A big focus of my learning in 2021 has been around better understanding of Indigenous peoples and their history in this place we now call Canada and where possible, my home province of Saskatchewan. I recognize that much of my formal education had a serious absence of content on Indigenous people, their history, and their perspectives. By acting on one of the recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Actions, I can expand my understanding of the history of Treaty 6 land where I now live, and Treaty 4 land, where my family settled. If you would like to understand the history of the land where you are situated, Native Land is a great resource.
My Settler History
I grew up in south-western Saskatchewan near the land where my Quebecois great-grandfather and great-grandmother homesteaded in 1910. I grew up hearing about how the prairies were surveyed, the land divided into 1/4 sections for settlers, many of whom were new immigrants to this region, and the prairies were broke for farming.
Periods of drought, especially through the 1930s, led to hard times and made life difficult in these small rural communities. My great-grandparents house was destroyed in a fire and their eldest son was killed. An old school was brought in by teams of horses to replace their house. My grandfather, their youngest son, later took over the farm. My uncle and Dad later joined my grandfather with running the farm. Today my brother and I are also involved with the grain farm, although we no longer live in the area. My Dad has left us with a deep appreciation of the natural environment. Over the years our farming methods have shifted to take better care of the soil; we planted thousands of trees to create habitat for birds and prevent erosion. We recognize the history of the land, as we know it, by naming the quarter sections after the original homesteaders.
Lately, I have been wondering about what the land was like before 1910 and the people who were there before the homesteaders. Our farm is near Cabri, which we were told was the Cree word for antelope. To my knowledge, there were no Cree people in this town while I was growing up to correct this understanding. I now understand Cabri to be a French word, perhaps from the French speaking traders that came before. Sometimes we might find signs of arrowheads, tipi rings, or stone tools on the small areas of unbroken prairie that still exist in the SW, but the history of the land before settlement was not well known in our surrounding communities. We did not grow up learning about the treaties or much of the history of the Indigenous peoples who roamed the prairies for thousands of years before our settler families arrived.
Building Understanding
In one of my previous roles in the mining industry I was fortunate to get to take a full day Indigenous peoples awarness course focused on the First Nation and Metis history in what is now Saskatchewan and another full day course on the history of Indigenous peoples in what is now British Columbia. These two days of learning from Indigenous people about Indigenous history and cultural practices made me aware of the many misunderstandings I had and left me with even more questions.
In the 2021 winter term I took ENVS 886, Building Understanding in an Age of Reconciliation. Through this class I had the opportunity to further expand my historical understanding and look for ways to incorporate reconciliation into my current PhD project. In reviewing the map of reservations in Saskatchewan, I was struck at the lack of Indigenous communities in SW Saskatchewan - only 2 out of 70! This sparked so many questions and spurred me on to do more learning, even after the class ended. Here is a list of some of my favourite books I have read over the past few months:
Indigenous Writes: A guide to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Issues in Canada by Chelea Vowel
Vowel’s book explores the terminology to describe Indigenous peoples both legally and culturally. This book is filled with humorous reflections, clear definitions, and detailed notes to supplement her readers’ learning.
Working Effectively with Indigenous People by Bob Joseph and Cynthia Joseph
Joseph and Joseph offer a guide book that can be used by individuals, governments, or corporations to appropriately engage with Indigenous peoples. They argue that early and effective stakeholder engagement is essential in managing relationships and aids with reducing negative business risks.
Clearing the Plains by James Daschuk
Daschuk’s book gave me great insight into the history of Indigenous people on the prairies going back hundreds of years. It lends an historical perspective on the waves of migration and disease through the prairies along with the devastating decline of the bison herds in the 1880s.
Also as part of ENVS 886 I watched Tasha Hubbard’s 2019 film, nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up. Hubbard’s film offers an Indigenous perspective on the events surrounding the 2016 shooting of Colten Boushie, a young Cree man from Red Pheasant First Nation, and the strong societal response that stemmed from his killer’s acquittal. The racism that persists in our systems and much of rural Saskatchewan is laid bare in this powerful film.
The Truth of Residential Schools
With the recent discovery of 215 children buried near the former Kamloops residential school Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike are being faced with the harsh reality of the racist and horrific mistreatment of Indigenous children in residential schools. For those that have not read the Introduction of the The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) Summary of the Final Report, I will give a short summary of what I learned.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report opens with the truth-telling statement that cultural genocide has been occurring in Canada for over a hundred years as a result of various policies and laws. Cultural genocide is “the destruction of those structures and practices that allow the groups to continue as a group” (Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada, 2015, p. 1). The TRC then goes on to describe how the various Indigenous policies in Canada involved:
Land control enacted through the misuse of the treaties,
Movement control enacted through the ‘pass system’,
Governance control enacted through the replacement of traditional Indigenous governance systems with patriarchal band councils,
Spiritual control enacted through banning of cultural practices, and
Social control enacted through the residential schools and 60’s scoop (pp. 1 - 3).
Specifically, the TRC focuses on the residential school system and the impact to its survivors. The residential school placed 150,000 Indigenous students from 1883 until the 1990s in over 100 schools (Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada, 2015, p. 3). The schools were generally under-funded, poorly constructed, and had poor oversight which resulted in the abuse, neglect, and death of many students. The segregated school system was designed to destroy Indigenous peoples culture and has contributed to inter-generational trauma and long-standing racism in Canada. Through the TRCs consultative process survivors were able to tell their own truth, embrace Indigenous oral traditions, and document their stories for future generations to learn from.
Reconciliation as the Path Forward
The TRC’s mandate did not just stop with documenting the truth from survivors but also considers a future state in Canada where Indigenous and non-Indigenous people work towards a state of reconciliation. Reconciliation involves acknowledging the past and moving toward “respectful and healthy relationships among people” (Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada, 2015, p. 6). Furthermore, the TRC goes on to describe that to achieve reconciliation we need to have “awareness of the past, acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the cause, and action to change behaviour” (Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada, 2015, pp. 6 - 7).
The TRC report is a persuasive example of communication which clearly articulates the problem caused by the residential school system and offers reconciliation as the solution. Furthermore, the TRC makes the problem urgent by mentioning of the lack of action resulting from the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples and how Canada’s global reputation is at risk with further inaction. The TRC acknowledges various constraints in the reconciliation process, including:
That “many Canadians know little to nothing about the deep historical roots of these conflicts” (Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada, 2015, p. 8),
That reconciliation will take the work of many Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to work on the solutions, and
“Without truth, justice, and healing there can be no genuine reconciliation” (Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada, 2015, p. 12)
The TRC offers many examples of what reconciliation could look like from its own consultation process and points to the United Nations (2007) Declaration of the Right of Indigenous Peoples, recently approved by the Canadian Senate in Bill C-15, as a key document which incorporates the principles called for in the TRC.
Action
The calls to action towards reconciliation will continue to resonate louder as grounds around former residential schools will be scoured to find and identify the more than 4,100 children that did not return home from school during the period of Canadian residential schools. While I can not change the past, I can do my part to learn the truths and history of Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people. I can act to be a better ally as our country advances towards a state of reconciliation. I plan to continue my learning of our shared history by reading more of the findings from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Final Report. Please share with me your actions and the resources you have found helpful on your journey towards reconciliation.