A New Era of Municipal – Indigenous Partnerships

The past ten years have seen enormous growth of indigenous populations in the major cities of Atlantic Canada. Dating back to the Peace & Friendship treaties of the 18th century, indigenous groups and municipalities have co-existed, in some form or another, for nearly 300 years, however it took the advent of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report to move from co-existence to partnership.

Historically, indigenous peoples have been excluded from the decision-making apparatus of the government, whether at the federal, provincial, or municipal level. Municipalities, particularly the capital cities of the region, have put forward strong, good-faith efforts at reconciliation to build a better collective future that includes and supports indigenous peoples. Indigenous groups, for their part, have worked through historical trauma and are focused on creating a better future for their people in partnerships with municipalities.

From symbolic gestures, such as land acknowledgements, to real investments in indigenous language and cultural preservation and construction of needed community infrastructure, to policies aimed at helping indigenous peoples feel welcomed and supported in cities, municipalities are truly leading the way on reconciliation.

One key element of the 94 calls to action of the TRC is the requirement of all orders of government:  “to provide education to public servants on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations”

This call to action has kicked off a significant amount of cultural education on the impacts of colonialism in the Atlantic, including several important actions in support of reconciliation, namely:

• Charlottetown removing a statue of Prime Minister MacDonald at the request of the urban indigenous communities.

• Fredericton committing to supplying important equipment, assets, and training to nearby indigenous communities

• Halifax creating a large number of tasks forces for specific policy issues  that include significant indigenous representation.

• St John’s making inclusions in community plans, drafting MOUs with local indigenous partners, and providing funding to community centres.

Notably, the majority of these actions were taken in direct response to the TRC report. Ten years on, it’s clear that the TRC report has had a massive impact in Atlantic Canada. By shining a light on a difficult past, the TRC report has provided the policy pathways, political will, and awareness that politicians need to push forward on new policies, while also signalling to indigenous communities across the country that municipalities are ready to work together.

Have your communities done interested work in the last ten years to improve relations with Indigenous groups? Did the TRC report kick off change in your region like it did here? Email us your thoughts at tyler@strategicsteps.ca.