I am a white settler with British and Ukrainian roots. I was fortunate to be born into a family that learned from, respected, and valued Indigenous stories, culture, and a…
Reckoning with coloniality
I am a white settler with British and Ukrainian roots. I was fortunate to be born into a family that learned from, respected, and valued Indigenous stories, culture, and a deep connection to nature. As a young woman, my Mother worked with several Indigenous communities in New Brunswick, supporting Indigenous-led professional theatre productions during which she made lifelong friendships and experienced her own deep learning. She was intentional about introducing my younger brother and me to many aspects of Indigenous culture throughout our childhood: Pow wows, art, stories, etc. These experiences were instrumental in developing my own connection to the natural world and what fostered my appreciation and reverence. What I didn’t realize until I started diving more deeply into my own learning journey, was just how much I still had to learn and unlearn. That I had – and still have – biases and colonial mindsets very much entrenched in my ways of thinking and being that I wasn’t even consciously aware of. And, that it is my personal responsibility to take the time and make the effort to recognize how I contribute to harm, knowingly and unknowingly, and to commit to continue taking steps to educate myself on how I can move from support to accountable action.
The vibrant, powerful, joy-filled wisdom grounded in the Indigenous cultural activities and various resources I’ve participated in, and that have been shared with me over the years, have enriched my life in ways I can’t articulate to the extent I’d like to in this one blog.
Since 2009, June 21st has marked National Indigenous Peoples’ Day (NIPD), a day that exists because Indigenous peoples fought for their visibility in a colonial state that tried to erase them. For those of us who are settlers, it is an invitation to ask what we are actually doing with that. NIPD is part of National Indigenous History Month every Spring, which recognizes the history and lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island, established to invite settlers to reckon with the ongoing impacts of colonization, and to ask what decoloniality actually requires of us in practice.
Striving to uncolonize Greenpeace Canada
At Greenpeace Canada – and in the environmental and social justice movements more broadly — we start from a simple fact: this is stolen land. The nature and climate crises do not land equally; Indigenous and other marginalized communities bear the deepest harm. Our work to be in the right relationship with nature, and to pursue ecological, social and climate justice, begins there.
That work requires us to reckon with our own history. Colonial conservation in Canada began by displacing Indigenous Peoples from their territories under the auspices of “protecting nature”; creating parks and protected areas that treated land as empty when it was not. This model did not disappear. It was exported and replicated across Africa, Asia, and Latin America under the same logic, often with the same consequences. What has shifted, in some spaces, is a growing acknowledgment of Indigenous Peoples as the traditional and current stewards of land and water, as rights and knowledge holders, and as leaders on living in relationship with the natural world. But acknowledgment alone is not the bar. Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is the bar, meaning Indigenous Peoples have the right to say no, to set the terms, and to lead. That is what centring Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination actually means in practice. That is the commitment we are working toward.
That commitment has a name: land back and reparations. Land is not a resource to be managed, it is a living relationship we are part of. From that place, we are committed to prioritizing Indigenous-led conservation and challenging the colonial structures we operate within. This includes being held accountable to the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the 231 Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2Spirit People, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
What does that mean in our day-to-day work? It means sitting with who we are: a white-led, predominantly white-staffed, colonially-structured organization. And yet many of us, myself included, are genuinely working to uncolonize our ways of working, to deepen our relationships with Indigenous partners and communities, and to show up with more accountability than the institution we work within was designed for. But wanting to do better is not the same as doing better. That requires us to understand the structures of oppression that continue to cause harm, including within our own organization, and to hold ourselves accountable to something beyond our own good intentions.
Learn with us
The resources below were recommended by members of GPC staff. They are one small part of a much longer journey and I hope you will join me in exploring them this National Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
GREENPEACE CANADA STAFF-RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
READ
Conan MacLean, Director of Fundraising
Valley of the Birdtail, by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson
“One of the best history books I’ve read, certainly in the last few years. Informative, infuriating, and, ultimately, inspiring.”
Jessica Da Silva, JEDIS & Integrity Specialist
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
“Okay, I have to start with a disclaimer: I know I can’t not recommend Braiding Sweetgrass (if you haven’t read it, stop everything), but The Serviceberry is its own kind of medicine. It’s short, it’s quiet, and it will make you want to be in complete communion with the earth. Kimmerer weaves Indigenous plant knowledge and gift economy philosophy in a way that lingers.”
