Windsor Indigenous, municipal leaders meet for reconciliation conference | CBC News

A conference between Indigenous and municipal leaders is “only the beginning” as municipalities work toward reconciliation, officials say. 

Led by Caldwell First Nation, the first Reconciliation in Action conference focused on helping municipal leaders learn more about the history of Indigenous people in Windsor-Essex. 

“As leaders, we have to be prepared to make decisions that will support our communities,” said Caldwell First Nation Chief Mary Duckworth. “We see Windsor-Essex and the surrounding areas rich with beautiful people and lands.

“How do we do good economic development and growth while maintaining a good environmental footprint and leaving something for future generations?” 

Duckworth said there are still some challenges to reconciliation, including the shame many people feel when the topic is broached. 

“I’m going to quote Senator Murray Sinclair, who said it was education that got us into this mess, it’ll be education to get us out,” she said.

“This is not 300 years, 200 years ago. We are living among each other and in the Day of Truth and Reconciliation we have to reconcile the truth that Canada was not good to the First Nations people. 

“Understanding that and not shaming anybody. When we have these hard conversations, people instantly feel shame. We don’t want you to feel shame. I don’t want to feel shame …We talk about the truth first and then we action the reconciliation.”

The conference was held at the Ojibway Nature Centre. Over two sessions on Friday, leaders heard from an Indigenous policy expert, Duckworth herself on treaty relationships and from former Ontario Chief Gord Peters. 

More than 50 leaders and staff were present for the afternoon’s events. 

“I think the takeaways are that we need to really consult and collaborate with our First Nations here locally. What my mind is thinking, what kind of policies can we put in place when we’re reviewing zoning applications, now we’re doing our official plan,” said Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy, one of the area mayors who attended the conference. 

“You can really see that it’s one part of the puzzle where we’re going to take away from this a little bit of heart healing, right. We’ve all heard the stories of, you know, the unmarked graves and now we’re like, ‘OK, what can we do, what can we take responsibility for?’ and walk away to start, to have action items. 

Duckworth said the conference was just the beginning. 

“It’s been a great day and I look forward to this just being the first day and further meetings after this where we can really grow as communities together.”