De-centre, Listen, Act.
As a settler I write this with an understanding of my privileges and a deep respect for the strength of Indigenous people resisting settler colonial violence on a daily basis. I also acknowledge that I write this on land which is the territory of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River; and that as a settler I am not only a guest on this land but must recognize that I am here because of the violent dispossession of Indigenous land.
Over the last few years, I have had the honour and the privilege of learning from three strong, resilient Indigenous families whose loved ones were lost to tragic violence. With patience and love they have guided myself and my team in understanding what reconciliation should look like, and how settlers can begin to honour their responsibility in dismantling harmful colonial narratives and institutions. Together, we have designed and toured an exhibit, Shades of Our Sisters, which seeks to honour the memories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Transgender and Two Spirit people (MMIWGT2S); challenging non-Indigenous Canadians to realise the scale of the MMIWGT2S crisis. Working on the exhibit, I have started to see the fine line one must walk as a settler seeking to combat colonization and honour reconciliation. While it can be intimidating and difficult, it is a responsibility we must learn to navigate as we continue to reside on and benefit from land which has been stolen through acts of genocide and violence; land where colonial violence continues to occur. While I have only begun to scratch the surface of understanding how I can work towards being an ally (and would never self-identify as an ally as this is something which must be earned), I have learned that working towards allyship means understanding the importance of de-centering, listening, and taking action. It also means acknowledging and respecting the land you benefit from and looking to stand in solidarity with Indigenous community members.
De-Center
“Beyond making space for our voices, I want you to live as if what we say matters. As discomforting and perhaps overwhelming as this reality may be, the fact that our political communities, and thus our systems of law, were here before Canada matters not only for how we live our lives but also for how you live yours” — Aaron Mills
This is something I have heard consistently from Indigenous authors and activists: we ought not only to make room for Indigenous voices and their work but, we should also actively support and internalize it. At a volunteer meeting for the Walking with Our Sisters exhibit, one of the coordinators spoke of the importance of holding space instead of taking it. I found this to be a wonderful visualization of how settlers can consider de-centering themselves. There is an old, deeply ingrained belief that European thinking is superior, something which has historically been used as a rationale for the actions of the colonizer. One of the most devastating examples of this is the creation of residential schools and the Canadian government’s use of colonial rhetoric and patriarchy to validate its actions amongst the settler community. Overwhelmingly within the news media, a narrative was presented which saw the Canadian government as having the interests of “the greater good of settler society” in mind, while also ensuring that its actions were “beneficial for aboriginal people themselves”; all of which was justified due to the so-called “‘un-civilized’ condition of aboriginal people” (Harding 4). This act of attempted cultural genocide stemmed from the belief that Indigenous people had to be ‘saved’ and assimilated into a European way of living. In her work, Unsettling Ottawa: settler colonialism, indigenous resistance, and the politics of scale, Dr. Julie Tomiak discusses the normalization of settler ways of knowing as “methodological settler colonialism”, which she defines as “the processes and outcomes of meaning-making and space-making that displace Indigenous knowledges and territorializations” (10). Tomiak explains that because methodological settler colonialism is so deeply rooted within society and culture, it “has meant that the settler-colonial framing of urban space has been invisibilized”(10). As a creative, it is imperative to reject one’s own methodological settler colonialism and acknowledge your biases. Working towards allyship means supporting Indigenous academics, creators and activists to see how you can amplify their voices and their works. It means stepping back and out of the spotlight and instead centering the brilliant voices which have been suppressed by colonialism.
Listen
“The media, and journalists in general, should be actively involved in seeking a solution to the problem, which implies recognizing and assuming its moral and professional obligation to abstain from discriminatory discourse that reinforces violence and lack of civic solidarity” — Isela Pérez-Torres
Two years ago the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released 94 calls to action with the goal of inspiring “Aboriginal peoples and Canadians in a process of reconciliation and renewed relationships that are based on mutual understanding and respect”. These calls to action are powerful opportunities for non-Indigenous Canadians to begin to take action, and for those of us who are in the media industry there are specific calls which we must work to honour. As a settler, it is imperative that I listen first, then act. The TRC’s calls to action are a good place for settlers to start, however it is also imperative to read Indigenous authors, speak to Indigenous community members and authentically internalize what they want reconciliation to look like. Settlers must educate themselves on the colonial history of this country by understanding treaties, residential schools, the dog slaughters and the sixties scoop. It is also imperative to recognize current forms of colonial violence and resist the historicization of colonialism in Canada. There is a strong narrative in Canada that we are an equal and fair nation, however failing to acknowledge the violence, racist ideologies and land dispossession which continue to this day is not only dangerous, but allows for the colonial project to persist. Within my own work, I have come to understand the importance of centering the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and listening to their wants and needs. All too often when the stories of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls are told, it is done so without allowing families to speak for their loved ones and focuses solely on the violence. This can result in victim blaming as the recent article from The Globe did in focusing on the substances found within Tina Fontaine’s body instead of giving her the dignity she and her family deserves. The families I have had the privilege to work with have consistently told me the importance of focusing on the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous Women and allowing for those who love them to tell their story. This also means centering families within the design process of every project and event and ensuring that the proper health supports are present to aid families in their healing process.