“Non-negotiable. This one touches your soul in a way that reorients how you move through the world.”
Laura Kenyon, Head of Climate
Seven Fallen Feathers, by Tanya Talaga
“An amazing investigative non-fiction book about the Indigenous children who’ve died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. You can’t read this book and deny that it is dangerous to be an Indigenous child in present day Canada.”
Madison Kozdas, Executive Assistant and Governance Coordinator
In My Own Moccasins, by Helen Knott & Calling My Spirit Back, by Elaine Alec
“Both books are memoirs and present the realities and fallout of the terrible things humans do to each other with beautiful and brutal frankness. As such, neither book is for the faint of heart, but I believe that truly goes without saying when one wishes to be more informed about historic and current/ongoing abuses. There are very fortunately multitudes of personal memoirs like these now available. These have been two of the most impactful for me, personally. Both writers are courageous and generous in their sharing, and do an immense amount of work & advocacy here in Canada.”
Jenn Brown, Head of Comms
Five Little Indians, by Michelle Good
“This book is devastating and an epic tome of resilience, all at the same time. It should be a must-read for all non-Indigenous people in Canada. It has stayed with me – writing that so viscerally captures and shares the impacts of the generational trauma caused by the Residential School System. You will be changed by reading it.”
LISTEN
…more recs from Jess Da Silva!
Matriarch Movement Podcast, hosted by Shayla Oulette Stonechild
“Centres Indigenous women’s leadership, wellness, and resistance. Shayla’s voice is grounding and galvanizing at the same time.”
Media Indigena, hosted by Rick Harp
“Sharp, rigorous, unapologetically Indigenous current affairs. Probably the most consistent source I return to for analysis rooted in Indigenous political thought.”
…from Jenn B.
Land(ing) BackPodcast
Featuring the inspiring stories of change-making Indigenous youth, Land(ing) Back “…is a five-part audio blog series presented in collaboration with Youth Climate Lab and 4Rs Youth Movement.”
“This CBC radio show is hosted by Cree woman and award-winning journalist and poet, Rosanna Deerchild, whose voice is as engaging as it is unique, both topically and sonically! Featuring an array of Indigenous guests speaking on news and current events, stories of interest, and culture and entertainment, there is something here for all listeners to enjoy and learn/unlearn from on your commutes, or while sitting at your desk.”
MUSIC
A list of music recommendations for folks wanting to groove:
Rock out with the ultra powerful voices of Old Soul Rebel
Be mesmerized and move to the unique beats of The Halluci Nation, fusing traditional and modern Indigenous sounds with classic dance and hip-hop beats
Looking for a soulful voice and deep-hitting storytelling? Check out William Prince
With a voice that spans ethereal to strength to mournful à la Stevie Nicks, Elisapie’s multi-language songs – including some covers you’ll recognize in her first language, Inuktitut! – are ones you’ll keep coming back to. (And don’t sleep on her incredible style!)
Multi-hyphenate Ta’Kaiya Blaney has been an activist and singer since she was a small child. Her music is informed by the issues she fights for, and are described as “…more than songs, they are a call to action.”
Life songs and stories you may relate to, sung with the deliciously soulful, gravely voice of Ruby Waters
A name you surely recognize, Tanya Tagaq is a member of the Order of Canada and JUNO award-winning “…world-changing figure at the forefront of seismic social, political and environmental change.”
PARTICIPATE, LEARN, UNLEARN
New to your learning journey? Start here!
From Lydie Padilla, Head of Insights and Engagement Systems
A Tiohtiake (Montreal, Quebec)-based organization offering resources in both French and English, with the goal of deepening relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people through sharing stories, experiences, and perspectives.
Learn about the Indigenous lands you live, work, and play on: https://native-land.ca/
United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: https://social.desa.un.org/issues/indigenous-peoples/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples
Familiarize yourself with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and actively choose a few you can implement personally and professionally.
- NCTR – National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
- Plan for activities upcoming during National Truth and Reconciliation week this Fall: https://trw-svr.nctr.ca/
**About the NCTR: the NCTR is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations. The most important service we provide is delivering Survivors and their families a record of their own history, a sacred bundle that the NCTR will protect.**
Looking to deepen your learning? Check these FREE courses!
This piece was written in collaboration by Jenn Brown, Head of Comms and Jessica Da Silva, JEDIS & Integrity Specialist, Greenpeace Canada
