Black Climate Activists Inspiring Change in What is Currently Canada

My name is Hayley, I use she/her pronouns. I identify as a white settler of so-called Canada with mixed European descent. I currently reside on the traditional territory of the Cree, Anishinabek, Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota Nations and the homelands of the Métis people. This land was ceded to the government in 1874 under Treaty 4 (also known as the Qu’Appelle Treaty), however, this Treaty was established in bad faith as the signatories were not provided legal counsel, generating differences in interpretations of the Treaty under which the Indigenous signatories were not aware that they were agreeing to permanently cede the land. The Indigenous peoples were driven to seek treaty negotiations due to the decline in buffalo populations in the prairies leading to widespread famine. The signatories were left with the understanding that the Crown would “protect and assist” the First Nations, not only during these trying times but as a continuous responsibility, with retention of their rights to self-govern. This, however, was not the case, and the Canadian government did not uphold many of their Treaty 4 commitments. I recognize how this bad faith negotiation paved the way for colonization of this land by settlers, many of them white, and was the foundation for which the town I now call home was built. I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude towards the original caretakers of this land which I am afforded the privilege to work on, play on, and enjoy the beauty of. I also acknowledge my responsibility as a settler of this land to work towards reparation of relationships with these original caretakers. In part of doing so, I respect and support the ongoing work of the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council to ensure the fulfilment of Treaty 4 Obligations.

My whiteness has afforded me privileges in the way I interact with the world, as have my identities as cis, heterosexual, and able bodied. These parts of who I am influence my perception and experiences. I am cognizant of the biases that are formed from my life experience and am committed to a lifelong journey of learning and unlearning these. To me, my role in activism is to grab the mic and pass it on. I do not intend to speak on behalf of people with lived experiences that are not my own, but rather amplify their messages when they are not being heard and bring them into rooms where they are not present. I recognize that many forums for advocacy can be inherently traumatizing, retraumatizing, and further marginalizing for some people. With this realization, I aim to meet people where they’re at in order to prioritize their safety above all else by supporting their needs and desires while keeping myself open to witnessing their stories. Although I love to talk, I love to listen even more, and I don’t take for granted the gift of witnessing another person’s story.