What does reconciliation have to do with forestry? “It has everything to do with it.” - Garry Merkel. If we want to be stewards of the land we need to be able, and willing, to support those whose livelihoods and culture are dependent on it. In this episode, Garry opens his heart to us so that we may better understand our role as stewards and as people. His honesty and openness make him a true role model.
Your Forest Podcast by Matthew Kristoff
Reconciliation with Garry Merkel
Episode highlight
Garry Merkel is a member of Tahltan First Nation and a Registered Professional Forester. He has spent his career helping to build First Nations governance. Here, he speaks about the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada, reconciliation with them, and learning how to care for the earth from them.
Resources
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA): https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/indigenous-people/new-relationship/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples
Sponsors
West Fraser: https://www.westfraser.com/
GreenLink Forestry Inc.: http://greenlinkforestry.com/
Damaged Timber: https://www.damagedtimber.com/
Giveaway
Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!
Quotes
20.07 - 20.22: “Spirituality means how do you take comfort and make sense out of the fact that you are infinitely small in a place you know nothing about and nothing about that is ever going to change.”
20.28 - 20.38: “We have such a deeply rooted fear of loneliness as a species, we’re the most gregarious thing we know of that has ever, ever existed.”
36.15 - 36.21: “The predator-prey relationship is one of the crucial parts that keeps the landscape in balance.”
45.47 - 45.54: “There’s always a segment of society that are just wilfully ignorant… that’s just the way it is.”
46.23 - 46.33: “The thing about racism and sexism and all those isms is every one of those comes from a very deeply rooted insecurity.”
56.36 - 56.38: “Nothing is good or bad in nature, nature just is what nature is.”
58.07 - 58.15: “Reconciliation is a very human process of us all understanding that we are all human and bringing things back to balance.”
Takeaways
How culture has been shaped (04.47)
Garry identifies as indigenous and points out that until recently, the indigenous community was marginalized and did not have a voice in Canada. He speaks about the indigenous community being a Fourth World Country - a Third World Country living in a First World Country. What inspired him to be involved in reconciliation work was the richness of culture that Canadians were missing out on by not participating in reconciliation with the indigenous.
How the relationship deteriorated (07.00)
Garry laments that people are not inspired to be involved in reconciliation because they don’t all know what it implies. He recounts that settlers first came to Canada for commerce, and their relationship with the indigenous was synergistic. The entire Metis Nation, a blended society, was formed. However, when Canada began to become a confederation, settlers began to view the indigenous as unfit for the new society.
The roots of systemic racism (09.60)
Garry highlights that the way of viewing indigenous peoples as less than settlers is the paradigm Canada was built on, and it is reflected in the treaties, laws, policies, and interactions with the indigenous since the beginning. Reconciliation is about righting those wrongs in every dimension of society by first understanding how systemic racism manifests in our interactions and eliminating it to bring about a more equal human relationship.
The indigenous were here long before the settlers called this their home (13.45)
Garry explains that indigenous peoples didn’t have the right to vote till recently. They were not allowed to leave the reserve without a permit. Indigenous populations still don’t own their reserves, since it is considered crown land. Sexism, along with racism, is also rampant in the treatment of the indigenous - an Indian woman loses her status if she marries a non-status person, but a non-status woman gains status if she marries a status Indian man.
Spirituality is a way to make sense of life (19.37)
Garry rates cultures based on how they derive comfort from spirituality. On one end of the spirituality spectrum are control-based cultures that view humans as above nature and think of God as human-like. On the other end is a surrender-based approach of awe-inspired observation. Indigenous cultures are earth-based and define spirituality as their rooted relationship to land and nature, learning about human animals by observing non-human ones.
To think of anything as unnatural is a mistake (29.24)
Garry believes that people call things unnatural for 2 reasons - they feel superior and separate from nature therefore their actions to nature become unnatural, and because they don’t trust themselves to care for the planet so they don’t pay attention to their ecological footprint. The crux is in learning how to live with the land and its other inhabitants well. He shares anecdotes of working with indigenous communities and relearning their ethical relationship with the land.
Truth is a slippery slope (43.26)
Garry emphasizes the importance of learning about indigenous populations and about one’s own insecurities since all bias come from “building your strengths by trying to create weaknesses in others”. It takes pain, time, and effort to question one’s misbeliefs, dismantle one’s old character and learn to live with humaneness. He aspires to help everyone he comes across take off their blindfolds and build a broader, deeper, higher understanding of people.
Reconciliation is largely a human process (57.39)
Garry quotes Justice Murray Sinclair to explain that reconciliation does not work if one side believes it's some kind of recognition of rights and the other side believes it's a benevolent act. The path is to reconciliation is to introspect and face what people close to you may have done and find a way to equality and harmony. There are legal, technical, and political aspects to reconciliation, but a huge part of the journey is the human element of it.
Face your demons (1.01.04)
Land management evolves by people facing their own mistakes, recognizing the need for change, and coming up with new constructs to implement - on repeat! Garry advocates learning from indigenous people’s understanding of relationships to the land instead of defaulting to mass denial of problems. Through a philosophical evolution and societal paradigm shift to collaborative indigenous land management, we can relearn how to care for the land.
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