Waniskahtan was launched virtually in the spring of 2021 with over 10 hours of programming, that included hearing from family members who have lost loved ones, and/or from advocates, supporters, and allies, with several special performances created to honour the lives of those that have been taken.

This special travelling exhibition is unique in that it provides an examination of the sexualized and racialized violence against Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit individuals, and its links to the Residential School System and other acts of oppression. The content and presentation of this Exhibition and its accompanying Activity Guide have been designed to provide deeper insight into the issue of MMIWG and 2S+, to support commemorations efforts, and ultimately, to prevent violence against Indigenous Peoples.

The LHF gratefully acknowledges and thanks the many families of MMIWG and 2S+ and their support people who participated in regional sessions, both in-person and virtually, held across Canada to provide their input into the design, development, and content of this Exhibition and Activity Guide. It is their vision, their words, insight and art work, and personal life experiences that have been central to shaping the majority of this Exhibition.

The Legacy of Hope Foundation would also like to gratefully acknowledge the Waniskahtan project Elder, Irene Compton, for her guidance and her prayers, for sharing her drum and beautiful songs, and for always knowing when it was time for the medicines to be used to help with the healing. Chi-meegwetch. We appreciate you!

The LHF would also like to acknowledge and to thank the Waniskahtan Project Advisory Committee (PAC) for their guidance and support, their tireless efforts, and for their outstanding performance in organizing the regional sessions. This volunteer PAC was comprised of six Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) individuals who are family members of MMIWG and 2S+, or are a regional advocate of MMIWG and 2S+, and are Residential /Day School Survivors or Intergenerational Survivors or both. The Committee members were: Sarah Ward (Atlantic), Sherry Condo (QC), Sharon Johnson (ON), Jackie Traverse and later Sandra Delaronde (MB), and Gladys Radek (BC). Regional sessions with families of MMIWG and 2S+ were held in Ottawa, Ontario; Miramichi, New Brunswick; Kanawake, Quebec; Thunder Bay, Ontario; and Terrace, British Columbia, with two virtual sessions held for Manitoba.

Creation Stories

(Click here to download the Creation Stories in PDF)

Oral Tradition and Creation Story are a means to pass down teachings, and values from generation to generations. These stories could be about family values or that of a community, these stories carry knowledge from our ancestors into our present day. Many of theses stories are told at family or community gatherings even in the privacy of home. 

A Creation Story is a story that describes the coming of earth and the living creatures on it. These stories often use mythical creatures, animals and plants. Everyone has their own ways of telling their stories, though some may be similar the stories may vary between communities.  

What you are about to read are just a selected few of Creations Stories, one from each the First Nations, Inuit and Metis. There is no “one true story” 

First Nations Creation Stories

Sky Woman 

“Long before the world was created, there was an island in the sky inhabited by sky people. One day a pregnant sky woman drops through a hole created by an uprooted tree and begins to fall for what seems like eternity.

Coming out of darkness, she eventually sees oceans. The animals from this world congregate, trying to understand what they see in the sky. A flock of birds is sent to help her. The birds catch her and gently guide her down onto the back of Great Turtle. The water animals like otter and beaver have prepared a place for her on turtle’s back. They bring mud from the bottom of the ocean and place it on turtle’s back until solid earth begins to form and increase in size.

Turtle’s back becomes Sky Woman’s home and the plants she’s brought down with her from Skyworld, including tobacco and strawberries, are her medicine. She makes a life for herself and becomes the mother of Haudenosaunee life, as we know it today.”

Shelley Niro, Kanien’kehaka, 1999
Keller George, Oneida Haudenosaunee, 2001

Alan Brant, Tyendinaga, 2001”

Mi’kmaq Creation Story

First there was the sky which represents the Life Giver, Gisoolg, the creator of everything. Then the Sun that creates life and our shadows. Our shadows represent our identities, characteristics and the spirits of the ancestors. The shadows are the joining of earth and human life. e Sun connects us to the spirit world. Finally, Mother Earth on whom we walk on and who bears the spirits of the ancestors. All life given to us is from Mother Earth.

Not long a er everything was created, the Life Giver caused a bolt of lightning to strike the earth. It formed the shape of a person, the head was in the direction of the rising sun, and the feet in the direction of the setting sun. His name was Glooscap, the rest being. He was given toes, his hands and fingers and ears to listen to the world around him. He was given eyes to see and a nose for smell, and finally a mouth to be able to taste the water and food that comes from the earth. It was when the third lightning struck that he gained the freedom to move.

