The meeting place

It's one thing to take a course on the history of colonialism. It's quite another to raise your hand and identify yourself as a settler in a room of Aboriginals, and then have people clap for you.

This weekend I had the honour of attending "The Meeting Place" conference in Toronto, where I witnessed firsthand the powerful accounts of survivors of Canada's Indian Residential School System, and observed the complex work of truth and reconciliation.  It was moving and disturbing, and even as I start to write this reflection, I'm not quite sure where it will go...

I'll begin by talking about my reasons for going.  As I work out my personal philosophy on development, I'm realizing that it's about decolonization. It's about alliance and identification with the poor.  It's about solidarity.  I know that these words don't necessarily align with development practice, in which some people ignore the contradiction in getting rich while "serving" the poor.  But to me, social justice involves mutual transformation, and if I'm truly interested in working with marginalized people, I have to start by listening to them, and working to understand their experiences, no matter how uncomfortable I might feel.  I must humbly recognize my own hand in contributing to their challenges, and take responsibility for the harmful actions of my ancestors.  Only then can I engage with them in working toward development--a process of collectively imagining and realizing a third way of peaceful coexistence, equality, and respect.

In September, I'll be travelling to Lima, Peru to work at the Centre for Black Peruvian Women's Development.  It's an exciting opportunity, and I'm looking forward to the experience of living and working in a new culture. But as I learn more about the struggle for Afro-Peruvian rights, and the Peruvian government's failure to make any real changes since their 2009 apology, I am struck by the parallels between the situation of Afro-Peruvians, and the experience of Canada's own Aboriginal peoples.  I cannot exoticize social injustice when it is happening right here where I sit, on First Nations land, which I happen to call "my backyard."  I cannot pretend that development problems only exist in the Global South, or work for Afro-Peruvian rights while closing my eyes to the contaminated water, land theft, and poor education in Aboriginal communities across Canada.  For this reason, I think that learning about historical and contemporary Aboriginal issues in Canada, and working to decolonize myself is an important part of preparing for my work this fall.  It was with these goals in mind that I chose to attend "The Meeting Place" as a representative of the Mennonite Church, which operated three residential schools in Ontario; as a Canadian settler, who continues to occupy First Nations land; and as an ally of my Aboriginal neighbours, who live with the pain of historical wrongs and continued discrimination.

At the banquet on Saturday night, when former National Chief Ovide Mercredi stated his appreciation for the settlers who had come to the conference, and asked us to raise our hands, I admit that I didn't know what to feel.  Clearly, I wasn't the only one, as about half of the Aboriginals in the room began to applaud, and the other half silently wrestled with their true feelings about our presence.  But our struggles, our wounds, and our questioning became our meeting place, as we shared stories and food, and laughed and cried together.  From this meeting place, we were able to take an important first step together.  But as Mercredi reminded us, there is a long road ahead.

 So let's begin a conversation:

• What are the next steps?
• How can I continue to take part of the truth and reconciliation process?
• What does it mean to de-colonize myself?
• What does it mean to de-colonize development?
• What does the struggle of Aboriginals in Canada mean for International Development students, and our work abroad?

Please comment with your thoughts, opinions, and ideas!

-Laura-