flag flies atop a large tower. In the foreground stands a statue of a veiled woman carrying a sword.

Picking Up the Pieces: The Making of the Witness Blanket

Large artwork consisting of objects set in cedar frames.

Graphic truths

By Stephen Carney

The covers of many graphic novels.

Us vs. Them: The process of othering

By Clint Curle

Explore the relationship between othering, human rights violations and the process of genocide through the lenses of the Holocaust and the Rohingya genocide.

A group of men building a stone wall across a city street

Dick Patrick: An Indigenous veteran’s fight for inclusion

By Jason Permanand and Steve McCullough

A snow-covered country road with mountains in the background.

The Wilcox County integrated prom

By Matthew McRae

In 2013, graduating students at a high school in Georgia, held their school’s first‐ever integrated prom, where Black and white students could attend together.

A smiling woman stands in front of a red prom dress and a black tuxedo mounted on mannequins. Both the dress and suit are on display behind a glass case.

Claiming our rights as a transgender family

By Amanda Jetté Knox

A smiling family of six in a living room.

Seven awesome accessibility features at the Museum

By Matthew McRae

A hand touches braille letters on a museum exhibit.

The stain of antisemitism in Canada

By Jeremy Maron

A black-and-white photograph of a crowd of people, most of them standing, on a beach.