The report on land acknowledgement has been written with the input of Indigenous English and French-speaking partner patient circles, to provide an overview of land acknowledgments, to highlight the gaps and concerns in reconciliation, and to provide the reader with important Indigenous perspectives and information to help better understand the reality of the reconciliation process. The aim is to engage in a reflexive process about territorial recognition practices, while refocusing the approach on Indigenous people’s perspectives and experiences.
According to the Indigenous partners and their colleagues who drafted the document, “for land acknowledgments to support bringing about real change, it must transcend words and become a living action, a palpable and ongoing commitment. By fully acknowledging the past and deeply integrating these values into their practices, institutions can finally embark on a path of healing and justice that goes beyond political correctness. Only sincere land acknowledgment that reflects Indigenous people’s experiences and values can lay the foundations for a truly reconciled society.”
Owner: General Management of the SSA Quebec Support Unit
Responsible parties:
- Marie-Claude Tremblay, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University
- Alex McComber, Professor of Family Medicine, McGill University.
Authors:
- Marie-Claude Tremblay
- Alex McComber
- Morgane Couty Ghisolfo
- Sarah Sportès
Contributors: Members of the indigenous people’s patient partner circles of the SSA Quebec Support Unit
BY: Credit must be given to the creator.
NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted.
“What relationship do the land acknowledgements have to these questionable land settlements and to First Nations’ self-determination and sovereignty? Moreover, what do they mean in concrete terms? If they simply mean Canadians are sorry and the status quo remains the same—that First Nations still cannot have control over their territories, as in the case of Muskrat Falls, or to put it another way, the maple syrup flows while clean water for Indigenous peoples does not—then they are of no value to Indigenous peoples.”
Armand G. Ruffo [Ojibwe nation] (Ruffo 2017)
8 recommendations
Courses of action proposed by Indigenous patient-partner circles and various authors:
- Territorial recognition should not be a performance of personal anti-racism or an automatic symbolic action. Territorial recognition should be an intervention in favor of reconciliation and the reversal of colonial policies. Suggestions on how to achieve this are numerous, with some academic institutions striving to educate those seeking information on the recognitions themselves. For example, territorial recognition by Sheridan College is accompanied by a comprehensive information pack (see “resources” section), which explains the process and steps to be taken to achieve true reconciliation (Herrera 2020). Other institutions require students to take a First Nations course to graduate (Daigle 2019).
- To include Indigenous perspectives in reconciliation efforts, it has been suggested several times by patients’ partners that they be based on symbolic elements important to Indigenous people, such as images, or in an animated way using Indigenous graphics and artwork, as imagery is much more dynamic and circular, whereas written text is linear and colonial.
- Beyond these initiatives, a strategy to apply the principle of truth and reconciliation is also to give a voice to Indigenous people so that they can express the needs of their communities to those charged with creating land acknowledgments. While it is essential to promote Indigenous people’s voice in exchanges, communities should not be held responsible for educating the majority population or even taking charge of their journey towards reconciliation.
- As a group, patient-partners would like to see collective Indigenous people voices present their own perspective on land acknowledgment and share the value that underpins its meaning. Our conversations revealed that the Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen from the Kanien’kehà:ka (Mohawk) is a significant example of respect for Indigenous people. It translates as: “The words that come before anything else”, the Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen stands at the juncture of a prayer, offering ), and is traditionally spoken by an elder. Uttering it undoubtedly involves breaking with the patterns to which institutions are accustomed in order to initiate an encounter.
- The aim of these words spoken aloud is to bring together the spirits of all those present. As discussed with the partners, it is crucial to focus on the spirit of collaboration and on what unites us as a group in order to strengthen the reconciliation process. Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen also recalls the role of human beings in Creation and encourages them to express daily gratitude for what surrounds them. This approach is particularly important in meeting expectations regarding certain behaviors on Indigenous people’s territories: respect for the land and for people. Pierce (2022) points out that current territorial recognition too often approaches the land as an unanimated object. Yet, according to First Nations theories of being-in-the-world: “Land is a gift, a relative, a body that sustains other bodies. And if the land is our relative, then we cannot simply acknowledge it as land. We must understand what our responsibilities are to the land as our kin. We must engage in a reciprocal relationship with the land” (Pierce, 2022). This is why it is essential to broaden the scope of land recognition beyond its current state, as part of the reconciliation process. Patient-partners also stressed the importance of including elders in recognition events as custodians of knowledge and territory.
- Based on the principle that mutual understanding requires learning about cultural elements, and in response to some of the suggestions offered by our partners, we propose to attach a non-exhaustive list of platforms (see “resources” section) for reinforcing the value and relevance of territorial recognitions. A number of sites offer audio tools for accurate pronunciation of Indigenous people’s terms.
- We also suggest learning about Indigenous people’s place names, in order to pay tribute to traditional localities. For example, Quebec City is called Kebec and Montreal is known as Tiohtià:ke. The “Native Land Digital” site helps to deconstruct a colonial and Western-centric perspective of indigenous territories around the globe, while recognizing the peoples who live there, or the treaties signed in these regions.
- The partners also recommend learning a few indigenous words to foster a sense of comfort and security. To this end, various dictionaries are available online. For example, in 2021, the Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok Nation presented a virtual Atikamekw-French dictionary. The Centre de Développement de la Formation et de la Main-d’œuvre Huron-Wendat (CDFM) also offers a dictionary of the Wendat language.