Earlier this month I had the privilege of witnessing my husband Paul become a Canadian citizen. During the ceremony, we were shown a video called “Welcome, There Is Room”—and I was struck by the power of those words and the weight of history behind them.
The story of Canada begins between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago as the last Ice Age wound down and sea levels shifted. A strip of land, now known as the Beringia land bridge, appeared between present-day Siberia and Alaska. This bridge is theorized to be the point of arrival for the first human beings in this part of the world.
Over the next several thousand years, the descendants of these travellers settled throughout modern-day Canada, eventually populating much of the country. They were the ancestors of the Indigenous peoples who still call this land home.
In 1285, the Indigenous peoples of Canada held a meeting that drew an estimated 10,000 people from dozens of communities, some hundreds of miles away, at Nistawayak. Nistawayak, meaning “Three Points,” is the original Cree name for the Forks.
It is believed that this gathering was held during a time of great struggle and war, and it would have required extensive and lengthy preparations to pull off.
Yet after a few weeks, this group signed a treaty forging peace throughout vast territories that now comprise multiple provinces and states.1
The historical significance of the Nistawayak gathering, so large and so diverse, is immense and a testament to the Indigenous peoples and their desire to live peacefully together on their land.
Less than 300 years after this historic gathering, the first Europeans set foot in Manitoba and the lives of the Indigenous peoples of Canada changed forever.
But let’s get back to my husband’s citizenship ceremony. It was held at Union Station in Winnipeg, only steps from the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers—in other words, the Forks, or historic Nistawayak. It is very likely that the hugely consequential meeting that took place here 739 years ago saw Indigenous peoples walk the exact same ground where today newcomers to Canada are granted citizenship.
Judge Suzanne Carrière, Canada’s first Métis citizenship judge, presided over the ceremony and spoke about our country and its history. She reminded everyone in attendance that being a Canadian affords many privileges and rights, but it also requires us to be good stewards of the land.
This land was not ours. It belonged to the Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. These settlers took the land from the people who had been living and thriving here, people who still suffer today because of what newcomers to their country did.
But Judge Carrière, a descendent of both groups, was the one to welcome my husband into Canada. This powerful full circle moment had me in tears from start to finish.
On October 7, 72 new Canadians from 18 different countries were sworn in as citizens of this free, beautiful country. They weren’t told that our borders were closed or that they weren’t wanted here. Instead we all sang O Canada together and 72 people were given the message that they are accepted.
As Canadians, we now hear land acknowledgments on a regular basis. They generally sound something like this.
“We acknowledge that we are gathered on Treaty 1 Territory and that Manitoba is located on the Treaty Territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline, and Nehethowuk Nations. We acknowledge that Manitoba is located on the Homeland of the Red River Métis. We acknowledge that northern Manitoba includes lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.”
Through land acknowledgements, we grant the first residents of Canada the tiny offering of our words for our shared country… and we work to repair the damage that was done to them and teach our children about Canada’s long and complicated history so we are not doomed to repeat its darkest hours.
Canada is a glorious country—vast and beautiful, free and open—and every one of us is incredibly fortunate to live here. As immigrants and refugees continue to seek the safety of our nation, I hope we all choose to say, “Welcome, there is room.”
