In honour of Aboriginal History Month, ichannel is rebroadcasting a special series of 1-hour shows, hosted by Karyn Pugliese, that examine social justice issues, unique challenges as well as success stories in Aboriginal communities across Canada. You can watch on our website, or tune in to ichannel Mondays at 9pm ET.

Mon. June 4. Sisters in Spirit. In Canada, more than 600 Aboriginal women have gone missing or been murdered since the 1960s — and half of those cases remain unsolved.  Are Aboriginal women more vulnerable to violence? Human rights groups say yes, and add that government, law enforcement and the media are failing to protect and bring justice to these victims of violence and their families.

Watch Online:

• Part 1 – Laurie Odjick’s 16 year old daughter Maisy went missing without a trace in 2008

• Part 2: Amnesty International Researcher/former Native Women’s Association President Bev Jacobs says aboriginal women are targeted for violence.

• Part 3: Investigative journalist Stevie Cameron says some police officers refused to investigate cases from Vancouver’s Downtown East Side and even lied to the victim’s families.

• Part 4:  Journalist Adriana Rolston evaluates media coverage of missing and murdered women

Outside Links related to this Episode:

• Help find Maisy and Shannon
• Embracing Families of Sisters in Spirit
• BC Missing Women Inquiry

Mon. June 11. Healing the Generations. For more than a century, the Canadian government forcibly removed thousands of Aboriginal children from their families to be raised in church-run boarding schools, where many endured years of abuse. The Indian Residential School System was finally dismantled in 1996. Survivors have been compensated. But many of the 80,000 former students alive today say the trauma they suffered is now having a profound impact on their own children. On June 11, the anniversary of the historic apology to Residential School Survivors, we rebroadcast this episode, looking at how a new generation of children have been affected, and how families are still struggling to heal.

Watch online:

Part 1: Michael Cachagee, the executive director of the National Residential School Survivor’s Society shares how his residential school experience impacted his ability to parent, and how his family has healed.

• Part 2: Phil Lane Jr of the Four Worlds Institute and Sue Cook of Family TLC tell us why families today are still affected, and how they are working to heal.

• Part 3: Cynthia Wesley-Esquinaux is adult child of two residential school survivors. She tells us how her childhood was impacted,  how she healed and why we should be hopeful.

• Part 4: Holocaust survivor Robbie Waisman tells us what he has found in common with Indian Residential School Survivors.

Outside links related to this episode:

• Four Worlds Healing Institute
• Family TLC
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Monday June 18^th. The Lubicon Cree. The Lubicon Cree of northern Alberta live on some of the richest land in Canada. In the 1970s, the Alberta government opened it for oil and gas development against the wishes of the Lubicon, who  have never given up ownership of their land and resources.  The results were devastating. Once a self-sufficient community of hunters, trappers and craftspeople, today the Lubicon live in poverty, without running water and other basic services – even as the province reaps more than $14 billion a year in revenues from the oil fields.  And it’s not just a people’s way of life that has suffered; many Lubicon also believe that damage to their environment has been responsible for a host of health problems.

Watch Online:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Monday June 15^th. First Nations Business. Stories about wide spread poverty and despair in First Nations communities often make headlines, but less well known are the growing number of success stories that show how communities can thrive under the right circumstances. To all those who say First Nations  communities are not viable, watch this edition of @issue to find out how band-run businesses, business partnerships and the rising number of aboriginal entrepreneurs are overcoming  challenges and  building successful First Nations economies.

Watch Online:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

About the Author, Karyn Pugliese

Karyn Pugliese is the Producer and Host for #FAQMP. Karyn is an award-winning journalist, communications specialist, and mom working out of Quebec. With more than 10 years of experience in journalism she has worked as a writer, reporter, producer and host in a number of newsrooms including: ichannel, First Nations Voices, Vision TV, Aboriginal People’s Television Network and the CBC. An amateur photographer and blogger Karyn is working to build her on-line status as a social media expert. Twitter: @KarynFAQMP

Other posts by Karyn Pugliese