Reconciling in the Apocalypse

“few have an understanding of what it means to practice reconciliation in the face of ongoing colonialism”

“we aren’t past the stage where Canada’s biggest magazines will still pay for regurgitated ideas of reserves and Northern communities like La Loche as “doomed,” and of Indigenous peoples as inherently “tragic,” disregarding the theft and dispossession preceding these labels”

“By some of the nation’s most progressive, we are looked down upon with a sense of pity, as if reconciliation means it is the duty of Canadians to learn to be kind to Indigenous people.”

“But it seems that with any idea of reconciliation I’ve heard, there is an unspoken requirement of Indigenous forgiveness and Indigenous consent to continued occupation.”

“Healing, we are told, cannot begin to happen until we forgive colonial sins of the past.”

“The real task of reconciliation, however, is not in Canada waiting around to be forgiven for colonialism so business can carry on as usual; it is for Canadians to end the ongoing colonial violence that still suffocates Indigenous lives.”

“In knowing the histories of our relations and of this land, we find the knowledge to recreate all that our worlds would’ve been if not for the interruption of colonization.”

“Far from being tragic or doomed, as Indigenous communities we are working toward our futures daily; we are working toward futures that Canada tried endlessly to curtail, control and eliminate entirely. Thanks to the work of generations, Indigenous futures have never been so clear and bright. Indigenous futures look like the resurgence of our languages, our knowledges, our governance systems, and journeys home to our traditional territories.”

“A key requirement for any of these futures to exist is a healthy world capable of sustaining our futures.”

“When the idea of traditional Indigenous knowledges is raised, Canadian political theorists will roll their eyes as if the idea of “living in harmony with nature” is something cliché, stereotypical and naive. On the contrary, to return to the lands of our ancestors is the most radical and revolutionary practice of all.”

“Unfortunately, Indigenous people are no longer the only ones responsible for the well-being of this land. This is where reconciliation really matters.”

“Reconciliation is about Indigenous liberation, and it is about the liberation of the earth. We are never “all in this together” while Indigenous communities are stripped to the bone for the fat to maintain Canada.”

“Reconciliation includes the land. Reconciliation includes not only humans, but “more-than-human” creatures. If we follow the Native Youth Sexual Health Network’s philosophy of “Connected to Body, Connected to Land,” reconciliation has a lot to do with consent. Just as we follow rules of consent with intimate partners, Indigenous people reserve the right to choose which settlers with whom we are willing to reconcile.”

“This can seem an abstract idea until we break it down to its core: reconciliation as the restoration of good relations.”

“Restoring good relations requires fundamentally breaking with a vastly unjust world to a focus on how we relate to each other and the world around us. If we move forward on the principles of good relations and consent, what would reconciliation look like?”

“A living example of reconciliation is Idle No More’s One House, Many Nations project. In collaboration with Mini Homes of Manitoba, Idle No More volunteers (Indigenous and settlers alike) are building fully self-sustainable mini homes as a hands-on response to deplorable housing conditions imposed on First Nations communities. The very first Idle No More mini home was placed in Big River First Nation this January. With tens of thousands needing safe housing in this country, the reality is we don’t have time to wait for the duty or kindness of politicians while our people are homeless.”

“After the shooting in La Loche, Canadian flags are flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning for lives lost to the ongoing violence of colonialism. Perhaps a move to reconciliation, then, requires lowering the flag entirely.”