City of Winnipeg

Municipal Calls to Action

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report calls on municipalities to deliver specific outcomes for the following 5 Calls to Action:

Call to Action	Description	Specific Outcome
C2A # 43	UN Declaration (UNDRIP)	Fully adopt and implement UNDRIP as the framework for reconciliation
C2A # 47	Royal Proclamation and Covenant	Repudiate Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius
C2A # 57	PD and Training for Public Servants	Provide education to civil servants on Indigenous issues, histories and treaties.
C2A # 75	Missing Children and Burial Information	Develop and implement strategies and procedures for ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration and protection of residential school cemeteries
C2A # 77	National Centre for Truth and reconciliation	All archives to collaborate with National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation on collection of all records

City of Winnipeg Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation

Strategic Priorities Action Plan 2023-2026

Winnipeg City Council recently passed its Strategic Priorities Action Plan that includes Action 3.1:

Accelerate implementation of municipal responsibilities for United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice

Report of the Executive Policy Committee: Journey of Reconciliation – 2023 Annual Report (Dec. 5, 2023)

Executive Summary

The mission of the Indigenous Relations Division (IRD) is to establish and maintain meaningful relationships and partnerships with and between Indigenous peoples, communities and governments to assist the City of Winnipeg in our commitments to Reconciliation.

This report summarizes actions taken by the Public Service from Oct 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023 to support IRD’s mission and the implementation of the five Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action relating to Municipalities, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Girls and Gender Diverse Peoples (MMIWG2S+) Calls to Justice and other initiatives related to the City’s Journey of Reconciliation.

Progress highlights for the reporting period include:

Momentum continues to build with respect to Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord; as of September 30, 2023, there are 243 partners, including businesses, non-profit organizations, community organizations, schools and post-secondary institutions, faith and religious organizations as well as City Departments and Councillors
Three parks added a territorial acknowledgement to their signage, two interpretive panels were developed and installed and one educational brochure was created and disseminated as part of the Welcoming Winnipeg process
14 learning opportunities were provided to City staff throughout the reporting period, in conjunction with important dates of significance, such as National Indigenous Peoples Day; it is estimated that there were over 500 City employees in attendance
There has been progress on transportation-related Calls or Justice (4.8, 8.1 and 17.9) that has not been realized in any other Canadian city; all accomplishments are due to the uniqueness and strength of the Public Service relationships with the MMIWG2S+community, while grounded in the foundation of “Nothing About Us, Without Us”.
IRD continues to be contacted by MMIWG2S+ families and survivors; IRD is honoured to have a growing list of contacts that it provides updates to on City initiatives and activities. This includes assisting Indigenous individuals and families with navigating City systems, particularly the Vehicle for Hire complaint process.
IRD responded to over 119 unique requests from City departments to provide leadership and guidance on City policies processes, community engagement, etc. to advance the organization’s Journey of Reconciliation commitments.

For full details click on the following link:

https://clkapps.winnipeg.ca/DMIS/ViewDoc.asp?DocId=24335&SectionId=&InitUrl

Indigenous Accord, March 15, 2017

Our Commitments

The City of Winnipeg is committed to building an ongoing process of reconciliation in Winnipeg, a process that is based on the establishment and maintenance of mutually respectful partnerships with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments, organizations, and individuals.

The City of Winnipeg is committed to embracing a respectful relationship with First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples in Winnipeg and committed to a purposeful and influential leadership role to engage new partners to join us in the collective process of reconciliation in Winnipeg.

The City of Winnipeg is committed to a reconciliation process guided by the knowledge and experiences of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples and will include distinct cultural traditions, protocols, ceremonies, and languages as an expression of their identity and nationhood.

The City of Winnipeg is committed to engaging multiple sectors, organizations, groups, and individuals across Winnipeg to build new initiatives, partnerships, and advance reconciliation efforts with Indigenous Peoples, guided by the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

The City of Winnipeg is committed to participating in acts of reconciliation and celebration across the city such that it initiates and experiences a positive change in the culture of relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Winnipeg.

The City of Winnipeg and partners of Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord are committed to collaborating to formulate and execute action plans observing the commitments, shared values, and principles as expressed in this Accord for the establishment and maintenance of mutually respectful partnerships with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.

The City of Winnipeg publishes annual updates to the “Indigenous Accord” on the city website.

Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord: Partner Goal & Progress Report – June 2023

Indicator	Number
# of public servants who participated in education sessions about the history and legacy of residential schools, UNDRIP, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous Law, or Aboriginal-Crown Relations. Decolonizing by learning the true history of Canada, and learning First Nations, Métis and Inuit history in your local area	2014
# of collaborations with First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Cultural Providers to develop and/or implement curriculum, strategies, protocols, processes, projects, or programs.	50
# of partnerships with or between First Nations, Métis and Inuit groups or governments that resulted in the creation of agreements, policies, legislation, processes, or programs	6
# of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and 2SLGBTQQIA people currently represented in our workforce. (departmental accord partner level)	154
# of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and 2SLGBTQQIA people currently represented in our governance and leadership system.	4
# of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and 2SLGBTQQIA people newly hired by our organization this year. (departmental accord partner level)	14
# of employees or members who committed to developing knowledge and read the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls	49
# of activities initiated by my group or organization to formally advocate for First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and 2SLGBTQQIA rights (justice, economic development, child welfare, legal, denounce violence, education, environment, languages, housing, or health and healing	26
# of advisory committees established having representation of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and 2SLGBTQQIA people and assembled to inform planning and decision-making within my organization or group, or within the development and implementation of a regional or local strategy	46
# of amended or new, practices or policies adopted by my organization that recognize Indigenous rights, respond to priorities of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and increase access and inclusion of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, including the rights, priorities, and inclusion of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.	6
# of activities/events to increase the visibility of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit contributions, experiences, values, culture, languages, and/or teachings to bridge understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities	25
# of legal professionals who participated in cultural competency training including the history and legacy of residential schools, UNDRIP, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous Law, and Aboriginal-Crown Relations, including First Nations, Métis, Inuit cultures and histories, and contemporary realities.	52
# of best practices and information exchanges shared with others on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit histories	1
# of services established for the purpose and necessity of creating cultural-safety through inclusion of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit languages, laws and protocols, governance, spirituality, or religion	2

The Partner Goals and Progress Report includes written summaries provided by Accord partners describing annual progress on goals and commitments to advance reconciliation and implementation of the TRC Calls to Action and MMIWG2S+ Calls for Justice.

City of Winnipeg Progress in Advancing Reconciliation: 4 out of 5 = 80%

All responses below are based on “Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord: Partner Goals and Progress Report June 2023”

Call to Action # 43 The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Aboriginal Peoples
We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation

Yes. In Process.
Lead Department: Chief Administration Officer, Planning Property and Development, Indigenous Relations Division
Our Goals:
Formulate a recommendation and framework for the potential implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People to guide and inform future policies, processes, and practices of the City of Winnipeg. At this time, a project start date has not been identified.
A Municipal Development and Service Agreement (MDSA) for Naawi-Oodena is developed between The City of Winnipeg and Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Long Plain First Nation, Peguis First Nation, Roseau Anishinabe First Nation, Sagkeeng First Nation, Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation and Swan Lake First Nation (“Treaty One”).
Our Progress:
Due to competing priorities this past year, the Indigenous Relations review of the baseline report to identify success and gaps has been put on hold. Once finalized, a communications strategy will be developed to share with stakeholders within the civic system in addressing UNDRIP, as it relates to municipal jurisdiction.
2022 marked the seventh year of the Indigenous Medicine Gardens at City Hall:
* Sage, sweetgrass, cedar and tobacco were harvested by Gardeners and Indigenous Relations employees led by a Cultural provider.
* Harvested and dried medicines are uses by the Division throughout the year
Gaawijijigemangit Agreement – Municipal Development and Services Agreement for Naawi-Oodena
“On June 23, 2022, City of Winnipeg Council approved to enter into the Gaawijijigemangit Agreement: a Municipal Development & Services Agreement (MDSA) between The City of Winnipeg and Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Long Plain First Nation, Peguis First Nation, Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, Sagkeeng First Nation, Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation and Swan Lake First Nation (collectively referred to as the “Treaty One Nation”) for the City to provide municipal services for a proposed urban reserve at the Naawi-Oodena site (formerly referred to as the Kapyong Barracks). The parties to the agreement participated in lengthy collaboration spanning several years, and the proposed MDSA is the result of a great deal of discussion, review and analysis of common and best practices across Canada, but more importantly, through the lens of reconciliation.
The Agreement has been negotiated to reflect a government-to-government relationship, predicated on the parties’ mutual respect for the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the other.”
In its response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the City of Winnipeg has committed to supporting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Collaborating and cooperating with Treaty One Nation in the process required for the creation of this urban reserve supports and promotes the following UNDRIP Articles:
Article 3 – Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
Article 5 – Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions, while retaining their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State.
Article 20(1) – Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and develop their political, economic and social systems or institutions, to be secure in the enjoyment of their own means of subsistence and development, and to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic activities.
Article 21(2) – States shall take effective measures and, where appropriate, special measures to ensure continuing improvement of their economic and social conditions. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities.

