This self-guided edition of the “Living in Indigenous Sovereignty” Poetry Walk invites you to explore themes of Indigenous sovereignty and truth, justice and reconciliation through the poetry of five Indigenous authors and two non-Indigenous authors.
This post also serves as an archival presentation of the poetry walk lead by me, Anna Nieminen, in Scarborough-Agincourt on May 7, 2022, as part of the Jane’s Walk Festival Toronto. I also offer this post as a model for future poetry walks focused on walking and “living in Indigenous Sovereignty.”
APPRECIATION
Thank you to Jane’s Walk Toronto for organizing the local festival once again. Thanks also to Muskrat Magazine for posting my walk press release on their website.
Thank you to the six walkers who came out to Scarborough-Agincourt on a busy Jane’s Walk Festival weekend. I appreciate how respectfully they listened to the poems and their willingness to be vulnerable by asking lots of questions and expressing their desire to know more. I’m also thankful for the walking conversation we had about ways to grow in relation to Indigenous Peoples, lands, and sovereignty.
My gratitude to the following authors, whose poems I read publicly with permission: Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer, Jeevan Bhagwat, Jessica Outram, Rebeka Tabobondung, Chief R. Stacey Laforme, Gladys Rowe, and Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara. I hope that this post honours the spirit of your poems.
WALK DESCRIPTION AND INSPIRATION
Let’s walk together for a while and begin to imagine ourselves as “characters in the stories of Indigenous Peoples”*.
Through an introduction to a curated collection of poems that relate in some way to truth, justice and reconciliation, be prepared to feel unsettled as we confront erasure of Indigenous Peoples’ lived experiences and disrupt notions around entitlement to land and domination over land, and likely come away with more questions than answers. But also, be prepared to feel nudged to know more about growing in relation to Indigenous Peoples, lands, and sovereignty.
Why poetry? Because it can connect us to, and help us respond from, a heart-centred space.
Why Scarborough-Agincourt? Why not? Wherever ‘in this place’ is for us, we can begin to reorient ourselves to walking and “living in Indigenous sovereignty”*.
RESOURCES THAT INSPIRED THIS POETRY WALK
Living in Indigenous Sovereignty book by Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara with Gladys Rowe and other contributors (Fernwood Publishing, 2021). The book can also be borrowed from the Toronto Public Library.
Stories of Decolonization films project
* The phrases in context from Chapter 1 Introductions of the book Living in Indigenous Sovereignty by Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara with Gladys Rowe and other contributors (Fernwood Publishing, 2021, p.15):
At an Anishinaabe water gathering, Dawnis Kennedy (personal communication, June 19, 2015) suggested a paradigm shift for non-Indigenous people. Rather than seeing themselves solely as main characters in their own stories, she suggested that they begin to think of themselves as characters in the stories of Indigenous Peoples, living in Indigenous sovereignty. This represents a powerful shift because as non-Indigenous people begin to see themselves this way, they can begin to sow the seeds of a different reality.
LAND ACKNOWLEGEMENT
Land Acknowledgment for Scarborough
The land I am standing on today is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. I also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands.
City of Toronto Land Acknowledgment Guidance Document
WALK STOPS and POEMS
Walk Start Location: In front of Agincourt Branch of Toronto Public Library
Location symbolism: A start in front of a public library. The location is symbolic of accessible places and opportunities for learning. A public library “branch” is also symbolic of learning from all our relations. For example, we can learn from interactions with trees and from conversations about family trees (our own and those of others).
“Angels: 215 >, 1820-1979: “The Past is Always Our Present”” by Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer
Stanza from the poem:
It is time to release
This Storm
That consumes all this nation.
Awasis, this spirit-light, these angels
Dance in the flame.
Questions for reflection:
What does Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer mean by “Angels: 215>, 1820-1979” in the title of her poem?
What was the nearest residential school to where you are standing now and what do you know about the building today?
