This is a guest blog post from Melanie Walker of Many Microbes Soil Lab located on the swiya of the shíshálh people. Melanie shares her experience taking kinSHIFT’s Elements of Truth: Before Reconciliation workshops. We recommend that all farmers take this essential training!
As I joined the first session of the kinSHIFT’s Elements of Truth workshop, I was open to learning. I knew it would be a process of change. I think most people who grow food appreciate change: the cycle of a growing season, the transformation from seed to fruit, and of course the many times we have to modify our best laid plans. So it was pretty great that, throughout the session, the facilitators invited us to “be open to being changed.” One of the first things facilitator and Program Director of IndigenEYEZ, Kelly Terbasket, invited us to think about was, “What can we learn from Mother Earth about change and transformation?”
But before we can change, we have to start with where we are. In the first few minutes of the session, the facilitators asked us to turn on our microphones at the same time and call out our name. I loved how saying our names together made us into a group. Next the facilitators asked us to unmute and name whose land we are living on. As I said, “the swiya of the shishalh people”, and heard all the names of Indigenous peoples coming back to me through the speakers, I joined the many people smiling. When it was time to share in smaller groups why we had signed up for the workshops, I shared that I wanted to take more action on food security in my community. When other people shared their reasons, I understood that all of us wanted connection.
Throughout the workshop, the facilitators shared their own personal stories. By telling their specific stories and sharing their perspectives, the facilitators invited us to make connections between abstract concepts like colonialism and the actual families affected by these systems. The facilitators encouraged us to centre and learn about Indigenous experiences as we think about the past and present. They encouraged us to “listen well” and “listen to understand”.
Although we were listening to stories, we were also asked to respond. We were invited to contribute our reactions to maps, photographs, and historical events. We were asked to reflect our thoughts and impressions in an open and curious way. This engagement emphasized our connection to each other.
Anyone growing with the land knows you can’t do anything good without your neighbours. One organism in the soil food web affects the entire handful of compost. One honeybee reflects the health of the hive. Our participation matters.
I’ve lived around the Salish Sea most of my life, but a couple years ago I followed my partner to the swiya of the shishalh people. This is a place I’m only getting to know. I have all these questions about people, culture, plants, insects, and the original names of things. How do I slow down, listen with curiosity, and make positive contributions? How do I walk these beaches, forests, and fields in a respectful way? How do I put myself in the way of good stories?
Despite all my questions, I remind myself that this is just the first session and that meaningful change tends to happen with consistent effort and curiosity. In the remaining sessions, I’m looking forward to learning more from the facilitators and the other participants. Also, the facilitators offered some great resources so I can follow those routes to learn more.
As we ended the session with waves and “thank you’s”, I felt hopeful about becoming a good member of this place I call home.
About the Author
Melanie Walker is a writer and pollinator-lover living on the swiya of the shíshálh people. She and her partner, Jesse Frank, build compost as Many Microbes Soil Lab.
Learn more about kinSHIFT’s Elements of Truth: Before Reconciliation course and other offerings.