He thanked the Life Giver, Mother Earth and Grandfather Sun for his creation and pays his respect to the four directions. Once he returns to the spot he was created, Glooscap is visited by an eagle who tells him he will be joined by his family who will teach him about his place in this world. When the eagle flew away, a feather fell. Glooscap picked it up, looked up at the Eagle and spoke “I will keep this feather as a reminder of my connection to my people, the Life Giver, Grandfather Sun and Mother Earth”

Glooscap turns around and is met with his Grandmother who is born from a rock. She teaches him the way of the stars, the winds, the tides and the seasons. She also teaches him about the plant life, the animals and how to make food, shelter and clothing. Glooscap then calls for the Marten and says “I want to ask if you can give up your life, so that me and Grandmother can live. We will use your fur for clothes, your meat for food, your bones as tools and medicine.” He Marten agreed and Glooscap gives thanks to the Giver of Life, Grandfather Sun and Mother Earth. He then gathers the le over sparks from the lighting strikes and wood to light a re, the Great Spirit Fire. They cook the meat and celebrate Grandmothers arrival to the world.

One day while Glooscap is walking along the shore he meets a young man who says he is his nephew. He is Whirlwind, he passes through the ocean and causes the foam to form and blow ashore. e foam blows across the sand, rocks and finally resting on the sweet grass. “With the help of Life Giver, Mother Earth and Grandfather Sun I was created.” Whirlwind said. “I was sent here to help you and Grandmother as well as guide you.” Then the Nephew calls upon the fish to be used as food and tools. They celebrate the Nephews arrival to this world.

While Glooscap was sitting by the re, a woman appears and sits beside him “Who are you?” Glooscap asked. The woman spoke “I am your mother, and I owe my life to the leaf that fell to the ground and collected the early morning dew. With the help of from the Life Giver, Mother Earth and Grandfather Sun I was created.” His mother was brought to this world with gifts. She brought the colours of the world, the blues of the sky, the greens of the grass, to the yellows of the sun. She also brought the love and understanding for her children so that they can continue to survive and care for one another. Then everyone gathered and celebrated the arrival of his mother to this world.

One day the Eagle returns and tells Glooscap the he and his grandmother must return to the spirit world and that his Mother and Nephew will be in charge of the re so it doesn’t go out. Sparks from the fire fly out and create men and women. They form their own families and honour the Life Giver, Mother Earth Grandfather Sun and Glooscap. They give thanks to Glooscap Grandmother, His nephew, his mother and honour all creations of life

Raven: A Haida Creation Story

This story begins when the world was only water and sky.  There was no earth and only a single reef peaked above the water. All the great beings lived on top of this reef, the greatest living at the highest point. All in a row were the others, the weakest being the last.

The Flying being, Raven  flew above and couldn’t and a place to land. Instead he decides to fly to the sky country, to a town that was set up in five rows. In this town the chief ’s daughter had a baby and during the night Raven snuck into the chief’s house and scooped the baby out of their skin and took its place, becoming Raven Child.

Once becoming Raven Child, he grew hungry. So hungry that he took the eyes from the people in the  first row of the village and ate them, this continued for the next four nights for each row of the village. A woman who was made of stone, saw what was happening and warned the Sky People about it. Then the Chief gathered everyone around and they started to sing a song for the Raven Child and the who was holding Raven child in his cradle dropped him. Raven Child fell through the sky and landed back in the water, drifting in his cradle.

Suddenly he heard a voice speak “Grandfather will let you in” Raven stepped out to a totem pole made of stone, one he can easily climb up and down from. He climbed down the totem pole to find a small house at the bottom. He entered the house to see a man that looked like a seagull. The man spoke “Grab this speckled stone and put it in the water followed by the black stone. After that is done, take a bite of each stone and spit it out, then you will see them unite as one.” And so Raven Child did what he was told.

Once the pieces become one, trees began to appear. He put them in the water and it stretched out even more and became land. A er this was done, Raven Child had the ability to create many more things. When the water had finally gone down, Raven summoned human beings.  e Raven is seen as sacred, he is a trickster who is greedy and mischievous but who also teaches human how to live a good life. He uses his powers to get important things for the humans. He used his powers to get the sun, the moon and stars as well as fresh water, salmon and fire for the humans. Ravens creations are all around them.

Inuit Creation Stories

The legend of Nuliajuk 

“Long ago when there were no seals, walruses or any other animals in the sea, and the Inuit were the only people on the land. There was a young and beautiful woman named Nuliajuk. She was so beautiful that all them men wanted to marry her, but she was not attracted to any of them. She did not want to marry anyone unless in was the man she was seeing in her dreams, she was determined to wait, but this did not please her father. 