Resources for deepening your learning:
“Angels: 215 >, 1820-1979: “The Past is Always Our Present”” by Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer on the League of Canadian Poets website
“Angels: 215 >, 1820-1979: “The Past is Always Our Present”” by Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer on the Library of Parliament’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate website
“Angels: 215 and more, 1820-1979: “The Past is Always Our Present”” by Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer reading on the Parliament of Canada YouTube channel
Books by Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer can be borrowed from the Toronto Public Library and purchased from many bookstores
The Canadian Encyclopedia Residential Schools in Canada Interactive Map
Woodland Cultural Centre including information on the Mohawk Institute Residential School Virtual Tour
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre’s The Mush Hole, “a theatrical dance performance about truths of Canada’s first Indian residential school – The Mohawk Institute”
Stop 1: On the path leading into Ron Watson Park off Bonis Ave.
Location symbolism: A stop on a paved path off a paved street leading into a city park. The location is symbolic of altered and manufactured landscapes and the erasure of Indigenous Peoples’ histories in non-Indigenous narratives of the city.
“The Sandhill Burial Grounds (Yonge & Bloor)” by Jeevan Bhagwat. Luminescence (IN Publications, 2020, pp.11-12). The book can also be borrowed from the Toronto Public Library.
Lines from the poem:
when on any given day
old bones rattle
from deep beneath
the city’s asphalt skin
where buried under
paved sediments of time,
these arteries
still bleed ghosts.
Questions for reflection:
Have you ever heard of the Sandhill burial site?
What do you know about the Indigenous history of Scarborough in Toronto?
Have you ever heard of A Wendat Village: The Alexandra Site, the Tabor Hill Ossuaries, or the Pauline Johnson Junior Public School: The Story of Tekahionwake?
Resources for deepening your learning:
“The Sandhill Burial Grounds (Yonge & Bloor)” poem by Jeevan Bhagwat can be accessed on the ECJF About page (3rd poem).
“This ancient burial site was once in one of Toronto’s busiest neighbourhoods” by Karen Longwell. BlogTO, April 2022
“Access First Story Toronto Stories on Driftscape App” by FirstStoryTO, May 2018
Ogimaa Mikana: Reclaiming/Renaming by The Ogimaa Mikana Project
“Indigenous Toronto: Tannis Nielsen on the Simcoe Street Mural” by Erica Commanda. Muskrat Magazine, July 2021
“Indigenous Toronto: Jim Dumont on Identity and Spirituality in the City” by Erica Commanda. Muskrat Magazine, July 2021
Talking Treaties history project by Jumblies Theatre
“Unsettled Ruins, Evolving Discourse” by Kalina Nedelcheva. ArtworxTO Blog, October 2021
“Contesting Settler Colonial Accounts: Temporality, Migration and Place-Making in Scarborough, Ontario” by Paloma E. Villegas, Patricia Landolt, Victoria Freeman, Joe Hermer, Ranu Basu, Bojana Videkanic. Studies in Social Justice, Vol. 14 No. 2 (2020): Migration and Indigenous Sovereignty in a Chronically Mobile World
Stop 2: Under the trees beyond the silo in Ron Watson Park
Location symbolism: A stop under the trees beyond the silo in the park. The location is symbolic of moving ‘beyond’ settler experiences and narratives to learning about Indigenous Peoples’ stories, such as what is shared in Jessica Outram’s poem.
“The Story of the Sash” by Jessica Outram
Lines from the poem:
plants and trees grown for ceremony
an abundance of green
bind these stories with your distinction
this sash an offering for every gift and sacrifice
Questions for reflection:
What is the significance of the sash in Jessica Outram’s poem?
Where is the Métis Nation homeland and where else do Métis people live?
Do Indigenous Peoples living in urban or more remote areas have enough of a land base for growing their medicines and foods and for harvesting?
“The Story of the Sash” by Jessica Outram
The Thing With Feathers book by Jessica Outram (Piquant Press, 2022)
Toronto & York Region Métis Council (TYRMC)
Stop 3: On the walking path at the spot where the bank leads down to West Highland Creek
Location symbolism: A stop along a path at the spot where the bank leads down to the creek. The location is symbolic of the Don River and its muddy shore as described in Rebeka Tabobondung’s poem.
“Don Song (2002)” (Teaching #1: Urban Landscape excerpt) by Rebeka Tabobondung. Indigenous Toronto: Stories that Carry This Place book. Edited by Denise Bolduc, Mnawaate Gordon-Corbiere, Rebeka Tabobondung, Brian Wright-McLeod. (Coach House Books, 2021, pp.59-63)
Lines from the poem:
the biker didn’t even notice
the song still muddy down there
waiting for a heavy dream
Questions for reflection:
In what ways is there an attempted erasure of Indigenous people, particularly women and girls, in non-Indigenous narratives of the city?
