How to do Truth and Reconciliation in Your Backyard
On September 30th we observe Truth and Reconciliation Day - also known as Orange Shirt Day. This is not just another paid day off, it is a call for all of us to learn more about the atrocities that have been committed by the Indian Residential School system. It is also a chance to take action to affect positive change for Indigenous Peoples in your community and across the Country. You may be asking yourself what that has to do with environmental consulting - and the fact is it has everything to do with it. The Residential School system was a tool to disconnect Indigenous Peoples from their Lands so that these Lands could be occupied and their resources extracted. Much of my work as a consultant has been a continuation of this power dynamic, and it’s something that I’ve struggled to reconcile with through my whole career. Ultimately this disconnect is why I started Branching Out.
We’re all being impacted by colonization in some way or another. These powers benefit from us being disconnected from our bodies, our Lands and our cultures. It makes us easier to manipulate and makes us more likely to appropriate other cultures. Many of us have lost so much to assimilation - either by choice or by force. In my own family, the only meaningful culture we have left are the recipes for borscht (beet soup), varenyky (pierogies), and holubtsi (cabbage rolls) that were taught to me by my Ukrainian Grandmother. Regardless of your ancestral background, this moment in history is calling for all of us to:
Learn about the Lands and ways of our ancestors,
Learn the truth about our Nation’s violent history,
Take action to repair relationships with the Host Nations of these Lands,
Connect with the Land wherever you are, and
Listen to and honour our bodies.
The good news is, you can get started on this in your backyard (or even on your patio or in your neighbourhood park).
A Garry Oak meadow on Cowichan Territory
The first thing you need to do is figure out where you are! Whose Lands are you occupying? If you have no idea, visit https://native-land.ca/ to get started (note this website is not perfect, but it is helpful). Most municipalities will have a Land Acknowledgement on their website that should give more accurate information. For example, the City of Burnaby states here that “The City of Burnaby is located on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Peoples”.
2. The next thing to do is to learn about these Peoples and learn about history. As much as possible, make sure you are learning from Indigenous sources while aiming to be reciprocal (as opposed to extractive) when you can be. This work is hard and uncomfortable, but important. Here are some resources to get you started:
a. Browse through The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website and read the 94 calls to action.
b. Write your elected officials and urge them to take action on the TRC calls to action. Here is a report card of the progress.
c. Look up the websites of your Host Nations and read through their information sections.
d. Visit Indigenous owned bookstores like Iron Dog Books or Massy Books and buy some books. For comprehensive coverage, I recommend The Colonial Problem by Lisa Monchalin.
e. Watch movies and/or documentaries about Indigenous Peoples like The Secret Path or the many available on the National Film Board.
f. Listen to podcasts by Indigenous folks. I love Media Indigena and All My Relations.
g. Attend a Pow Wow or other events - many community centers and friendship centers host Indigenous-led workshops.
h. Engage in Indigenous-run tourism like Talaysay Tours or find more options at https://www.indigenousbc.com/.
3. Most likely if you are reading this, you are a settler on Land that was taken unlawfully from Indigenous Peoples. How can we as individuals even begin to repair the damage that has been done in the creation of the places that we now live? One option is to pay voluntary rent to the Host Nations. Reciprocity Trusts has a voluntary rent program set up on Southern Vancouver Island, and is expanding across British Columbia. You can also donate to Indigenous organizations like Urban Native Youth Association, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society.
4. Wear an orange shirt (or red for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2 Spirits) - and not just on Orange Shirt Day. Make sure to purchase one from an Indigenous supplier. Decolonial Clothing and Urban Native Youth Association have great options. If you’re going to wear these symbolic shirts, make sure you understand the meaning well enough to explain it to someone else. Visit the Orange Shirt Society to learn more.
5. Find ways to practice your culture in ways that incorporate these Lands. This connects your past to your present and can be really beautiful. For example growing your own food for your cultural dishes. Substituting locally harvested ingredients for your cultural dishes (like using nettles for recipes with cooked greens - I bet nettles would make amazing Saag). Engaging in ceremonies and events outdoors. Try incorporating a meaningful Land Acknowledgement into your events. If you’re fortunate enough to be connected to people from a Host Nation, maybe you can do a hybrid cultural event. Be creative and enjoy yourself in the process of however you work your way through this one.
6. Connect with the Land and with your own Body. This is a topic I will expand more on in future blog posts, but for now I’ve grouped these two items together because to me they are inseparable. The material for every cell in our bodies originated in the Land and Water. It is a common Indigenous worldview that we are the Land and the Land is us. It is important to avoid pan-Indigenizing (assigning beliefs or traits to all Indigenous Peoples), but this one is pretty universal. Our bodies store all of the trauma that we and our ancestors have experienced so any practice that gets you more in tune with your own body and/or the Land is going to be immensely beneficial. If you want to learn more about this idea, I recommend listening to the podcast episode Healing the Land IS Healing Ourselves by All My Relations, or reading any book by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
7. Plant Indigenous plants in whatever growing space you have! This one is fun and may even yield you some tasty snacks! At Branching Out, we try to incorporate Indigenous plants into every project we work on. If this is something you are interested in, we offer support through virtual or in-person consultations, landscape design and one-on-one landscape coaching. When we work together with our clients in their yards, we’re better able to share our wealth of knowledge and help people deepen their connection to their green space.
If you’re not on a decolonizing journey, I hope this article has inspired you to embark on one. If you’re already in the trenches, I see you. This work is messy, difficult, usually pretty thankless, and yet it is crucial and beautiful at the same time. Our mission is to find ways to incorporate these values into our work. If that’s something you’re interested in then we would love to collaborate with you. Check out our Services page for more information.
