Dear Readers:
I begin with a foundational practice of acknowledgment and gratitude for the blessings that surround me. This is a practice that leads my writing, but also opens each of my events, my meetings, and I am trying to bring it into the ‘every day’. For setting the tone for our journey together, I will begin with acknowledging:
The Land that holds us – all generous, all giving, a teacher and guide, a well to draw from, a bringer of joy – this work is in honour of you. Specifically, I stand on the lands of the Northern Secwepemc Nation of T’exelc.
To the Water – without you we are not here. Thank you. May we be strong and wise enough to always protect you.
All cultures revere water.
Life giving, an Elemental Teacher, water guides much of my writing process on Indigenous - Settler relations.
(Photo provided by Squarespace stock images)
To the human, feathered, furred, and finned, tiny and great, those that support us and beautify our lives, thank you for the depth and diversity you teach.
I dedicate this writing to my mentors, two Núxwexw, Indigenous women, from Secwepemcúl’ecw (Sounds like Sheh-whep-mmm – hoolew). Helen Sandy and Meeka Morgan (who is also Nuu-Chah-Nulth), Kukwstsétsemc. None of this would be possible without your generosity and faith in me.
I must acknowledge that this writing is aimed at settlers who wish to learn Right Relationship with Indigenous People. For this process, I have not included the essential work of de-centering whiteness and anti-racism in relation to Black and other People of of the Global Majority, specifically. However, note that rebuilding communities that are caring, equitable and just benefits everyone.
I acknowledge you will each be in different places and spaces of learning/unlearning - there is no “right way” to do this work, and I hope those of you here will gain something of value. I want to share and disseminate insights, tools, research, and more to curious folks who are asking the hard questions that can lead to change. To be honest, it’s uncomfortable taking up this space. White people and white supremacy cause so much harm, and acts like this one I’m embarking on can be ‘performative’, or seem like ‘white saviourism’. I say this to provide context. I say this because I am likely to make mistakes. More on this soon.
Stories arise from our families and homelands, then take shape in our bodies. When the local Secwepemc folks introduce themselves, the ancestral lineage is also included, providing context to the place they inhabit. I am Venta, a white woman second generation settler. My mother is Laima, whose parents are Sofija from Seda and Juozas from Mariampole, both in Lithuania. I am the daughter of Stanley, and granddaughter of Irena from Warsaw, Poland, and Viktor from Kaunas, Lithuania. All of my grandparents were displaced from their lands by the violence of World War 2. I was born, like my parents, in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, traditional territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka/Mohawk. I am forever grateful to the stewards of those Nations and the earth that held me while I lived there. The history of colonial dispossession is long in that territory.
Since Time Immemorial
As they have always said, Indigenous Peoples have inhabited the lands across Turtle Island for innumerable generations. Their relationship to place embodies and exemplifies being in concert with land, cultural practices and life-giving methodology.
With love and compassion, I offer this writing as an invitation to settlers who long to explore a new way of being in ComeUNITY. Our priorities are shifting, must shift, if we are to find accord with the earth, with each other, and come to terms with the legacy of dispossessing Indigenous Peoples of their rightful lands and diminishment of their culture.
The British Columbia Arts Council have provided me with the support and infrastructure to mentor, to learn, to question and express what it is we settlers must individually and collectively do to promote right relationship with Indigenous People and communities. Their support of me as an arts and culture worker and artist is deeply appreciated, and I intend to leverage that support for the upliftment of Indigenous rights and recognition both locally and beyond.
The last two winters, Williams Lake First Nation released the findings of their exploration at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School. I continue to listen to the voices of Indigenous People. I listen, and do not turn away from the difficult Truths exposed. I write this for the Indigenous children who were sent to this institution, some who never returned home.
What will we do, settlers, us visitors to this land, when we feel there is a change required, to heal and rebalance the story told so far? I will humbly share what I have learned. Join me in the next writing exploration, as I tell you about my individual process and the ways I have found meaning and action.
Resources for learning: