Walking in “Indigenous Sovereignty” as a Settler-Ally

Yesterday morning (Feb 25, 2025), days ahead of the Ontario Election, I had the sad honour of being invited to hold a sign that read “GENOCIDE” at the Vigil for Grassy Narrows First Nation community members who have been affected and who have passed away from the mercury poisoning and related health crises.

The graphic above shows calls for “Justice for Grassy Narrows” and “Land Back” on another supporter’s handmade sign in front of the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen’s Park in Toronto/Tkaronto.

It is just so sad and so unjust what generations of Grassy Narrows community members have endured for over 50 years while Doug Ford remains silent to this day.

Thank you to Elder Judy DaSilva, Chief Sherry Ackabee, band member Maria Swain, and the other Grassy Narrows community members who travelled to Toronto/Tkaronto to address Indigenous and non-Indigenous supporters, the media, and our government, sharing their hard to tell personal stories and asking for full compensation.

Thanks also to the organizers at Free Grassy, as well as Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction and Harm Reduction Advocacy Collective who supported Grassy Narrows and held their own protest at noon to stop the closure of safe consumption sites. And thanks to Humber Et Cetera, CBC News and CTV News for covering the vigil. Here are links to those reports:

Vigil held for First Nations mercury poisoning victims: Grief and outrage as contaminated waters continue to result in death and sickness at Grassy Narrows. By Liam Oliver Neilson for Humber Et Cetera.

‘Do the right thing’: Grassy Narrows First Nation demands action on mercury pollution ahead of Ontario vote: Dozens at vigil outside Toronto’s Queen’s Park for those impacted by mercury poisoning. By Sarah Law for CBC News.

Grassy Narrows leaders hold vigil for lives lost to mercury poisoning. Members of the First Nation are calling on Ontario to fix the water system in the reserve near Kenora. By John Musselman for CTV News.

A highlight for me of going to The Ex this summer was visiting the Moccasin Identifier booth and viewing the exhibit set up by the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. I painted a Wendat moccasin using a stencil as a way of grounding my learning about Indigenous relationship to this land as well as our relationship to each other through Treaties. I’m deepening my learning with the literature I took home. In turn, I set up a display including the Moccasin Identifier Kit I purchased earlier this year and some of this literature when I co-facilitated the “Poetry for a Warming World” public reading event at Agincourt Library in Toronto/Tkaronto/Ishpadinaa on Sept. 9, 2023.

This post is an update related to the blog I wrote back on January 10 “Activate Your Learning about Robinson Huron Treaty (RHT) Work as an Ally”. Earlier this June, I visited RHT territory and followed through on my commitment to support the White Ribbon Campaign by the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Elders. You can read about the campaign in E-Wiindamaagejig: The Robinson Huron Treaty Times Issue 3 2022 p.59.

I tried white ribbons on several species of tree relatives and said some prayers/words of intention for their protection from glyphosate. Asking for protection from climate crisis-fuelled wildfires was also on my mind and in my heart. In the pics in this collage you can see that I tied physical ribbons on three trees and added a virtual ribbon on Jacob (top left) who lives near a beaver dam in the Wanup area near Sudbury/N’Swakamok. You can learn more about the movement to ban glyphosate at Into The Weeds and hazardous herbicides and pesticides at Environmental Defence, Ecojustice, David Suzuki Foundation, Wilderness Committee – Ontario Office, Friends of the Earth Canada and Prevent Cancer Now among other organizations. You can learn more about the Robinson Huron Treaty at Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund and Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin. I also want to thank the Treaty 1850 Store where I ordered my T-shirt and one for my dad back in December.

Thank you facilitator Sandra Lamouche (First Nation nehiyaw iskwew (Cree) artist) and the other Honour Dance for Creation workshop series participants, Sandra’s mentors and the project funders, and TRAction for this wonderful collaborative art making experience. With this opportunity, I engaged in learning about the endangered wood turtle in Ontario as I did my research and created my puppet. I also learned about other at risk species in Canada through the other participants. You can watch the Honour Dance for Creation video on Vimeo. I experienced some sadness as I thought about these species at risk, but learning and dancing the Honour Dance together helped me feel connected to these animals and inspired me to think of ways to raise more awareness myself. I acted on my concerns by writing my provincial and federal representatives.

Thank you/Nia:weh to Indigenous author Cher Obediah for writing the courageous collection of poems Shame to Shine: The Wreckage & Rise From Domestic Violence. Thanks also to Devour: Art & Lit Canada for publishing my poetry book review of Cher’s book in Issue 015 Winter 2022-23. You can find my review on pages 16-17.

POSTS FROM 2022

Today, March 31, is National Indigenous Languages Day. Many different Indigenous languages are spoken in Toronto, Canada, and across North America. This post highlights three place names: Ishpadinaa and Tkaronto, two Indigenous names for Toronto on Turtle Island. When we learn about and reflect on Indigenous place names as we walk “in this place”, wherever that is for you, we begin to reorient ourselves toward “living in Indigenous sovereignty”. I am grateful for resources like the City of Toronto’s Reconciliation Action Plan and the book Living in Indigenous Sovereignty by Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara with Gladys Rowe (Fernwood Publishing, 2021) for helping me to reflect on my relations and responsibilities regarding truth, reconciliation and justice.