Call to Action # 47 Royal Proclamation and Covenant of Reconciliation
We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous peoples and lands, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius, and to reform those laws, government policies, and litigation strategies that continue to rely on such concepts.

No. On hold. Lead departments: Legal Services, Indigenous Relations Division
Our Goal:
Commence with a report of research findings including federal and provincial legislation that may impact modification of City of Winnipeg policies and bylaws, and identifies requirements to make any modifications.
Our Progress:
Due to competing priorities, no progress was made with respect to this Call to Action.

Call to Action # 57 Professional Development and Training for Public Servants
We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to provide education to public servants on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

Yes. Multiple initiatives
Lead departments: Employee Development Branch, Indigenous Relations Division, Equity and Diversity Office, Human Resources
Our Goal:
Continue to deliver W’daeb Awaewe, Chi Ki Ken Da Mun, and Wahkotowin learning sessions for Public Service employees including ongoing experiential learning opportunities directly related to the City’s implementation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 57 and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirited Peoples (MMIWG2S+) MMIWG2S+ Calls for Justice.
Our Progress:
Public service training
Chi Ki Ken Da Mun (So You Should Know) provides employees with an introduction to Indigenous people, culture, history, and worldview with a focus on the residential school experience and the traditional role of Indigenous women. Participants are required to watch the film entitled “We Were Children” as pre-work to this course.
• 1 Chi Ki Ken Da Mun session was held with 16 new public service employees participating (annual).
W’daeb Awaewe (the Truth As We Know It) provides employees with an experiential approach to understanding Indigenous culture and promoting reconciliation and the spirit of inclusion. The teachings provide insight from an Indigenous perspective on culture, traditions and historical events in Winnipeg with a focus on the residential school system and the impacts on Indigenous peoples.
• 6 W’daeb Awaewe sessions were held with 150 new public service employees participating (annual).
Wahkotowin (Kinship) provides and offers insight from both academic and Indigenous perspectives on stereotypes, discrimination, systemic barriers, cultural humility development, ally behavior, and Indigenous worldview awareness. Topics will be presented through a variety of mediums and interactive exercises. This course will plays a role in our collective movement toward self-empowerment and reconciliation. This session levels up from W’daeb Awaewe and Chi Ki Ken Da Mun, aimed at taking a deeper dive into developing culture competency for City employees.
• 2 Wahkotowin sessions were held with 51 public service employees participating (annual).

Call to Action # 75 Missing Children and Burial Information
We call upon the federal government to work with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, churches, Aboriginal communities, former residential school students, and current landowners to develop and implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration, and protection of residential school cemeteries or other sites at which residential school children were buried. This is to include the provision of appropriate memorial ceremonies and commemorative markers to honour the deceased children.

