@waterlooregion I just got a response which uses the word "unique" a lot without actually clarifying if Six Nations has been consulted or not. I'm thinking not.

"Indigenous communities have a unique role in land use planning and development.  They contribute unique perspectives and traditional knowledge to land use matters including cultural heritage, natural heritage and water resources protection.  The City/ Township/ Region values the ongoing relationship with Indigenous communities. We look forward to continued collaboration with Indigenous communities on our Official Plan to continue to inform decision-making."
 
"In consideration of the existing trees on the site, City Staff work with the applicant to conserve trees whenever possible, recognizing them as essential infrastructure within our community."

_____

Personally, I question what "collaboration" is going on. The Land Back camp, after a lot of harrowing life in Willow Park (Victoria Park), managed to negotiate free use of the park facilities. It is a traditional/historical meeting place for Indigenous Peoples in the region. Yet within the last month, the City of Kitchener has started charging Indigenous groups money to use it again.

That is not collaboration. That is colonialism.

I also mistrust what they say about the trees. Last year, in the middle of nesting season, those trees were trimmed and the branches--baby birds and all--were thrown into a woodchipper. When I sent complaints to the city, they promised to get back to me and rectify the situation (I don't know how since they can't resurrect baby birds or undo the damage). No one ever did get back to me.

#LandBack @waterlooregion #ProtectTheTract #Haudenosaunee #SixNations #Anishinaabeg #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty #HabitatDestruction #AnimalAbuse

I pass this property on Guelph Street often. Until a few years ago, that shitty stretch of lawn used to be a big cluster of juniper, bearberry, and milkweed. It was necessary food and habitat for monarch butterflies and other critters. Now it is a food desert for pollinators.

And that sign they have along the sidewalk is the meanest, most selfish sign I've ever seen directed to pedestrians. It shows they really don't give a shit about children and pedestrians.

And that last sentence about "these lands" is pretty fucking awful. These lands are on the Haldimand Tract. They're occupied, stolen lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg. These lands are under the Dish With One Spoon wampum, and this sign shows the people who currently "own" this property have no intention of honouring that treaty.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/a-dish-with-one-spoon#:~:text=A%20%E2%80%9Cdish%20with%20one%20spoon,spirit%20of%20mutual%20co%2Doperation

#kitchener #HabitatDestruction #ProtectTheTract #HaldimandTract #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty #wampum #MonarchButterflies #AntiPedestrian #CarCulture #Treaty @waterlooregion

A Dish with One Spoon

The term a dish with one spoon refers to a concept developed by the Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America. It was used to ...

This beautiful stand of trees separating the neighbourhood from a gas plant has been bulldozed and thrown into a wood chipper. Now the animals who lived there are without homes. Now the area is much dustier because the soil dried up and blew away. My neighbourhood becomes more and more barren. Were Six Nations consulted about the destruction of this habitat on their territory? I sincerely doubt it was even considered for a moment by the “developers.” #ProtectTheTract #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty #HaldimandTract #LandBack @waterlooregion #HabitatDestruction #Deforestation
When I first moved to this house in 2016, the backyard was dead. The soil was barren and only a couple of sad-looking weeds grew there. I immediately set about repairing the land, and now it is thriving. Wild strawberries are abundant, and I just ate a couple. I also have lots of violets, false Solomon’s seal, mayapple, ramps, cleavers, and some escaped lemon balm and catnip. See those vines? That’s groundnut or hopniss (not peanut): a traditional Indigenous food crop which is now very hard to find. I’m trying to coax my ostrich fern to thriving. It comes back every year, but it’s still a bit puny. This is one of the ways in which I strive to honour the treaties of this land. #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty #HaldimandTract #gardening #rewilding #ProtectTheTract
I walked to one of my favourite neighbourhood destinations today: the community gardens at Hacienda Sarria. They’ve all been bulldozed. Those gardens and orchards fed a lot of people. Their flower fields fed a lot of pollinators. Now it’s all gone. For what? An equipment yard. It shouldn’t be legal to destroy something so beautiful and so necessary. Six Nations have issued a development moratorium along the Haldimand Tract, but colonizers gonna keep on colonizing. #KWAwesome #Kitchener #ProtectTheTract #HaldimandTract #Destruction #Waste #HabitatDestruction #WaterlooRegion #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty @waterlooregion

"The term a dish with one spoon refers to a concept developed by the Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America. It was used to describe how land can be shared to the mutual benefit of all its inhabitants.... Recently, many scholars and #Indigenous peoples have come to believe that the dish with one spoon concept can raise awareness regarding #ecological and #environmental #sustainability."

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/a-dish-with-one-spoon

#DishWithOneSpoonTreaty

A Dish with One Spoon

The term a dish with one spoon refers to a concept developed by the Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America. It was used to ...

We are in the land of the #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty

"The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and Peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect."

https://fsc-ccf.ca/indigenous-acknowledgement/

#LandAcknowledgment #treaties

Future Skills Centre • Centre des Compétences futures

Future Skills Centre • Centre des Compétences futures