By Teneya Gwin
A settler’s role in reconciliation will look different to many individuals, it's not a one size fits all type of thing, it is all based on where you are at in your reconciliation journey. I have put together a few ideas to help start this journey. Now these ideas have been based on my experience working with and for Indigenous communities in Alberta for approximately 14 years as well as identifying as Indigenous myself.
I highly encourage individuals to start in your hometown, understanding the history of where you grew up as a place in which you built your foundation. Research if there was a residential school in the area, understand the traditional territory you live in and learn about the neighbouring Indigenous communities (Treaty territory, First Nation reserves, Métis locals, Métis Settlements and Métis Regions). Looking into where and how you were raised as a Canadian and the opportunities available to you and understand that these opportunities may not have been the same for your Indigenous neighbours because of Canadian Law and policy, this is the ‘Truth’ component that I’ll describe soon.
Once you have done this research you can start to build your own land acknowledgement. I truly believe that writing this from a personal perspective means so much more. Land acknowledgements are a beautiful way to start a meeting, conference or I’ve even seen a birthday party started with a land acknowledgement. We are acknowledging our ancestors that came before us that created the spaces and places in which we live and work.
Now that you have some understanding of the territory in which you live, I encourage you to learn the ‘Truth’ component of the Truth and Reconciliation. Look for books written by Indigenous authors, programs facilitated from Indigenous professionals, and multimedia created by Indigenous creators. Heck, the simplest way to do this is to diversify your social network, start following Indigenous people to gain a new perspective. The Indigenous perspective and narrative have been missing from the Canadian conversation for a long time, our history books often read from a narrative that is not Indigenous, we need to have this lens in order to have a better understanding of the truth. There have been many steps taken in Canadian history that have attempted assimilation of the Indigenous Peoples.
Reconciliation and Allyship have become buzz words, but before you put these words in your twitter handle and business card, I encourage you to identify with the definition and follow through with the action component of these definitions. Disrupting oppressive spaces and having a lens to identify that the organizations, governments and institutions have been primarily built on a colonized perspective.
Check out these references to explore what allyship means for you:
Treaty 7 Indigenous Ally Toolkit
Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network Indigenous Ally Toolkit
In terms of reconciliation in your workplace, there are many things an organization can consider; does your workplace consider and include the Indigenous perspective within the strategic plan, hiring practices, specific roles for Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous positions are proportionate to the Indigenous population in the area (board, volunteers and staff)? As a contractor I have the unique opportunity to have sneak peeks into multiple organizations, I often look to see if my values align with the workplace before considering working with them. This is important because as an Indigenous entrepreneur I bring a different perspective, and will this perspective be met with resistance because there is limited knowledge on the ‘Truth’ or will it be embraced because the organization has begun a journey of reconciliation.
Teneya Gwin is the Founder of ElevenEleven Consulting and a longtime colleague and friend to Anne. She is also part of a collective of colleagues with well over 100 years of combined experience working in the field of Indigenous Relations. Learn more about the Indigenous Perspectives series at forumrelations.com/perspectives.