Tansi Nîtôtemtik,
Yesterday’s blog post introduced us to the Cree legal and governance concepts of wahkohtowin, pastamowin, ochiwin, and kwayeskastasowin. As was discussed, wahkohtowin, the namesake of the Reconciliation conference last weekend, is a Cree legal term that refers to our inter-relatedness and interdependence. Indigenous laws are not new, despite their recent emergence in contemporary discussions of reconciliation. These laws have framed the basic structure of Indigenous societies, both before and after settler contact.
Adam Gaudry, from the Faculty of Native Studies, spoke to the Cree concept of wahkohtowin at the opening reception on Thursday evening:
“Wahkohtowin is one of the terms in which Canadians were originally welcomed here. The numbered treaties remained for Canadians to live here as brothers. This relied upon a sense of shared responsibility, political equality, and respect for the ongoing autonomy of each other. Learning to live in a family-like relationship was integral for how Indigenous people and Canadians were to live side by side.”1
Historically, wahkohtowin did not govern Canada’s relationships with Indigenous peoples; however, in a time of reconciliation we can move forward in repairing these relationships. The Reconciliation: Wahkohotowin Conference is an opportunity to chart our way forward, and for Canadians to “take up the responsibility of wahkohtowin and to live as relatives in a mutually beneficial relationship.”2
In the spirit of wahkohtowin, Thursday’s opening reception also launched the photobook, Wahkohtowin Project Intensive: Miyo-wîcêhtowin Principles & Practice. The project was co-created by 15 youth from the Susa Creek community as well as 15 University of Alberta students. The course allowed for the students to engage with the Cree legal concepts of wahkohtowin, and miyo-wîcêhtowin (“having good relations”),3 both within the classroom, and within the Susa Creek community. The students were able to experience first-hand Cree legal governance structures through the traditional brain-tanning of a moose hide. While in the community, the photobook was created in collaboration between students and youth, to depict through pictures and words how the Cree terms wahkohtowin and miyo-wîcêhtowin were still strong, living practices within day-to-day life in Susa Creek.4
Wahkohtowin and miyo-wîcêhtowin are often already in practice within our everyday lives among family, friends, and colleagues. As we move forward in reconciliation, we can begin to incorporate these Cree legal principles within Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships. As Adam Gaudry simply put it, “if there’s ever a time to get this work right, I think it’s now.”5
Until next time,
Team ReconciliAction YEG
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[1] Adam Gaudry, “Introductory Remarks & Performances” (Reconciliation: Wahkohtowin Conference delivered at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, 21 September 2017) [unpublished].
[2] Ibid.
[3] Jobin, Friedland, Beausoleil and Kappo, eds., U of A Student and AWN Youth Photobook: Wahkohtowin Project Intensive: Miyo-wîcêhtowin Principles & Practice (June, 2017) (unpublished, on file with authors).
[4] Ibid.
[5] Gaudry, supra note 1.
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