Indigenous consultant resigns, files rights complaint
Lindsay Kretschmer, a Mohawk Wolf Clan member, says city violated her right to practise smudging
The woman hired to help city hall improve its relations with Indigenous communities has resigned and filed a human rights complaint against the city.
Lindsay Kretschmer, a Mohawk Wolf Clan member, was hired in March as the Indigenous Affairs consultant in the city’s Equity, Diversity and Human Rights division. Part of her job was to liaise with local Indigenous communities and provide the city with expert policy advice, in line with the city’s efforts to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.
But her stint was short-lived. In early July, Kretschmer tendered her resignation over what she calls “disrespectful” treatment of the Indigenous file. She has since filed a complaint at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, claiming the city violated her right to practise smudging, an Indigenous ceremony that involves burning sacred medicines.
“I waited for three months but I was never allowed to smudge in that building,” she said. She wanted Indigenous people to have a specific room at city hall where smudging can be performed, such as the prayer/meditation room where members of any religion can pray.
City spokesperson Wynna Brown did not discuss specifics of the case but wrote in an email that the city has responded to Kretschmer’s application and “looks for- ward to the opportunity to present its case through the tribunal process.”
Kretschmer said she was later told she could smudge inside one of the managers’ offices — a response she regarded as “not dignified” because of the lack of privacy and personal space. One colleague even suggested she smudge outside.
“In 2017, you’re forbidding me from practising my culture. That’s essentially a repeat of colonization behaviour,” she said. “It’s just really bad to work there as an Indigenous person.”
Mayor John Tory has committed to increasing Indigenous presence at city hall, and the hiring of Kretchmer was seen as the first step.