Reconciliation is in the Relationship

One of the most frequent requests we receive at the National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture and Food (NCIAF) sounds something like this:

“Can you help us build relationships with Indigenous communities?”

Our answer is yes, but perhaps not in the way you expect.

We can provide guidance, create opportunities for learning, and help you understand protocol. What we cannot do is build the relationship on your behalf.  More importantly, the NCIAF’s role should be less about providing access to Indigenous communities and Peoples and more about helping you and your organization understand what it means to build a relationship that Indigenous communities may choose to participate in. There is an important difference.

For generations, Indigenous Peoples have experienced relationships with governments, institutions, and industry that were extractive, transactional or failed to honour Indigenous knowledge, rights, and priorities. Against that history, treating relationship-building as a networking exercise or stakeholder-engagement strategy even when well-intended is often received as a box to check on an organizational plan.

Relationships take time. Trust takes even longer.

If your organization is serious about reconciliation, be prepared to show up before you need something, listen before presenting an opportunity, learn about the people and the place before approaching, be clear about why you are seeking the relationship and what you are prepared to contribute, and understand that a relationship may not develop according to a corporate timeline.  This work cannot be expedited or fast tracked.  There is also no single formula for working with Indigenous Peoples.  First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples are distinct. Within those distinctions are nations, communities and regions with their own histories, governance structures, cultures, protocols, priorities, and expectations for relationships.  What was welcomed in one community may not be appropriate in another. Take the time to understand who you are approaching, follow the appropriate process, and ask rather than assume what respectful engagement looks like.

 The NCIAF is also frequently asked to provide or write land acknowledgements. Our response is simple: create your own.  Step into reconciliation fully and do the work of acknowledgement for yourself, for your organization and for the Indigenous Peoples who came before you.

A meaningful land acknowledgement is not a paragraph borrowed from another organization or researched on the internet. The work of learning whose land you are on, understanding the history of the people and Nation connected to that land and reflecting on your own relationship and responsibilities is the acknowledgement.  It is a practice that demonstrates the ability for us all to look into a painful history, to bring it into the light and to not turn away.  Resources such as Whose Land, along with the Nation or community’s own website and public resources can help you begin that learning.

If you need guidance beyond your own research, connect with the Nation or community through its established process for working with outside organizations.  Allow the Nation to determine who is appropriate to involve and how that conversation should happen. Plan ahead, follow the appropriate protocols, and compensate people for their time and knowledge. You do not, however, need to navigate that journey alone. The NCIAF can help you understand protocols, prepare for conversations and avoid arriving at the relationship expecting Indigenous people to do the work of educating you.

We will not take the learning away from you – the value is in the process itself.  For the NCIAF, this is part of our role in Reconciliation: helping create the conditions for meaningful relationships while recognizing that the responsibility for building them remains with you.

So instead of asking, “How do we get Indigenous communities to engage with us?”, start with the work you can do yourself.  Learn about the Nation, the place and its history.  Be clear about your purpose, what you are asking for, and what you are prepared to contribute.  And understand the appropriate process of building the relationship.

Come prepared to listen. Come prepared to learn. Come prepared to invest the time.  And come prepared to let what you learn shape the relationship and change how your organization works with Indigenous Peoples.

And most importantly, come prepared to stay.