By Anne Harding
It was March, 2017. A full decade since I started working professionally in Indigenous relations, not to mention the three additional years of learning and volunteering with Indigenous colleagues that started my reconciliation journey in 2004. By 2017 I had worked with over 50 Indigenous communities across Canada, delivered training to over a thousand people, developed national corporate programs to advance reconciliation, and had earned a Master’s degree in Corporate-Aboriginal Relations. But it wasn’t until that email I got in March of that year that I truly felt ‘legit’ as a settler working in the space of Indigenous relations.
That email came from my friend and colleague Michelle Fournie, a citizen of the Métis Nation who is now the Manager of the Iniikokaan Centre at Bow Valley College. We hadn’t talked in a couple of years, but she reached out on behalf of a grassroots community group that was calling itself the “Indigenous Gathering Place”, inviting me to get involved because she thought I could make a difference. For me, that email was a humbling reflection of the relationships I’d built and the work that I’d done, and I was honoured by the invitation.
Since that email nearly five years ago, the Indigenous Gathering Place (IGP) has and will continue to be the most important volunteer role I will ever have, which is saying a lot for a girl who has averaged 250+ hours of volunteer time annually since she was 16 years old!
The vision for the IGP came from a reconciliation dialogue session in 2014, in which community members were asked the question “What does Calgary need to advance reconciliation?” The answer: an Indigenous gathering place. It is important to say that this is not a new idea. Many Elders and community leaders have worked on initiatives in the past to build a physical space for Indigenous cultural practice and exchange, and their efforts have laid the groundwork for the current IGP. The Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #21 also talks about the importance of new physical spaces where Indigenous Peoples can gather to connect with culture and heal.
Many people I talk to are surprised to learn that the City of Calgary has over 500 places of worship, but not one of them is specifically intended for Indigenous spiritual or cultural practice. And for sure there are places in the city where Indigenous cultural activities take place, but they are generally through social service organizations that require individuals to have a socio-economic reason to access them.
For many urban Indigenous folks who aren’t connected to social service programming, there are very limited opportunities and places to connect with cultural practice and community; not to mention even fewer opportunities and places for non-Indigenous people to connect with Indigenous cultures and peoples to build relationships. An Indigenous Gathering Place will be a space for healing, vibrant cultural renewal and exchange, positive dialogue, and building relations. And for the City of Calgary, it will be a beacon of hope and inspiration for those who follow in our footsteps, and an honouring of those who have walked these paths before us.
For me, the experience of volunteering with the Indigenous Gathering Place is an embodiment of the unique opportunities and challenges of advancing reconciliation in an urban context. The IGP Society of Calgary is now a registered non-profit society where I sit as a minority settler board member. The organization is committed to working in “ethical space” (if you’re unfamiliar with this term, check out this great 5 minute video from the Conservation Through Reconciliation Partnership). So in principle, this means that neither Indigenous nor Western ways of working are dominant but rather that we find parallels and work in both cultures, valuing what each has to bring to making the IGP a reality.
In practice, though, I’ll share that working in this way is not without discomfort. As a settler who is very aware of our colonial past and the diversity of Indigenous cultures and communities, I bring a hesitation to my work with the IGP. Those who know me know that I’m a “get ‘er done” kind of person and am biased toward taking action and checking things off my list. I recognize this bias is part of my colonial upbringing, founded in western perspectives of what is seen as ‘good’ and ‘productive’. And I know that this trait has indeed been seen as valuable and rewarded in the colonial organizations and companies I’ve been involved with.
The opportunity to actively reflect on this core part of my identity has been a tremendous gift. Because I believe in the importance of the work of the IGP and learning how to work in ethical space, I am able to challenge myself to explore other parts of my identity that were maybe less encouraged to develop: communicating through story (and being okay with the fact that it may take longer and we might not get through everything on our list); prioritizing relationships (though it may not feel as direct and accountable in the way I’m used to); and inviting Ceremony (though some may not understand or connect with it).
I am a better person because I have had the chance to actively work on balancing different parts of my self. I’m a better parent, partner, and professional because I’m learning that some situations call for a more direct style while other situations call for more patience, reflection, and listening. I am more aware of the interconnectedness and relationships I hold with others, including those in the natural world, which allows me to place myself differently in space and time. I am grateful for these gifts and am committed to continuing to grow into them for the sake of myself, my kids, and my communities.
You may not be a serial volunteer like me, but we are all part of communities, and I encourage you to think about the communities that you’re connected to. Whether that’s a faith community, group of friends, professional association, work colleagues, children’s school or other activities, arts or sports groups, or community service groups, you have influence and opportunity through these connections. Indigenous people, communities, perspectives, and interests are or should be integrated into all aspects of our communities because indigeneity is part of who we are as a country and we all have the opportunity to do more to recognize that, and to work in ethical space.
As a settler serving in an Indigenous-led space, I am keenly aware of not wanting to engage or represent myself inappropriately. I also, however, do not want my own discomfort or hesitation to hold me back from making the real contribution and difference I was invited to make five years ago. I am constantly aware of my privilege and how the world I’m in was intentionally designed to be pretty easy for someone like me to paddle with the current. I am also constantly looking for ways to use that ease and privilege to hold up those who have been set up to paddle against the current for far too long, because I believe that is my responsibility.
So as you consider the year ahead and the opportunities that you have to take action toward reconciliation in your professional and personal lives, I invite you to look inward to those spaces you already occupy and ask the question “what is needed here to advance reconciliation?” I’d welcome the opportunity to explore the answers with you. Please reach out anytime to explore the answers and paddle together.
To share your support for an Indigenous Gathering Place to be built in Calgary, please visit www.indigenousgatheringplace.ca/supporters