I’m grateful to have attended and learned at a webinar hosted by the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH) on April 8. It was the first webinar in the series Visioning the Future: First Nations, Inuit, & Métis Population and Public Health Series — Determinants of Health. There’s also a related collaborative report that “not only complements the Chief Public Health Officer’s 2021 public health vision report but also privileges Indigenous knowledge(s)”. I created this post to highlight a couple of quotes from the article “ENVIRONMENT: THE ECOSYSTEM IS OUR HEALTH SYSTEM” by Dr. Shannon Waters. She writes: “THE ECOSYSTEM IS OUR HEALTH SYSTEM” and “INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY IS SUSTAINABILITY”.

I’m grateful to have lead the “Living in Indigenous Sovereignty” Poetry Walk on May 7, 2022, as part of the Jane’s Walk Festival Toronto.

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. The blog post also serves as an archival presentation of the poetry walk as well as a model for future poetry walks focused on walking and “living in Indigenous Sovereignty.”

On May 21, 2022 I was on location at Fort York in Tkaronto for the Dish Dances Movement Workshop, a Talking Treaties Movement Education Initiative which took place as part of the Toronto Biennial of Art 2022.

For National Health & Fitness Day 2022 I’m featuring a quote from the poem “Over sixty-five” by Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer, Canada’s ninth Parliamentary Poet Laureate. Her poem was written for the occasion of last year’s NHFD and can be read in both English and Cree translation on the Library of Parliament’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate website. It was through reading her poetry on this site that I learned about NHFD myself, and I continue to learn about walking in Indigenous sovereignty from her and other Indigenous poets.

June is National Indigenous History Month. As part of my commitment to truth, justice and reconciliation, I am completing a couple of online courses from Sport for Life. I recently learned and reflected while engaging with the content in the course Canadian Indigenous Culture Training – Truth and Reconciliation Edition. I recommend all fitness professionals and others involved in physical education complete this cultural training. The course description reads:

This edition has been designed in accordance with the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action (2015) and includes information about the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Indigenous rights, Indigenous law, and Indigenous-Crown relations. This course has been developed by the Indigenous Leadership Development Institute of Canada.

On June 18, 2022 I attended the Na-Me-Res powwow at Fort York, Toronto/Tkaronto, where I danced in some intertribal dances and shopped from Indigenous vendors. I also made a donation to Na-Me-Res, which is “Helping Homeless Indigenous Men Find Their Mino Bimaadiziwin” and “provides outreach, temporary, transitional, permanent housing, and much more. We take care of the whole person with our Indigenous cultural-based approach filled with respect and spirit.”

This past weekend, Embodied Climate Justice Fitness (ECJF) for me meant walking and postering on community message boards in my neighbourhood to help spread the message about the Grassy Narrows River Run 2022 happening this Thurs July 21 noon at Queen’s Park in Toronto/Tkaronto. Walk with Grassy Narrows youth and community members to show we are with them on their path to achieve mercury justice and freedom! Support their calls for fair compensation, no logging, no mining, and support for restoration of their culture. You can learn more and RSVP at FreeGrassy.net I included some posters at the intersection of Kennedy and Sheppard, near the office of Aris Babikian, PC MPP for Scarborough-Agincourt. As my provincial representative I’m asking him to support justice for Grassy Narrows.

On July 21, Embodied Climate Justice Fitness (ECJF) for me meant standing in solidarity and walking with members of Grassy Narrows First Nation during the Grassy Narrows River Run 2022 as they continue on their path to achieve mercury justice and freedom. People of all ages, including members of unions and social/environmental justice organizations, supported Grassy Narrows First Nations’ calls for fair compensation, no logging, no mining, and support for restoration of their culture. At the bottom of this graphic are photos of Grassy Narrows youth and performer Waawaate Fobister at Queen’s Park, and Chief Randy Fobister and other community members and supporters during the round dance in front of the Indigenous Services Canada – Ontario Regional Office. One of the things I heard about during the speeches by Grassy Narrows community members was that some of them cannot engage in certain sports because of nerve damage caused by mercury poisoning, and there are other even more devastating health consequences from this environmental racism. I recommend learning about and supporting the Grassy Narrows First Nation as they continue their struggle for justice, including their health and wellbeing. You can also view photos and news reports about the River Run on FreeGrassy.net.

On September 8, 2022 I attended the Robinson Huron Treaty Gathering – Traditional Knowledge and Governance Forum virtually. I have a connection to these lands and I’m learning about relating honourably as a treaty partner.

On September 29, ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, I attended The Yellowhead Institute‘s special online event The Calls to Action Conversation on Truth and Reconciliation.