Fall Equinox 2022

A Canada goose and two Mallard ducks make ripples across a calm lake. A forest of trees displaying their fall colours lines the lake. (Photo Credit: Stock Imagery).

September 30th, 2022 is the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is a day to honour residential school survivors, those who did not make it home, their families, and their communities. It is a time reflect on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. It is also a time to think about a new path forward.

True reconciliation requires us to grapple with the truth of the damage done by colonialism. It has destablized the relationships we have to one another, to our environment, to our non-human relatives, to Mother Nature, and to our future generations. We're currently facing the twin crises of climate change and biodiveristy loss - crises that can be directly traced to colonial systems of violence, extraction, and destruction.

We cannot continue with the status quo. We need to shift our values to repair our relationships with Mother Earth. Placed-based Indigenous Peoples have been here for millennia. Their gift to the world is knowledge. It is critical that we support, uplift, and cultivate this gift of Indigenous knowledges and leadership in order to 'rise together' toward reconciliation. This is the new path forward.

Taking lessons from the close reciprocal relationships between Indigenous Peoples and Mother Earth, the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership has focused its work on relationship building. Reconciliation doesn’t happen in one day, nor is it a one-way street. It requires an ongoing commitment to build and maintain respectful and reciprocal relationships. 

We are working with Indigenous leaders, knowledge-holders, Elders, youth, and non-Indigenous partners to co-create a new vision for the future. This process does not have an end date. We are co-designing legacy projects so the spirit of our collective work will live on.  

As we enter into the season of Fall, we encourage you all to think about and act upon ways that you can show respect and gratitude for the gifts we all bring to this work, as well as the bountiful gifts, nourishment, and medicines we receive from Mother Earth.

      - CRP Leadership Circle