Creating spaces for Indigenous Labradorians in provincial governance BY ERIN AYLWARD AND ELIZABETH ZARPA
With a population of just over 15,000, Labrador’s Indigenous groups exist in an uneasy, and at times reluctant, relationship with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Frequently, provincial decisionmakers are unfamiliar with these communities’ cultures and fraught historic relationships with provincial/crown institutions.
Perhaps not surprisingly, many Indigenous Labradorians feel misrepresented and neglected by provincial democratic institutions. Here, we argue that reconciliation and trustbuilding are essential preconditions to fostering meaningful democratic engagement with Labrador’s Indigenous groups; we also suggest that greater work is needed to ensure that Indigenous Labradorians are included in public office.
Efforts to alter the Muskrat Falls flooding process in October 2016 point to the complexity of renewing democracy in Labrador. In addition to reflecting this region’s history of Indigenous-led, non-violent protests, the mobilization of civil society and Indigenous governments in response to concerns about methyl-mercury poisoning demonstrates a deep-seated sentiment of mistrust towards provincial authorities that has been fostered over decades.
For example, one young Nainimiuk at a Muskrat Falls protest explained: “I’m here for a lot of reasons, but the main reason is history. For many years in our history, Inuit and many other Aboriginal groups were afraid to speak up against governments, churches and other leaders. … My family was told they were being relocated. They were told they were being sent to residential school. Our communities were ripped apart. Today these people are trying to tell us that we have no choice — just like they did for the last 400 years. No. We’re not scared to speak up anymore. We’re not gonna be forced to put our lives and families on the line anymore. We are fighting for our rights and we’re gonna keep fighting like I bet my family then wish they could have.”
As this young woman’s remarks suggest, recent provincial history is rife with examples of government interventions that have further fomented historical mistrust. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the provincial government engaged in commercial logging, mining, fishing and developing the Churchill Falls hydroelectric project without consulting Indigenous groups, and the federal government used its Goose Bay base for low-level flight training by Canada and four NATO allies. Residential schools, where children were taken from their homes, families, communities and culture, and put into Anglo-saxon missionary schools, operated in Labrador until as late as 1980. For decades and ongoing today, social workers and law enforcement officials put many Indigenous children into care without their family’s consent or — in some cases — without even their families’ knowledge, which has caused significant detriment to children and their families for generations.
While Labrador’s Indigenous communities are often associated with high levels of poverty and substance abuse, most public servants and members of the general public have embarrassingly little awareness of how colonialism and intergenerational trauma have contributed to such conditions.
If we want to advance the quality of democracy in our province, it is vital that individuals serving in public office develop greater cultural competence and a deeper awareness of the complex history that connects Labrador with the provincial and federal governments. This need is echoed in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendation that public servants receive education and training on past and present Aboriginal–crown relations and Indigenous rights.
However, although strengthening public servants’ awareness of the diversity and complex histories that exist within our province is important, it alone is insufficient: the concerns and knowledge of Indigenous Labradorians, as well as their trust in democratic institutions, should also be advanced through greater participation of Indigenous Labradorians in our province’s democratic institutions. The past two decades have seen some encouraging momentum in this direction; for example, the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement was ratified in 2005, which led to the autonomous Inuit region and government, Nunatsiavut; the Southern Inuit/metis’ community association has successfully developed into Nunatukavut; and Labrador’s four seats were maintained during the remapping of electoral boundaries in 2015.
However, more work is needed to ensure Indigenous Labradorians are well represented at the provincial level and that the next generation of Labradorian decision-makers has access to the resources, programs, and the respect required for deeper democratic engagement.
The ongoing challenges facing Labrador’s Indigenous communities demand action. Such action, however, must be informed by an understanding of how colonial/neo-colonial relations have actively contributed to these challenges. Moreover, such action must recognize Indigenous Labradorians’ efforts and abilities to engage with local, municipal, provincial and federal governance structures.
One concrete action that can be taken in this direction is for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendation on professional development and training for public servants to be formally integrated into the Public Service Commission Act, and for affirmative action measures to be explicitly outlined in the Public Service Collective Bargaining Act.
Relatedly, we urge that protocol be established to ensure strong Indigenous Labradorian representation on advisory councils, commissions and other bodies established to advance the interests of the province.
About the Authors
Erin Aylward (Political Science and Gender & Women’s Studies, University of Toronto) is a PHD student and a 2015 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar. Erin is an international development researcher/practitioner whose research focuses on human rights, social movements, gender and sexuality.
Elizabeth Zarpa (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami) is a student at heart and has experience living across Canada, but home is Labrador. She enjoys hiking, and an intellectual conversation every once in a while.