NESTU’ET AQ TETAPU’LATL ~ BECOME KNOWLEDGEABLE AND DO RIGHT BY (ADVANCEMENT OF RECONCILIATION) The 94 Calls to Action detailed in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) place a responsibility on governments, businesses, educational and religious institutions, health care professionals, civil society groups, and all Canadians to recognize the value of Indigenous worldviews and practices. The report defines reconciliation as “…establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples … there has to be awareness of the past, acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour”. It is with this consideration that the EOED pilot sought to become knowledgeable of the ways in which this initiative could highlight Indigenous culture and traditions and do right by Indigenous communities, moving forward together, in a good way, with actions to back our intentions. This project is an opportunity to take control and push the envelope; to try and incorporate as much Indigenous authority and ways of doing things into it as we could.
This commitment to advancing reconciliation is unique and is not part of the participatory approach that is being implemented and evaluated by the Participatory City Foundation in East London, UK. As such, specific adaptations in Kjipuktuk-Halifax were informed by in-depth discussions with MNFC staff and Indigenous community members and should be further developed and led, alongside Halifax’s Indigenous community. We hope that this approach serves as a learning opportunity for partners and stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the significance and urgency in working towards reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous population and engaging in meaningful action.
This project is a learning opportunity and a chance to shift people’s thinking away from the colonial approach, pushing them to think differently. - Strategic Group member
- Strategic Group member
HIGHLIGHTS RECONCILI-ACTION (GOVERNANCE) The EOED pilot incorporated Indigenous knowledge into the governance structure of the project. This was done by inviting an Elder to multiple EOED Strategic Group meetings to share teachings and insight into Indigenous ways of knowing and being in the world. Grounded in this knowledge, the group engaged in open dialogue and seven guiding principles were created. These were later revised based on feedback from group members. Near the end of the EOED pilot, we held a drop-in Zoom session with Strategic Group members to reflect on the impact of the principles on the work. Participants reflected on whether they had seen the principles in action. The limited timeline of the pilot meant that there was not enough time spent working together to meaningfully evaluate the impact of the guiding principles. When considering future governance models, these principles offer a strong foundation to guide working relationships and decision making but require the collective identification of practices to support and evaluate progress.
I wish we had the principles sooner; it would have impacted how the group was structured; we could have referenced them. - Strategic Group member
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These principles are not like any other set of principles, like business, focused on profit, these focus on people. You can see how they are all interconnected and if you do not follow just one, you cannot follow the others. - Strategic Group member
