In what they hope will be the first of many gatherings, Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents of Cochrane and surrounding areas circled their chairs in the back of a local art gallery last week to listen and discuss ideas on how to break down barriers and build a more inclusive community.
Billed alternately as an ‘Indigenous support circle,’ or ‘Reconciliation Learning Circle’ the meeting took place Nov. 2 at the Route 22 Artist Collective Gallery in Cochrane. Among the participants were members of the Rotary Club of Cochrane who are part of the working group for the establishment of Wazin Îchinabi Ti, (‘House of Oneness’ Centre), some area ranchers, and some who have worked closely with Indigenous communities.
It was the kind of meeting that would have taken place in an Indigenous centre, should one exist in Cochrane. The proposal for creating one is the topic of ongoing debate at town council (next meeting is Nov. 14). Perhaps inevitably, the proposed centre came up for some discussion with the art gallery group, even though it wasn’t on the original agenda.
The proposed Indigenous centre was recognized by the group as something that could help strengthen the cultural identity (and pride in that identity) of local Métis and Indigenous children and youth as a place for them to learn.
One participant at the Nov. 2 gathering said the centre would be a place for the Indigenous population but also a space for reconciliation.
But while they agreed on the need to work towards making the centre a reality, the group made do with their confined physical space on this night, and moved on to a wide-ranging brainstorming session where ideas for future learning and action were suggested.
Marlene Semsch, who is non-Indigenous, was one of the organizers of the meeting. She has worked as a teacher in Indigenous communities in Northwest Territories from Baffin Island to Yellowknife.
She knows what she calls the gentle nature of Indigenous people, and the effort in Cochrane to learn more about their history is personal for her.
“I really admire Indigenous people for their patience, for all the things they’ve endured because of government policies. And I feel like they’re invisible in our country – we don’t even see them,” she said.
“We need them and they need us. We need to be acting normal together, and we need to be partners in bringing them into our circle.”
A recent speech by an elder at the Orange Shirt Day memorial services for reconciliation in Morley described for Semsch what the new circle group is all about.
“He was saying people in Morley and the surrounding area used to know each other, and we all need to find ways to get to know each other again. I felt that was a beautiful way of looking at it,” she said.
One of the areas identified for future discussion at the meeting was how to acknowledge the rich local ranching history, interwoven with Indigenous ways of knowing.
Another member noted, as a founding principle, that contributing to a community of ‘us’ requires a lot of listening and humility.
Yet another attendee pointed out the timing is right – there is a lot of receptivity to learning about Truth and Reconciliation right now in the non-Indigenous population.
“In Canada we have the opportunity to make a great step forward, but we will lose the opportunity if we don’t act,” they said.
Organizer Pat Verge said the discussions around Cochrane’s proposed Indigenous centre sparked further conversations around the need for non-Indigenous people to learn more about their Indigenous neighbours.
“We need to learn more about reconciling relationships between the original inhabitants of this continent and people who came from elsewhere,” she said.
One of the driving forces – the rationale behind the group – was the expressed opinion that Cochrane was developing with no Indigenous voice, and there was a need for more people to do more, to do better, and to build relationships.
Upcoming meetings will cover a variety of topics, such as traditional Indigenous knowledge, cultural traditions and cultural expropriation, and “How can we be better neighbours?”
Other ideas floated for further discussion included forming a book club, and the possibility of some members taking courses online and sharing what they learn with the group at later meetings.
The next meeting of the learning circle group (one of the items on the agenda is to agree on a formal name) will be Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. at the Route 22 Artist Collective Gallery, 18-312 5th Ave. W, in Cochrane (in the Safeway mall). The group’s plan for now is to meet monthly.
New members are welcome. For more information, email Pat Verge at [email protected].
