Indigenization, Decolonization and Reconciliation in Canada
Our journey in creating the Step into the River: A Framework for Economic Reconciliation involved an exploration of what is meant by Reconciliation and how it relates to other processes such as Indigenization and Decolonization. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are distinct yet interconnected processes. There is a common practice of tokenizing reconciliation when one is claiming to be engaging in it without committing to and enabling the processes of decolonization and Indigenization. These three are interconnected, and they are all necessary to facilitate the others. Before getting further into this document, it is important to understand more fully what these processes are and how they are interconnected.
One can think about these processes not as having fixed universal definitions but as being specific to the context in which they are showing up. In this case, our particular context relates to the sphere of land use and community economic development in the region of British Columbia. These understandings are important especially in working towards systems-transformation in the Canadian economy.
Decolonization
Decolonization requires questioning and dismantling the Western worldview in places where it has asserted dominance in structures, processes and knowledge systems over those of Indigenous peoples. It is a process of naming and shifting imbalances in power for the purpose of valuing and balancing many worldviews. For the economic sector in particular, it involves examining and dismantling the institutions and structures in place that favour settler society with regards to land use, business ownership and entrepreneurship, financing and community development.
For individuals of settler identity, decolonization involves examining in what ways settler colonialism has afforded you privileges in our current economic system. It also calls for reflections on how you and your ancestors came to arrive on the land you are on, and who you are in relation to the Indigenous peoples in the community where you live. Decolonization invites you to develop an awareness of worldviews that are different from your own.
What exactly does it mean to “decolonize”? Why should businesses or schools or other institutions commit to decolonizing? Lastly, how do we even do it?
Firstly, before we look at decolonizing, let us first understand what colonization is. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy they define colonization as “Colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another”. The BC Campus’ Indigenization Guide: Colonization explains that
“Colonizers impose their own cultural values, religions, and laws, make policies that do not favour the Indigenous Peoples. They seize land and control the access to resources and trade. As a result, the Indigenous people become dependent on colonizers.”
Many humans could agree that colonization is unethical at best, and upholds violent oppression and dehumanization of Indigenous and othered populations at worst (and often leads to genocide). However, we still have a long way to go to convince all hearts and minds of the harms of colonization.
We know that colonization is relentless to the pursuit of land ‘ownership’ and control. In 1655 what is now known as Canada 97% of the land was stewarded by the various nations. Present day, less than 1% of the land is stewarded by Indigenous peoples. Notice we don’t say “owned” as that is a colonial concept to own the land. One thing that is important to mention is that colonization also includes the theft of ideas, policies and inventions. Three examples of that are Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (inspired by the Blackfoot Nation); the invention of rubber and locating the Earth’s equator (Quichua peoples); and the influence of governance system in the US (Iroquois Confederacy). The origins of these knowledge systems are not known since colonization is premised on the fact that Indigenous peoples are “inferior” and in Maslow’s case, he wouldn’t have been taken seriously if he credited the Blackfoot tribe. This is only three examples of countless instances of extracting Indigenous knowledge and passing it as Eurocentric thought.
Mi'kmaq scholar Marie Battiste came up with a term for this and it's called “cognitive imperialism”. In her words: “when Indigenous knowledge is omitted or ignored in the schools, and a Eurocentric foundation is advanced to the exclusion of other knowledges and languages, these are the conditions that define an experience of cognitive imperialism” (Battiste, p. 26, Decolonizing Education, 2013).
What does it mean to decolonize? If colonization is the forced assimilation and/or subjugation of Indigenous peoples and embedding the superiority of Western worldviews in society – then decolonizing is the undoing of this supremacy. According to Pulling Together: A guide for Indigenization of post-secondary institutions. A professional learning series they state that:
Decolonization necessitates shifting our frames of reference with regard to the knowledge we hold; examining how we have arrived at such knowledge; and considering what we need to do to change misconceptions, prejudice, and assumptions about Indigenous Peoples. For individuals of settler identity, decolonization is the process of examining your beliefs about Indigenous Peoples and culture by learning about yourself in relationship to the communities where you live and the people with whom you interact.
Decolonizing is about collective liberation from oppressive systems and recognizing the value, contributions and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. It invites us to examine our belief systems and worldviews and see how we might be consciously or unconsciously upholding colonial ideologies and dismissing or appropriating the rich, vast and depth of Indigenous worldviews. When we start to decolonize we give credit where credit is due by acknowledging ideologies or systems that are rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being; we look to Indigenous folks as teachers and thought leaders; and make room for two-eyed seeing that is based in cultural appreciation (not appropriation).
Indigenization
Indigenization is also a process that works to find balance between different worldviews by embedding Indigenous knowledge, values and ways of being into systems and practices. These ways of knowing can serve to transform systems, places, and hearts where desired. Two-eyed seeing is important here because Indigenization is not about merely replacing Western knowledge and practices with those of Indigenous people, but rather bringing Indigenous and Western knowledge systems into conversation with one another, recognizing that both can be harnessed for the well-being of all.
According to Pulling Together: A guide for Indigenization of post-secondary institutions. A professional learning series they state that:
Indigenization is a process of naturalizing Indigenous knowledge systems and making them evident to transform spaces, places, and hearts…It is important to note that Indigenization does not mean changing something Western into something Indigenous. The goal is not to replace Western knowledge with Indigenous knowledge, and the goal is not to merge the two into one. Rather, Indigenization can be understood as weaving or braiding together two distinct knowledge systems so that learners can come to understand and appreciate both.
Indigenization recognizes the validity of Indigenous worldviews, knowledge and perspectives
Indigenization identifies opportunities for indigeneity to be expressed
Indigenization incorporates Indigenous ways of knowing and doing
Indigenization requires non-Indigenous people to be aware of Indigenous worldviews and to respect that those worldviews are equal to other views. Indigenization is about incorporating Indigenous worldviews, knowledge and perspectives into the education system, right from primary grades to universities.
