An Indigenous land acknowledgement could soon grace the beginning of all Greater Sudbury city council and committee meetings.
During Tuesday’s city council meeting, Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre introduced a motion to have a land acknowledgement drafted alongside Indigenous partners before the end of the year.
The brief statement is expected to be read before meetings in the new year and, according to Lapierre’s motion, will “provide a time for reflection and demonstrate recognition of Indigenous lands, treaties and peoples.”
“There are quite a few municipalities that have adopted this,” Lapierre said during Tuesday’s meeting. ”When I read some of their wording it didn’t quite have the same … meaning that maybe our partners here, our Indigenous people locally around Sudbury, would like to work with.”
Ian Wood, the city’s executive director of Strategic Initiatives, Communications and Citizen Service, has been charged with reaching out to Indigenous partners to draft a statement.
“I want this to be meaningful,” Lapierre said. “I don’t want this to be just another process that we do.”
The city’s elected officials were unanimous in supporting Lapierre’s motion, and Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann noted it came two days before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Thursday.
“This will just make us better,” she said.
The city’s elected officials currently open meetings with a moment of silent reflection, which although usually ambiguous is sometimes targeted toward a specific cause. During the Sept. 14 meeting, for instance, Mayor Brian Bigger asked that councillors take a moment to “reflect in their own way” about former councillor Austin Davey, who died Sept. 7 as a result of complications of Parkinson’s.
Various local groups and organizations have established land recognition statements, with the following Laurentian University’s:
We’d like to begin our (put the name here – ex. gathering, meeting, task force, other) today by acknowledging the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850. We also further recognize that Laurentian University is located on the traditional lands of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and that the Greater City of Sudbury also includes the traditional lands of the Wahnapitae First Nation. (As descendants of settlers we extend our deepest respect to all Indigenous peoples — this sentence may be added as deemed appropriate) - Miigwech.
On Wednesday, Bigger issued a written statement about today’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in which he said the day is intended both to commemorate the tragic history of residential schools and is a time to “reflect on our individual roles and responsibilities on the path toward reconciliation.”
“So today and every day, I strongly encourage residents to take time to seek additional knowledge or truth and to reflect on those so profoundly impacted by the residential school system,” he said. “As a country, we must commit to strengthen our understanding, and to honour and amplify Indigenous voices as we work towards reconciliation together.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
