Examples to follow, and some not.

Indpsire is a national Indigenous charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in Canada. I’ve benefited from some of their grants while at Seneca College, and they do great work.

They developed a report called Paths to Reconciliation: An Overview of the Current Educational Landscape to measure the movement of post-secondary institutions (PSIs) toward reconciliation.

From the report: “PSIs have played a significant role in the ongoing colonialism that has impacted Indigenous peoples and communities, placing a greater responsibility on them to now improve their relations with Indigenous peoples and close longstanding education and career gaps.”

PSIs have been tasked with implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action (CTA) 11, 16, and 62ii. These are not federally mandated; instead, the TRC CTAs are recommendations that are not legally binding.

Youth reconciliation efforts are value-driven under this approach; thus, if a PSI does not value reconciliation, they are not forced to challenge this.

(I assume the reader is familiar with the TRC; if not, I recommend reading about it before moving forward.)

The Frayed Feathers’ vision is that all institutions, businesses, organizations, and ministries develop youth reconciliation strategies and work together to achieve their goals.

Our goal today is to highlight the Canadian PSI’s commitment to reconciliation and provide insight into the national strategic (or lack thereof) actions.

The elephant in the room in reconciliation is that nearly everything feels tokenizing, as it’s a half-hearted action that does not address the issue's root.

The fact remains that Indigenous students experience significant education and career gaps compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts, and PSIs play a major role in addressing this gap.

Despite this responsibility and clear role in the colonization of Indigenous students, Indspire found that “Of the 109 schools considered in this project, 51 responded to the TRC Calls to Action with an Indigenization or Reconciliation Plan. Additionally, 46 schools have Indigenization Efforts with no concrete plan or strategy.”

Considering that at the time of writing this report, it had been over six years since the TRC released its final report and 94 Calls to Action, yet nearly half of the PSIs recorded are taking actions with no strategy.

The report continues: “Eight institutions announced an Anticipated Future Plan, which often comes from anticipating the hires of plan leads or working on strategic planning sessions. Of all schools, only five have made no visible efforts towards reconciliation.”

From a youth reconciliation strategist perspective, we cannot expect to address the complex social challenges without a strategy.

Actions without a strategy build goodwill with Indigenous groups, but they are not making meaningful progress toward the overall goals of reconciliation.

Indspire created a table to help understand the levels of commitment, and I encourage you to reflect on which category your team’s work lands in.

It’s okay if you find yourself in the “no plan” category, honestly, that’s where most people are, and I don’t think it’s solely because people don’t care about reconciliation.

I think the other side of the spectrum is people who want reconciliation, but are concerned with doing it the “wrong way” and end up taking no action.

Furthermore, PSIs should take leadership roles in this conversation, yet only half meet this call. PSIs have extensive budgets for these initiatives, way more than non-profit or small businesses, yet there is little movement.

This inaction perpetuates colonization because PSIs are meant to be the groups pioneering engagement frameworks and leading by example for communities.

If a PSI or any other major institution is not taking meaningful action on reconciliation, it’s another reason for groups with fewer resources not to take action, too.

Here are some examples of reconciliation efforts taken by PSIs:

• Programming focused on Indigenous knowledge, traditional teachings, and languages

• In-residence Elders

• Mentorship with a focus on reciprocal relationships

• Post-secondary transition supports, career preparations, and networking opportunities.

• Acknowledging the PSIs’ participation in colonial policies and procedures.

• Practicing meaningful engagement processes with Indigenous peoples on local and global scales.

• Collaborative planning activities and partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations.

• Increasing Indigenous representation on campus, including students, staff, faculty, and board members.

• Removing barriers to education through financial aid, housing, and flexible learning options.

• Revisiting anti-discrimination or human rights policies to ensure a safe, inclusive space.

Hopefully, the table and list above demonstrate clear actionable items that can be acted on for youth reconciliation.

If we think about these initiatives in the context of our work, we can start to brainstorm what kinds of action we may take in the short and long term.

I think it’s common to think about reconciliation as something for the government and local communities to work on, but I say nay, because it’s up to all of us in Canada to reach this goal.

Secondly, I think it’s also common to think that reconciliation is being acted on as a priority, yet six years later, nearly half of all PSIs surveyed have no strategy.

Lastly, the TRC and many other policy-driven reconciliation initiatives are recommendations that are not legally binding. Thus, we can’t expect an increase in speed unless something is done differently.

I don’t think making something legally binding is a silver bullet answer because the Duty to Consult is lawfully binding, yet that has proven unhelpful in many situations. Learn more about that here in a Frayed Feathers Podcast.

To describe meaningless reconciliation commitments, I call them “froo froo” language because it sounds profound, but it means nothing.

For example, when people say, “We are moving forward in reconciliation” or “Our commitment is to culturally safe practices,” yet no resources are allocated to do these things. - This is “froo froo.”

My goal today in this edition of the FF Newsletter is to provide some substance to these words and offer some tangible examples of how PSIs are acting on youth reconciliation.

While I acknowledge considerable inaction, I want to focus on the peeps doing this work with their best foot forward. My priority is to work with groups that are enthusiastic about this work, not force the ones that drag their feet to jump.

I hope to continue offering quick summaries like this that provide some insights into youth reconciliation efforts.

Today’s Frayed Reflections

1. Some PSIs are taking reconciliation seriously, and others are not.

2. There is no mechanism to keep institutions accountable to youth reconciliation.

3. PSIs play a major role in colonization; they should play a major role in reconciliation.

4. The actions taken by some PSIs ought to be replicated in other sectors.