Richmond Hill council delays decision on Indigenous land acknowledgement at meetings
“We need a land acknowledgement. Words matter. Let’s have the names.”
YorkRegion.com
Feb. 15, 2019
Sheila Wang
Richmond Hill council is split over whether to acknowledge the Indigenous people and the traditional territories at the beginning of council meetings.
Councillors voted to defer a motion at a council meeting on Feb. 11 that proposes to begin council meetings with a land acknowledgement statement, following mixed reactions from council.
The motion, put forward by Ward 4 Coun. David West, seeks to start council meetings by reciting a 124-word statement to recognize the existence of Indigenous people and acknowledge that we are on their traditional territories.
“It’s just one of the basic things to start the path toward reconciliation and show leadership to our community that Richmond Hill is an inclusive community, we do care and we're trying to make our country and our society better,” West said.
He introduced the motion after two Richmond Hill residents spoke in favour of the proposal and urged council to take the first step of reconciliation.
“We need a land acknowledgement. Words matter. Let’s have the names,” said Marj Andre, a longtime resident in Richmond Hill, also member of Pathways Toward Reconciliation, a community group dedicated to reconciliation with the Indigenous communities.
West’s motion states that Richmond Hill is situated upon the traditional territories of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee and the Anishinaabe people, whose presence continues to this day.
The councillor said the motion is consistent with the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report, which lists 94 actions that Canadians can and must take “in order to repair our past relationships with Indigenous communities.”
The motion also cites the guidance provided by the Association of Ontario Municipalities (AMO), which notes the land acknowledgement statements are increasingly being used across Canada as a practice of reconciliation aimed at recognizing the traditional or treaty territories of Indigenous Peoples.
“I believe that it most definitely shows our First Nations brothers and sisters, friends and families that we do include them, they’re part of our lives, they are part of our town, our region and our country, and our hearts are with them everywhere whenever,” said Ward 5 Coun. Karen Cilevitz, who seconded West’s motion.
However, the motion failed to garner support from deputy mayor Joe DiPaola, who spoke in clear opposition.
“I think it’s too much emphasis on one fraction of our society when we have such a great number of different cultures that live here harmoniously. There is no acknowledgement of the Portuguese, the Italian community, the Chinese community, the Iranian community.”
The deputy mayor also said it is not right to start every meeting with the proposed land acknowledgement because it “runs contrary” to the system of land registry title.
“I think we’re treading down a course of political correctness,” DiPaola said, and it would be “too much of a concession” if council starts every meeting with the recital of the statement.
“I don’t agree with him,” West said after the meeting. “I think this is something very important that we do. It only takes a few moments at the beginning of the meeting. It’s a wonderful way, in my opinion, to start a meeting.”
Following DiPaola’s comment, Ward 1 Coun. Greg Beros moved to defer the motion to the council meeting on March 25 when council is also scheduled to vote on Beros’s motion to sing O Canada at the beginning of the council meeting.
Council voted six to three to approve the deferral motion, which put Mayor Dave Barrow, West and Cilevitz in the minority.
"I'll let our residents draw their own conclusions, but to say I was very surprised by regional councillor and deputy mayor DiPaola's comments in council on Monday night regarding the West/Cilevitz Indigenous land acknowledgement motion would be an understatement,” Cilevitz said.
Cilevitz encourages residents to “respond positively and embrace the opportunity” to include an Indigenous land acknowledgement in council meetings.
“I think it would be a real shame if it did not (pass). I think it’s an opportunity for Richmond Hill to take a leadership role and be consistent with some of the efforts that are gonna be taken all across the country,” said West.
A number of municipalities have adopted the land acknowledgement statements in Ontario, including Ajax, Toronto and Parry Sound, he noted.
“Disillusioned and disappointed at the lack of knowledge about the whole case about the land acknowledgement, and the Indigenous issue, and our history,” Andre said in response to DiPaola’s comment.
She posted on Facebook shortly after the meeting, calling for residents to attend the council meeting in March.
Her post has sparked a discussion about land acknowledgments from the community, generating more than 100 comments within two days.
Suzanne Smoke of Alderville First Nation, who has been actively involved in the conversation, said she plans to address council next month.
“It’s about respect for Aboriginal people,” Smoke said. “This is our land base. This is where I come from. This is my home and we are not going anywhere.”
Smoke is Indigenous cultural co-ordinator of Biindigen Healing and Art, York Region’s nonprofit serving the off-reserve Indigenous community.
There is a huge difference between land acknowledgments and land claims, which people are often confused between, she said, urging people to educate themselves with an Indigenous perspective to have a true understanding and gain knowledge of land acknowledgments.
The proposed land acknowledgement:
We would like to start by acknowledging that we are on the traditional territories of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee and the Anishinaabe Peoples, whose presence here continues to this day. We would also like to acknowledge the land we are on is at the meeting place of two treaties, the lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit and those of the First Nations of the Williams Treaty. We would thank them and other Indigenous Peoples for sharing this land with us.
We acknowledge this land and people because the first step to reconciliation is recognizing the existence of Indigenous people. A shared understanding of how our collective past brought us to where we are today will help us walk together into a better future.