One day while her father was away hunting, a young hansom man came by her father’s camp. The man was dressed in magnificent clothing and held a harpoon carved out of a single bone. “I have heard on the wind that there was a beautiful woman here waiting for a husband” he spoke “I see that is must be you, come with me and be my bride. You will be the mistress of my home on the island of birds, where to lamp is always filled with oil, a pot filled with meat and the wind is always warm.  Come” 

Nuliajuk was excited to hear these promises, but had to wait on her father’s decision who has yet to return. This handsome man was persistent temping her with many promises, and to follow him. Was this the man of her dreams? she felt compelled to follow the handsome man and be with him.  As the days went on and the winds grew stronger, so did the handsome mans desire for her. 

Eventually, Nuliajuk gave in and followed the handsome man. They traveled for five days and came upon a harbour guarded by two giant polar bears, the shore covered with flocks of birds, and more in the sky, this was the island of birds. Nuliajuk was not happy, she was lonely and missed her Father. Many months have passed and one day her husband went out to hunt, she decided to follow him. 

Without her husband realizing, Nuliajuk caught him transforming, his arms changing into wings as black as ravens, his legs now have claws and talons. He was changing into a bird before her very eyes. Nuliajuk scared, she turned and ran and ran, she married a bird spirit!  Meanwhile, her father had spent many days calling to his daughter, eventually coming to the island of birds on his boat. There he saw his daughter weeping on the shores.  He convinced his daughter to come home with him. 

As they were leaving, her husband came running. “come back!” he shouted. But the father and daughter kept going, paddling stronger. Then her husbands bird spirit was set free, running wild and flew as a black Raven. His big black wings cause the winds to grow stronger and the waves higher, scaring her father. Her father was scared he angered the sea spirits, and asked for forgiveness from his daughter as they were calling her back and threw her into the sea. 

Nuliajuk struggled to get back into the boat, her hands reaching and clawing. But her father kept pushing her back into the waters, chopping at her fingers. As each part of her hands fell into the sea, they became a part of all creation. She came to understand that this was her destiny, she created the seals, walruses and the whales and all the other great sea creatures for all the Inuit. Sometimes in the wind you can hear the Great Sea Goddess who gave us all Creations, Nuliajuk.”

Taqqut Productions, 2016.

 CBC North Radio One: Inuit Legends, Volume 1 [English] From 2002. Traditional, Dramatized By Barbara Worthy.

Métis/Cree Creation Stories

Wisakachak And The Flood

“At the beginning, animals were masters of the world and lived in harmony.  There was one among them called Wisakachak, he was given powers from the Creator to watch over the creatures so that they stay safe and good. However, Wisakachak was a trickster and loved to play tricks on the animals. 

He played so many tricks on others that the Creator had to give him a warning. “keep misbehaving and I’ll wash away the world! You will l be sorry.”  Wisakachak didn’t listen and decided it was time to play a trick on the Beaver. He spent all day building a dam that would trap Beaver on his way out of his home and planned to blame it on the Muskrat.

Wisakachak sat and waited in the bush to call beaver out, as he was about to Muskrat ran up to him and bit him in the leg, causing Wisakachak to scream. Beaver knew then that Wisakachak was planning to trick him and ran away with Muskrat.  Since his trick failed, Wisakachak decided to take apart the dam he built. 

As he broke the dam the water flowed in every direction and didn’t stop! The water kept on rising and Wisakachak remembered the creator’s words and feared this was the end of the world. Fearing for his life Wisakachak built a raft with the trees, and grabbed the creatures swimming by with him. He saved Muskrat, Beaver, Wolf, Fox, Deer, Otter, Raven and Moose. Together they watched the world flood before their eyes.  They longed for land and called to the Creator to save them. 

The Creator felt pity for his creatures and told Wisakachak “You have the power to create a new world using the earth that still exists under the water, find it.” Beaver dived in right away, he searched and searched and nearly drowned but could not find any earth. Next, the Raven flew into the sky and searched in all directions till his wings were tired, but could not find earth either. 

Wisakachak then looked over at Wolf and encouraged him to try. Wolf, proud of his strength dove into the water, swimming deeper and deeper till he smelt earth. He dove even deeper till he was able to grab a small amount of moss and swam as fast as he could back to the surface.

Everyone cheered, and Wisakachak started to chant his magic. The moss began to grow, it spread all over the raft then into islands and land masses. Finally, the world was formed again, and Wisakachak used his magic to create new animals and land.” 

Tell Me a Story by Amy Friedman and Meredith Johnson