The School of Planning acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations of the Grand River.
The School of Planning mourns the children recently found in unmarked graves near former residential schools, now exceeding 1,000 in number. Unmarked graves were found in the First Nations communities of ʔaq̓am (182 unmarked graves), Cowessess (751 unmarked graves), and Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc (215 unmarked graves). The findings highlight the continued impact of Canada’s residential school system and colonial practices on Indigenous peoples. Locally, Six Nations of Grand River have asked for funding to help in the search for unmarked graves, and recently an announcement about forthcoming funding was made to help fund the search of the grounds near the Brantford residential school.
We recognize the horrific circumstances and practices at residential schools, and offer our deepest condolences to survivors and their families. More than 150,000 children attended Canada’s residential schools, starting in the 1830s. The last school closed in 1997. The residential school system forcefully removed children from their parents and communities, resulting in what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has referred to as an attempt at “cultural genocide”. The news of the graves is shocking but not surprising to Indigenous communities who have long been aware of the existence of these graves. Calls for action from Indigenous communities on this and other issues resulting from colonial practices have long remained unanswered.
As a School of Planning, we have a responsibility to respond to these tragic and horrific events as the planning profession played and continues to play a role in colonial practices. Planning is about managing and determining the use of land--land that was stolen from Indigenous peoples during colonization. It is important to note that this is not only a historic issue. As noted by the Canadian Institute of Planners, “all planning in Canada happens on land connected to Indigenous peoples through treaties, self-government agreements, and/or inherent rights.” (p. 4). Planning as a professional practice, and the way in which it is taught, continues to play a role in the erasure of Indigenous histories and planning approaches, and dispossession of land.
We aim to respond to the failed role of planning schools in educating all future planners about Indigenous histories, governance, ways of living, rights and sovereignty. We aim to contribute to the reconciliation process by building understanding of these issues and outlining the responsibilities of non-Indigenous planners in particular. The importance of building greater understanding of treaties needs to be emphasized in planning education as treaties are the framework that outline planners’ responsibilities.
While Indigenous issues have been part of planning education in recent years, these are all too often addressed only in special interest courses or projects initiated by individual students or faculty members. Furthermore, existing planning education still perpetuates colonial views and practices by drawing on literature and histories that do not adequately address Indigenous issues and histories, let alone build understanding and recognize traditional Indigenous ways of carrying out planning.
As a School of Planning, we are committed to help dismantle the impacts of colonialism in professional planning practice in the way we are educating new generations of planners and in how we as individual scholars engage in the profession as agents of change and critical reflection. We must do better to educate ourselves and future planners about the horrific impacts of colonization on Indigenous populations, the ways in which professional planning perpetuates colonial practices, and how to move forward in a way that works toward reconciliation.
The School has started a process to evaluate how our curriculum can better educate future planners about Indigenous lands, rights, sovereignty and ways of knowing. We aim to bring these issues into the core of our curriculum and teach critical reflection across our courses on how current planning practices and education have contributed to colonial practices. As made clear in the Truth and Reconciliation report, it is the responsibility of everyone to work toward reconciliation. Non-Indigenous planners in particular have a responsibility to play an active role.
To learn more about these issues, please visit the Truth and Reconciliation Response Project, the OPPI’s Indigenous Perspectives in Planning report, and the Canadian Institute of Planners’ Policy on Planning Practice and Reconciliation.
The following support services are available for those who have been impacted by recent events and require assistance.
Counselling Services 519-888-4567 ext. 32655
Empower Me 1-833-628-5589
Homewood Health 1-800-663-1142
Hope for Wellness Help Line that offers support to Indigenous peoples across Canada 1-855-242-3310 (toll-free)