Act
“As a non-Indigenous person, there is a lot of privilege, and that privilege can be really powerful when used in the right way. Non-Indigenous peoples need to ask themselves how to be an ally. They need to ask themselves what they can do to support, to amplify and to uplift Indigenous peoples. It starts with basic knowledge and understanding of Indigenous people. And that’s powerful. It’s up to you to be the one to interject [in racist conversations] and to start conversations with your peers, with your friends, with your family. It can’t always fall on the backs of Indigenous peoples. You’re as much a part of the process as we are” — t’ácháy (Tunchai) Redvers, founder of the We Matter Campaign
I have seen first hand settlers becoming so overwhelmed by their guilt and fear of doing something wrong, that they simply do not act. I myself am often worried that I am overstepping or potentially taking space rather than making space. I spoke to a friend, someone who has been patiently teaching me for the last few years, and he challenged me to counter this by re-framing guilt as responsibility. Guilt achieves nothing but recognizing that you have a responsibility to act, he explained, enables reconciliation. I know I have made countless mistakes in working on Shades of Our Sisters, however I am fortunate enough to have patient teachers who, motivated by the goal of honouring the lives of MMIWGT2S, always gently correct me. It is seeing first hand the strength of these families that I personally have been inspired to continue to learn and improve. My hope is that if my actions stem from de-centering and active listening, that I can address my responsibilities as a settler living on Indigenous land. As the TRC states, reconciliation is powerful, and must “support Aboriginal peoples as they heal from the destructive legacies of colonization that have wreaked such havoc in their lives” as well as inspiring “Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples to transform Canadian society so that our children and grandchildren can live together in dignity, peace, and prosperity on these lands we now share” (Truth and Reconciliation Commission, “Canada’s Residential” 4). While respecting the TRC’s calls to action and actually acting upon them is a vital step for settlers to take, it is important to understand that this is different from decolonization. As Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang explore within their work Decolonization is not a Metaphor, decolonization is not a “swappable term for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools. Decolonization doesn’t have a synonym” (3). Decolonization is about the repatriation of Indigenous lands and life. It is about returning lands that have been violently stolen through acts of attempted genocide. Acting not only involves supporting reconciliation but ultimately supporting the repatriation of the Indigenous land which we live on and benefit from.
Chi Miigwetch to Maggie Cywink, Alex Cywink, Stacey Cywink, Joyce Carpenter, Renee Hess and Linda John for your bravery, patience, guidance and love.
Works Cited
Harding, Robert. “Historical Representations of Aboriginal People in the Canadian News Media.” Discourse & Society, vol. 17, no. 2, 2006, pp. 205–235.
Jeffreys, Jenn. “ LIVING We Matter: A campaign inspired by It Gets Better aims to support Indigenous youth.” Chatelaine, 28 June 2017.
Mills, Aaron. “Nokomis and the Law in the Gift.” Surviving Canada, Indigenous Peoples Celebrate 150 Years of Betrayal, ARP Books, 2017, pp. 17–27.
Pérez-Torres, Isela. “The Duty of the Canadian Media in Relation to the Violence against Native Women: Lessons Drawn from the Case of Ciudad Juárez.” Forever loved: exposing the hidden crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada, Demeter Press, 2016.
Tomiak, Julie. “Unsettling Ottawa: Settler Colonialism, Indigenous Resistance, and the Politics
of Scale.” Canadian Journal of Urban Research 25.1 (2016): 8–21. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2017.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Canada’s ResidentialSchools: Reconciliation The Final Report of the Truth and ReconciliationCommission of Canada . McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015, Canada’sResidential Schools: Reconciliation The Final Report of the Truth andReconciliation Commission of Canada .
Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. “Decolonization is not a metaphor.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society , vol. 1, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1–40.