What do MMIWG and MMIWG2S+ stand for?
When is Red Dress Day and why is it important?
Resources for deepening your learning:
REDress Project by Jamie Black
Red Dress Day, Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA)
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Indigenous Toronto: Stories that Carry This Place book. Edited by Denise Bolduc, Mnawaate Gordon-Corbiere, Rebeka Tabobondung, Brian Wright-McLeod. (Coach House Books, 2021). The book can also be borrowed from the Toronto Public Library.
Stop 4: On the walking path at the bottom of the hill with a view to Tam O’Shanter Golf Course and the bridge
Location symbolism: A stop along the walking path in Ron Watson Park at the bottom of the hill with a view to Tam O’Shanter Golf Course and the bridge. The location with the view of the golf course is symbolic of the way settlers have altered and manufactured the landscape. The view of the bridge over West Highland Creek is symbolic of the urgent need for settlers to make the choice to answer the call of Indigenous Peoples to work together to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
“Shkaakaamikwe/Mother Earth” (Introduction to theme) by Chief R. Stacey Laforme. Living in the Tall Grass: Poems of Reconciliation (UPROUTE Imprint of Durvile Publications, 2017, p.5)
Quote from the introduction:
So when you see people stand in defence of the lands and the waters, do not ask why they do what they do, instead ask why they stand alone.
“Sacred Trust” by Chief R. Stacey Laforme. Living in the Tall Grass: Poems of Reconciliation (UPROUTE Imprint of Durvile Publications, 2017, p.7)
Lines from the poem:
We were here when you first stepped foot
upon this land
And here we will remain long after the last
step has disturbed her soil.
Questions for reflection:
Is the future of the human species guaranteed? What threatens our future?
Why does Chief R. Stacey Laforme say that his people have a sacred trust in this place called Toronto?
Are you aware that the City of Toronto has a Reconciliation Action Plan?
Are you aware of the 94th Call to Action, and Bill C-8 and the change to the Oath of Citizenship?
Resources for deepening your learning:
“Sacred Trust” by Chief R. Stacey Laforme on Heritage Mississauga website
Living in the Tall Grass: Poems of Reconciliation. (UPROUTE Imprint of Durvile Publications, 2017). The book can also be borrowed from the Toronto Public Library.
A Sacred Trust video on Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation website
COW – Oath Wording – June 10, 2021 (Bill C-8)
Oath of Citizenship video on Citizenship and Immigration website
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
Indigenous Knowledge Portal First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada
City of Toronto Reconciliation Action Plan
Walk End Location: On the bridge over West Highland Creek near Kennedy Rd. north of Bonis Ave.
Location symbolism: An end near/on a bridge over a creek. The location is symbolic of the invitation and opportunity for settlers to make the choice to answer the call of Indigenous Peoples to work together for truth, justice and reconciliation.
“I hold your stories in my heart” by Gladys Rowe. Living in Indigenous Sovereignty by Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara with Gladys Rowe and other contributors (Fernwood Publishing, 2021, p.264)
Lines from the poem:
Stumbles and falls
Will and determination
Transformations
Power the steps you keep taking
“AN HONOURING of Your Stories” by Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara. Living in Indigenous Sovereignty by Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara with Gladys Rowe and other contributors (Fernwood Publishing, 2021, p.265)
I honour your grief, guilt, anxiety, confusion, shame, insecurity, and pain.
I honour the love you have for the life around you,
for the Earth, for Indigenous Peoples
and for other settler occupiers that inspires your commitment.
Questions for reflection:
How have these poems made you feel?
What do you want to know more about with regards to growing in relation to Indigenous Peoples, lands, and sovereignty?
What steps will you take next?
Resources for deepening your learning:
Living in Indigenous Sovereignty book by Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara with Gladys Rowe and other contributors (Fernwood Publishing, 2021). The book can also be borrowed from the Toronto Public Library.
Stories of Decolonization films project
Embodied Climate Justice Fitness 