Settlers, here are the questions leaders in reconciliation and decolonization want you to spend National Day for Truth and Reconciliation asking yourself
Why It Matters
A majority of social purpose organizations are settler-led but work with and serve Indigenous people and communities every day. It’s imperative that these organizations meaningfully engage in decolonizing and embedding reconciliation principles into their work, to work with Indigenous communities in more informed and respectful ways.
This Thursday is the first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Many in Canada’s social impact sector will have the day off, with time to reflect and learn about what reconciliation means in their lives and work. With that in mind, Future of Good asked 10 leaders working in reconciliation and decolonization for questions they’d suggest their settler peers spend the day asking themselves. Here’s what they told us.
On transferring power
“How are you giving up/transferring power to Indigenous youth, Nations, and organizations within your work?” asks Justin Wiebe, a partner at the Mastercard Foundation who works on supporting Indigenous youth and students.
And Alejandro Mayoral Banos offers some difficult questions to gauge whether you’re genuinely ready for that transfer of power. “What does it mean to be an active ally to Indigenous peoples in the social sector in 2021?” asks Banos, who’s the founder of a platform building communities of Indigenous youth called Indigenous Friends. “Before you answer that question, I invite you to reflect on the following: How many genuine and nurtured relationships do you have with Indigenous peoples? How far are you willing to institutionalize change in order to be a good ally? Are you willing to sacrifice some of your personal privileges in order to accommodate change? Are you willing to change some of your beliefs and your ways of understanding the world in order to comprehend the struggles of Indigenous peoples? Are you ready to follow the lead of Indigenous voices? If you hesitated in one or more of the previous questions, then you have homework to do.”
On transferring wealth
Shereen Munshi wants settlers to focus on what wealth they can transfer from themselves to Indigenous communities. As the manager of partnerships and communications at The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, an organization working with philanthropies to help them learn about reconciliation and the decolonization of wealth, Munshi asks, “What are the local Indigenous-led organizations, grassroots movements, communities and nations doing important work on the territory [where you] live? Beyond reflection,” Munshi adds, “I invite settlers to find the answer(s) and then give generously, abundantly, and without restriction. That includes giving without requiring a charitable tax receipt.”
On learning your history — and taking action today
Lorraine Whitman, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, emphasizes the importance of weighing education and action equally. “On this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” Whitman says, “it is important that Canadians reflect on both truth of the damage caused to Indigenous people by 400 years of colonization and racist policies of settler governments, and the steps that must be taken to achieve reconciliation so we can move forward, together, to create a most just and equitable society for everyone on Turtle Island.”
Michele Young-Crook, president and CEO of the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA), says, “As National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is approaching, I would like to see Indigenous people having the ability to observe days dedicated to our healing. It should be a day off for all Indigenous people in Canada as well as National Indigenous day. Those in the corporate world having a day off should be in training on how to incorporate reconciliation in the workplace and not a vacation day.” With that in mind, Young-Crook has this question for settlers working in social impact: “How can you take the time to learn about Canada’s very dark recent history and educate yourself — on your own time, not asking your Indigenous friends or colleagues to educate you constantly?”
Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society — an organization advocating for better social services for First Nations families — asks settlers working on social impact, “What are you going to do to implement the TRC’s Calls to Action?”
Winter Dawn Lipscombe, a member of the youth executive council at the Ontario First Nations Youth Peoples Council, asks, “How can you support truth and reconciliation by having difficult conversations about the history of Canada and the current social challenges Indigenous populations experience?” Lipscombe continues, “What I’ve come to learn in my (limited) advocacy experience is that change is hardly government policy or mandate alone, it’s a series of people taking action at an individual/local level for a common good, it’s the way we internalize our thoughts and discussions and bias in our work. It’s well and good for the government at large to say something, or for a social service agency or organization to say something, but these large institutions are made up individuals who each have the power to make an influence in their circles and that’s how we create momentum for institutional change.”
And Michael Vegh, climate action and connectivity coordinator for Coastal First Nations, suggests settlers ask themselves this simple but profound question: “Is my work and life actively supporting Indigenous peoples?”
On changing your workplace
Skw’akw’as (Sunshine) Dunstan-Moore, who works as community climate coordinator at VIDEA and a member of the youth advisory group at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO invites settlers to reflect on how they’re transforming their work spaces and cultures. “Outside of National Truth and Reconciliation Day, are you actively practicing decolonization in your workplace and making it a safe place for Indigenous peoples to thrive in?” Dunstan-Moore asks.
On mobilizing others for reconciliation
Melanie Goodchild, the founder of the “Indigenous social innovation think and do tank” Turtle Island Institute, asks settlers to examine why many of their peers are indifferent to colonial oppression — and then reflect on ways to transform that indifference into compassion. “How do we together reshape systems of indifference to systems of compassion that recognize, respect and revitalize Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing?”
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