10 - Beyond ‘Good Intentions’: Fostering Meaningful Indigenous–Settler Relationships to Support Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Summary

An invitation into ethical space

We invite the reader to enter with us into ethical space. Originally coined by literary theorist Roger Poole (1972) and further developed by Cree Elder and legal scholar Willie Ermine (2000, 2007), ethical space aims to bring together Indigenous and settler knowledge systems to co- create relational space where different ways of knowing can interact. According to Ermine (2007: 193), ‘ethical space is formed when two societies, with disparate worldviews, are poised to engage each other. It is the thought about diverse societies and the space in between them that contributes to the development of a framework for dialogue between human communities’. He uses a metaphor of two people sitting on a bench and reflects on ‘the electrifying nature of that area between entities that we thought was empty’ (Ermine, 2007: 195). The space between people is where ideas and assumptions form the foundation for relationships. Acknowledging unjust power relations that undergird historical and current realities in (so- called) Canada, encounters between Indigenous and settler Peoples, require explicit rules for engagement to enable ethical relationships to be negotiated. Ethical space acts as an intermediary between knowledge systems where participants commit to processes that nurture relationships on all levels. Ethical space is a process for open communication and collaboration, wherein participants commit to respecting different ways of knowing. Larry McDermott, an Algonquin Elder and co- author of this chapter, explains that those engaging in ethical space are responsible for holding up the integrity of the circle and ensuring that everyone feels safe and heard. In writing this chapter collectively, the authors, both Indigenous and settler, hold each other in ethical space. We invite the reader to journey with us as we struggle collectively towards an understanding of how we can support, enable, and in some cases, get out of the way of those who are actualizing Indigenous food sovereignty (IFS).

Indigenous– settler partnerships

Throughout the ongoing colonization of Turtle Island, Indigenous Peoples have faced extensive oppression and injustices. After centuries of land expropriation, imposed starvation, forced sterilization, and forced cultural assimilation under the Indian Act, including the removal of children from their families through residential schools (Manuel and Derrickson, 2021), in 2019, the Federal Government of Canada acknowledged their role in an ongoing genocide.