Reconciling with the land

“Reconciliation . . . needs to start with the earth. It’s the foundation of everything.” —Isaac Murdoch, Serpent River First Nation

What would it look like to reconcile with the land—to get to know the created world as our relatives? Who is benefiting from this land where Rockway is situated? How can we give back to the land? These are a few of the questions that students in the Grade 11 Land-Based Leadership class are wrestling with this semester.

Rockway Mennonite Collegiate is developing this new, interdisciplinary course from a “two-eyed seeing” approach—one lens, looking from a Western perspective, and the other looking from an Indigenous perspective. According to Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall, two-eyed seeing (etuaptmumk) braids together the best of Western and Indigenous perspectives, encouraging learners to “become students of life, observant of the natural world.”

The class explores topics such as land use, treaty and wampum teachings, the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, appreciation for Indigenous teachings and ways of being, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The cultural learning portion of the course features discussions and visits with local leaders (Indigenous and non-), and regular trips to a local natural area to learn from Jan Sherman, Anishinaabe Knowledge Keeper, about how to live in a good way in relation to the land. 

Much of our first month has been spent in the outdoor spaces at Rockway—digging, planting, writing, sharing and observing. Imagining the land through a bee’s eyes, a lawn area could be seen as “wasted space.” One hands-on component has students designing a pollinator garden space. They are currently creating a small, rich, flowering habitat to encourage butterflies and bees to share the land to which Rockway holds title.

Being good stewards of the land means finding ways to share the bountiful resources and making space for those small ones—our relatives who buzz and fly around the grounds and fulfill a critical role, directly linked to the food we eat. Reconciliation with the land can include restoration of habitat and seeing the land through more eyes than just human ones. As we expand our notion of kinship to include the flowers, bees, and butterflies, we take an active role in caring for and giving back to the land that gives us life. We recognize the crucial part that we can play in our relationship with the land.