What does meaningful recognition look like?

What is meaningful reconciliation? Good question. It depends on who is asking it and how “meaningful” is defined, for starters. If we draw on the decades-long guidance from the Supreme Court of Canada instructing federal governments to engage in “meaningful” consultation with Indigenous Peoples relating to rights, land, and lifeways, the outlook does not look promising. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) offered 94 Calls to Action that the commissioners believed would set us on the path of reconciliation. The TRC pointed out colonial policies were genocidal in intent and practice for more than a century, and remain firmly entrenched in Canadian institutions (governance, policy, and laws). Colonialism and its various permutations remain, coupled with racism, as pointed out by the Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). It becomes hard to imagine how such a historical and ongoing legacy of colonialism can be undone in years or even decades. It is important to imagine reconciliation as a verb, a process toward something as well as a pathway out of something—the colonial state and its violence. Is this possible in our collective lifetime? Ironically, according to life-expectancy data from Statistic Canada, non-Indigenous peoples live longer than Indigenous Peoples, so chances are non-Indigenous people may live to see “reconciliation,” but not Indigenous Peoples due to our shorter life expectancy, higher rate of mortality, and death from avoidable causes. Deborah McGregor (Anishinabe), Whitefish River First Nation, is associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice at York University. Photograph courtesy of Deborah McGregor Indigenous Peoples continue to experience significant gaps in well-being in key areas that suggest that undoing harm or, better yet, ceasing to perpetuate harm remains a significant challenge for Canada. I have no doubt that 62 per cent of Canadians are optimistic meaningful reconciliation can be achieved, but eventually reality hits when yet another news story reveals continued violence against Indigenous Peoples, perpetuated by the state and its actors and by non-Indigenous peoples. It is important to not separate reconciliation from other processes in Canada. It was only in 2015, when the TRC stated: “For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as 'cultural genocide.'” This means, any time treaties and Indigenous rights are ignored, violated, or questioned, colonialism is manifested. When Indigenous governments, governance, and autonomy are undermined or shapeshifted into versions of the colonial state, assimilation persists. The fact is, more than 25 years ago, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and its more than 440 recommendations coupled with the TRC’s Calls to Action, in addition to the MMIWG inquiry’s 231 Calls to Justice offer 765 ideas for heading down the path of reconciliation. These calls, in addition to numerous other inquiries involving injustices perpetuated against Indigenous Peoples require an “absolute paradigm shift” to dismantle colonialism, according to the MMIWG inquiry’s final report. There is no shortage of ideas about what to do. There is significant cynicism among Indigenous Peoples about the concept of reconciliation—indeed hopes were high in 1996, 2015, and in 2019—yet the everyday reality for Indigenous Peoples continues to poke holes in reconciliation aspirations. Despite my misgiving of the likelihood of achieving meaningful reconciliation in the lifetime of Canadians, I cannot dismiss the ideal of reconciliation. I will not disrespect the wishes of the thousands of residential school survivors, who—at much risk to themselves in sharing their pain, agony, words, and trauma—gave substance to the work of the TRC in defining a new vision of what Canada can be. Generously, they charted a path not only for their children, grandchildren, and future generations, but for all peoples. I do believe they envisioned Indigenous-led reconciliation, where Indigenous Peoples determine processes and outcomes. The question Canadians should be asking is: what does meaningful reconciliation look like for Indigenous Peoples, beyond the 765 ideas already offered? Meaningful reconciliation means Canada and Canadians must reconcile with Indigenous self-determination and sovereignty in all is diverse expressions. Deborah McGregor (Anishinabe), Whitefish River First Nation, is associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice at York University. Her research has focused on Indigenous knowledge and legal systems, and their various applications in diverse contexts including water and environmental governance, environmental and climate justice, health, and environment and sustainability. The Hill Times