The report has been somewhat of a catalyst for municipal governments and school districts to take action to address reconciliation. This article is about what some local governments are doing and suggestions for what others can do.
Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary set the bar in declaring a year of reconciliation.
"Offering aboriginal cultural awareness training to all city employees and mandatory training for Saskatoon Police Service employees.
Offered a "Profile Saskatoon Grant" of $150,000 and organizing support for the 2016 World Indigenous Business Forum and International Indigenous Music and Cultural Festival.
Another display of commitment towards reconciliation is for towns and cities to recognize they are on unceded territory. The City of Vancouver led the way on this initiative. In June 2014, a motion was passed unanimously by Vancouver's city council declaring the city was on unceded First Nation territory.
"Be it resolved that the City of Vancouver formally acknowledge that the city of Vancouver is on the unceded traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations" read the motion.
In January 2016, the City of Penticton and the Penticton Indian Band signed an agreement to collaborate on tourism and economic development. Under the terms of the agreement, the city will share 10% of the casino revenue it receives from the province and the Penticton Indian Band will provide land for commercial and light industrial use. According to the press release this is a first for a municipality and a First Nation to sign an agreement of this kind.
What are other actions local governments can do to show their commitment to reconciliation?
Declare and celebrate an Indigenous Day - work with Elders and representative First Nations on the appropriate date and celebration activities.
Declare a Year of Reconciliation in which government departments develop protocols, hold information sessions for public, cultural competency training for staff, and hosts celebratory activities. A good date for launching your Year of Reconciliation is June 21 which is National Aboriginal Day.
Acknowledge treaty or traditional territory on their websites.
Display local First Nation art in their buildings.
Work with local First Nation communities on joint economic development initiatives - we include this one in our public training.
There is a movement in the United States to rename Columbus Day "Indigenous Day" - so far six cities have made the move. Renaming Columbus Day is an acknowledgment that Christopher Columbus did not "discover" the New World. Here's a short video on why it is an insult to say the explorer "discovered" a land that at the time was home to one-fifth of the world's population.
So, kudos to all municipalities and cities who are moving their communities along the continuum towards reconciliation. I hope to see more examples like it.
In this interview with CBC, Ginger Gosnell-Myers, former Manager of Aboriginal Relations for Vancouver, talks about reconciliation, what the City is doing in terms of honouring the 94 Calls-to-Action, and the importance of Indigenous awareness training for staff.
Here's an article about City of Brandon and Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples' Council provided Indigenous awarness training to approximately 100 City of Brandon representatives as well as several members of community organizations and stakeholder groups staff.
Here's a handy free eBook for you to download, and a great example of reconciliation and local government.