It must be acknowledged that there is not a homogenous Indigenous worldview and that each Indigenous nation or community will have their own worldview. There may be similarities and common points but it is a frequently made assumption that they are all the same. Therefore, when an organization, say a school district, makes a commitment to indigenize their curriculum they need to consult with the Indigenous community on whose land the schools stand for input on how to incorporate their knowledge and ways of doing it into the curriculum.
Indigenization is not just about Indigenizing curriculum in educational settings, but to provide space for Indigenous ways of being, doing and knowing, but more specficially lead and transform thought leadership in all spaces. This could be seen as building wellness / well-being into every system. Dismantling the status qou and leveraging new ways of being, doing and knowing from Indigenous Peoples with great intentionality of using natral law within our systems.
Reconciliation
While Indigenization and decolonization are oriented towards finding balance in worldviews and respecting and allowing for multiple ways of being and knowing to guide us, reconciliation in this context refers to the process of healing relationships built on abuse, exploitation, oppression and violence. This relationship has led to ongoing trauma, mistrust, inequality and continued privilege of one group over another. With reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada, this harmful relationship spans multiple groups of people and many generations over hundreds of years. While there is a common assumption that reconciliation is primarily the work of Indigenous people, the onus is in fact on settler individuals and society to ameliorate the harm done, and requires a great deal of emotional work and reckoning for all those involved. As Chief Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission states, “if you feel connected to the future of this country, and if you feel responsible for the future, then you need to care about reconciliation, for the sake of the future of this country.”
According to Pulling Together: A guide for Indigenization of post-secondary institutions. A professional learning series they state that:
Reconciliation is about addressing past wrongs done to Indigenous Peoples, making amends, and improving relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to create a better future for all. Chief Justice Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has stated, “Reconcilliation is not an Aboriginal problem – it involves all of us”…With reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, we are not only talking about a relationship between two individuals, but we are also talking about a relationship between multiple groups of people and between many generations over hundreds of years.
Reconciliation is described as working together to repair a relationship. The relationship between Indigenous Peoples, the Crown and Canadians has not been well for some time due to the nature of historical wrongs against them. In Canada, the process of reconciliation is tied to the federal government's relationship with Indigenous peoples. The term has come to describe attempts made by individuals and institutions to raise awareness about colonization, capitalization, and its ongoing effects on Indigenous peoples. Reconciliation also refers to efforts made to address the harms caused by various policies and programs of colonization, such as residential schools, but limited to. For some, the word represents an opportunity to reflect on the past, to forgive, heal and to create spaces for justice. For others, however, current gestures of reconciliation are merely performative and lack meaningful action to address the harms done by colonization. But Reconciliation requires all Canadians to take action no matter what.
Two key understandings about the reconciliation process are that it is reciprocal and that it looks different to everyone. The experience of colonization has been ongoing since the moment settlers arrived on Turtle Island. As such, the process of reconciliation is expected to be lengthy but certainly achievable over the generations. Education plays a special role in reconciliation, given that over at least a century Indigenous children were forcibly pushed into residential schools, and most Canadians did not learn about this truth in their own experiences of education. As the Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair stated in his role as Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, “Education is what got us here, and education is what will get us out.” A key consideration in any action taken is that decisions that are made are guided by Indigenous communities and made with these communities.
What our future should be, please note that I did not say ‘could be’ as this wording contates the notion that it may not be possible. Where I hold the notion that it will be because we have the responsbility and accountability to the future generations to do this work now so they don’t have to. As I don’t want our children to have to carry on this work because we weren’t courageous enough enough to do it. You have to embrace to this discomfort and let your children bear witness to the legacy you are leaving them as you move forward each day not doing anything different than the day before. Our future can be filled with love, hope, faith, greatness, honouring and willingess for greater change. Dr Chief Robert Joseph shares this brilliantly in this video from the Pathways to Reconciliation Conference in 2016, watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpFEc2NfmUc
Reconciliation, Decolonization and Indigenization requires the cooperation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, governments, organizations and institutions.
Braiding the three processes together
Reconciliation is certainly an important and necessary beginning: the start of recognizing, knowing and understanding of the history and impacts of ongoing settler colonialism on Indigenous peoples. Because these are deep wounds in need of healing, the process of reconciliation is ongoing. Decolonization can be viewed as the ‘undoing’ of colonial origins and Indigenization is the resurgence of Indigenous knowing and being. Indigenization moves beyond tokenistic gestures of acknowledgement or basic inclusion done in a colonial way, to a shift in practices, structures, institutions, systems, and so forth. In short, all processes work towards honouring sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples and Nations, whilst recognizing and allowing for their unique ways of knowing to be respected, practiced and learned in the ways that other ways of knowing and doing have been.
Once again, according to Pulling Together: A guide for Indigenization of post-secondary institutions. A professional learning series they state that:
Decolonization is a component of Indigenization, because it means challenging the dominance of Western thought and bringing Indigenous thought to the forefront. Indigenization is part of reconciliation, because it involves creating a new relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. But these processes have important distinctions. Most notably, reconciliation is primarily a settler responsibility, and decolonization must be led by Indigenous people. In addition, the emotional work of reconciliation is different from that of Indigenization and decolonization, which have less of a focus on making amends for past traumas, and a greater focus on mainstreaming Indigenous thought.
Instead of looking for an endpoint where all of these processes lead to, I invite you to take a step along the journey and see where it takes you. As you dig deeper with each step you take, recognize that mistakes will be made along the way. Patience and an openness to change is absolutely required along this learning path and opportunities for growth will present themselves.
