Lambton County council changes course on land acknowledgement

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A First Nations land acknowledgement will be read aloud by Lambton County’s warden at the beginning of county council’s regular meetings beginning Oct. 6.

County council voted Wednesday to have the warden read the land acknowledgement. While council officially adopted the document in June, councillors then voted against having each member take a turn reading it aloud at the start of meetings.

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“I believe maybe others were under a misunderstanding what we voted for” in June, said Lambton Shores Mayor Bill Weber.

Weber said earlier he had been confused about the June motion and voted against it because he believed the acknowledgement should be read by the warden, who serves as chairperson of county council.

Council also supported a call Wednesday by St. Clair Township Mayor Steve Arnold to invite representatives of the First Nations in Lambton to speak to county council early in 2022, and backed a suggestion by Warwick Township Mayor Jackie Rombouts to extend the invitation during each term of county council.

“My biggest concern is a respect issue to our First Nations,” Arnold said. “I think it would be very beneficial to county council to have a presentation with the historical, ancestral information.”

Sarnia Coun. Brian White said the city’s experience with its land acknowledgement found it is critical to have ongoing education about the issue, “so that when we read these words at the beginning of every meeting, they’re not just empty words.”

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley urged his fellow councillors to move ahead with Weber’s motion.

“It’s a very simple message and, in the times we’re in, I think it’s really positive,” Bradley said.

Council voted down an amendment by Oil Springs Mayor Ian Veen to have the acknowledgement printed on meeting agendas but not read aloud.

“That way councillors would have a time to take it and truly reflect on what’s being said,” Veen said. “I don’t believe we need to say it at every meeting but I do believe it should be on the top of every agenda.”

County officials made land acknowledgement statements at some events in the past but often used different wording that didn’t recognize local treaty relationships.

When Lambton Heritage Museum staff were preparing a recent display examining the relationship between colonialism and the loss of land by Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, county managers decided to work with local First Nation members to revise Lambton’s acknowledgement.

The Canadian government’s website says the practice is rooted in an ancient Indigenous diplomatic custom revived in modern times to acknowledge the Indigenous nation or nations occupying the territory where a meeting is taking place.

“Making a respectful territorial acknowledgement at the start of an activity is essential to reconciliation,” the website says.

County staff reached out to author and historian David Plain, a member of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, for advice and also consulted with elders at Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and Walpole Island First Nation while updating Lambton’s acknowledgement.

It includes a preamble noting local treaties, as well a shorter statement for reading aloud at events.

Lambton County’s Acknowledgement of Ancestral Lands statement: “We acknowledge that this land on which we are gathered today is part of the ancestral land of the Chippewa, Odawa and Potawatomi peoples, referred to collectively as the Anishinaabeg.

“It is through the connection of the Anishinaabeg with the spirit of the land, water and air that we recognize their unique cultures, traditions, and values.

“Together as treaty people, we have a shared responsibility to act with respect for the environment that sustains all life, protecting the future for those generations to come.”

pmorden@postmedia.com