Discovering our shared history together

To the "Holding Court" Statue Working Group, or To Whom it May Concern,

I would like to acknowledge and honour the land on which we reside and occupy as part of the traditional territories of the Huron Wendat, Anishinaabek and Haudenosaunee Peoples. These Indigenous Nations, agreed to mutually sharing obligations and responsibilities as stewards of the land and water which is protected by the “Dish With One Spoon” wampum agreement. Today these responsibilities and obligations extend to all Peoples. These lands are steeped in rich Indigenous history, traditions and modern cultures that are proud and vibrant.

(I offer this opening being mindful of broken covenants and the need to strive to make right with all our relations and traditions once respected and practiced between our peoples.)

I would like to start by commending the efforts of your group and the awareness of the Prince Edward Heritage Advisory Committee and Council regarding this imperative and comprehensive matter. I deeply believe this process is an essential passage towards a more profound truth of our collective history as well as reconciliation - "an ongoing process of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships." (Summary of the Final Report, p.16). Having an authentic voice in the room discussing and sharing in this process with the Working Group is a sure sign that relationships are being honoured and respected and only positive outcomes will evolve from a deliberate intention such as that.

My name is Scott Shortly and I currently work with the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board as a teacher in the Tyendinaga Territory at the Haudenosaunee Opportunity for Personalized Education School. H.O.P.E. is a satellite school for Eastside Secondary School that works closely with Kanien’kehá:ka youth at the high school level. Because of this, my formal education and the close relationships I have in Tyendinaga I share a deep interest in "getting this right" for both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Peoples with the ultimate goal of discovering our shared history together.

The extent and content of Indigenous rights and what they mean to Canada continue to be disputed to this day, and the Non-Indigenous students I have taught and my own children who too are Non-Indigenous are noticing. Thus, it is incumbent upon us all to ensure that we seek out the truth and to demonstrate to our youth that we are willing to address a darker part of our past that we have inherited in order to facilitate a better future for them and their children. It is time that we acknowledge our responsibility and make more space to talk in our homes about change and compassion, instead of a continued colonial ideology. As Senator Murray Sinclair has affirmed, "Canada is in an age of reconciliation". With the ongoing events in various cities across Canada with Sir John A. MacDonald statues and school names, it is simply not enough to talk about Reconciliation, we must be prepared to question convention, learn from Indigenous customs and traditions, and risk doing things differently than our usual routines and processes.

The statue of Sir John A. MacDonald for many represents a man who guided a government for the new Dominion, promoted higher tariffs to protect Canadian business interests by completing the "National Policy" of driving the railway to the Pacific. In fact he extended the right to vote for single women, widows and Indigenous Peoples. However, that new Dominion was built on the principle of terra nullius, that railway system displaced and attempted to assimilate everyone its its path, and the right to vote was extended to Indigenous Peoples only if they gave up their treaty rights and assimilated into the general politic of Canada. So this statue also represents systemic control, physical and ideological violence, and cycles of inequity which has lead to poverty and marginalization. As difficult as it is for some of us to wrap our minds around that I also believe that those notions do not represent the majority of what is in the hearts and minds of Canadians, yet here we are. It certainly has not eluded me that many feel by dismantling or re-contextualizing the venerated politician that we are threatening the preservation of part of our Canadian history. For those who are struggling with that I would like to offer two questions; What is our collective Canadian identity? Can we accomplish that understanding without the participation of Indigenous Peoples? I consider Canada and Canadians more than just hockey pucks, the maple leaf, and Tim Horton's double doubles eh. It is recognizing that our collective identity is a story, a collection of identities that are interwoven and it is critical that we hear from the original People of Turtle Island so we can learn more about ourselves and our shared histories.

Currently, there is an opportunity for our region to be an exemplary model for the rest of Canada and the development of better relationships with our Indigenous Brothers and Sisters. It will most certainly garner the weight for future generations who will be learning about the choices we make now, and those who choose to live here and want to know more about the land that they live, work and play on.

Sincerely,

Scott Shortly