Yes. Multiple initiatives.
Lead departments: Indigenous Relations Division, Cemeteries Branch, and Planning, Property and Development
Our Goal:
Support and contribute to actions to advance Call to Action 75 and inform our action plan going forward. Continue to digitize City of Winnipeg Cemetery burial records for easier access to information.
On June 16, 2021, the Executive Policy Committee unanimously passed a Motion directing the Winnipeg Public Service to continue its work on this Call to Action.
Our Progress:
Cemeteries Branch
St. Vital and Transcona Cemetery records have been fully digitized and work is still ongoing with Brookside. While significant progress was made in 2022, over 100,000 burials have taken place at Brookside since the first in 1878 and it will take a significant amount of time to complete Brookside records.
In 2022, the Cemeteries Branch took steps to secure additional resources to accelerate the digitization process and is hopeful that these resources can be in place for 2023. In 2022, the Cemeteries Administrator was invited to participate on both the Informed Practices Subcommittee and the Frameworks and Processes Subcommittee, in support of the recently established First Nations, Inuit, Red River Métis (FNIRRM) Council, to advance the development of multi-jurisdictional Indigenous-led approaches to identifying, investigating, protecting, and commemorating children who died attending residential schools. Subcommittee meetings will commence in early 2023.
First Nations, Inuit, Red River Métis (FNIRRM) Council (Residential Schools)
In 2021, by invitation from the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg became a member of the newly formed FNIRRM Council on residential schools along with representatives from the Southern Chiefs’ Organization, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, Manitoba Métis Federation, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Manitoba Inuit Association, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Regional Indian Residential School Health Support Program Centres, Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and Provincial and Federal governments.
The FNIRRM Council’s overarching mandate is to provide guidance and advice, which advances the development of multi-jurisdictional Indigenous-led approaches to identifying, investigating, protecting, and commemorating children who died attending residential schools.
In 2022, the FNIRRM Council identified 5 principles to guide their work and defined the following 4 priorities regarding efforts to find and commemorate missing children in Manitoba:
* That searches are high quality and inclusive of families of missing children and survivors;
* That trauma-informed, culturally appropriate healing and mental wellness supports are widely accessible and available, particularly for survivors and families;
* The recognition that efforts respect the cultural protocols, traditions, and laws distinctive to each Nation; and
* Those locations where children are buried are protected.
In 2022, the City of Winnipeg identified subject matter experts from the Cemeteries Branch and Planning, Property, and Development to participate in sub-committees as established by the FNIRRM Council. All participating FNIRRM Council members are encouraged to assign in-kind staffing resources to such bodies, and/or suggest additional organizations or individuals including subject matter experts that may be relevant to this work. Sensitivities of the work have been identified under each of the focus areas of the subcommittees. FNIRRM sub-committees recently organized include:
(1) Family, Survivor, Community Involvement and Commemoration
What we hope to achieve: Intertwine families, Survivors, and communities through each stage of the search process to ensure that they are at the heart of the work and are honoured, celebrated, and supported in an appropriate way.
(2) Frameworks and Processes
What we hope to achieve: Provide a detailed roadmap for communities to review and assess according to their needs. This roadmap will help guide communities as they undertake the search for children who died or have gone missing while attending Indian Residential Schools.
(3) Informed Practices
What we hope to achieve: (i) Provide guidelines and recommendations for Informed Practices on every step of the search process including, but not limited to, the cultural, historical, legal, communicative, trauma-informed, geophysical, archaeological, and forensic aspects of Indian Residential School searches. (ii) Support communities in acquiring the resources needed to conduct their searches. (iii) Support communities in seeking industry, organizational, and academic involvement, if requested.
In June 2022, City of Winnipeg members attended a (FNIRRM) Council event at Long Plain First Nation, to honour and recognize survivors of residential schools and witness the Government of Manitoba announce a Provincial Fund to support Indigenous-led research and planning, ground searches, and commemoration in Manitoba.
In December 2022, the FNIRRM Council met to discuss current activities occurring, respective new projects and events, and acknowledging existing legislation concerning the protection of children’s remains, and the important plans being developed to ensure protection of sites for ceremony, searches, and where required, repatriation of lost children. Identified challenges between the depth of research and related work required while constrained by the time limits of government funding.
In March 2023, the FNIRRM Council met to discuss their Terms of Reference to ensure continued strength of purpose, priorities, and principles while the work in and by communities across Manitoba continues. The province provided an update on the subcommittee framework as a result of committees becoming newly active in early 2023.
Assiniboia Residential School Legacy Group
IRD continues to provide administrative support to the Assiniboia Residential School Legacy Group (ARSLG) Board monthly meetings.
The City also provided support to the creation of the Assiniboia Residential School Commemoration and Gathering Place.
* IRD coordinated the planning meetings for the Indigenous gardens and facilitated between project managers and City departments concerning final design items at the commemorative site
* Staff hosted Councillor Orlikow and ARSLG with the project manager providing an overview of the gathering place and monument and to share concerns about potential future plans for widening of Academy Rd. as result of expansion of Route 90.
* The Assiniboia Residential School Commemoration and Gathering Place dedicated to the former students , Survivors, Thrivers and families of the school was formally unveiled at a September 30 gathering at Theodore Niizhotay Fontaine Park, one of several gatherings in Winnipeg honouring the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Staff attended the event which included Survivors and their families, the sounds of the Drum, Songs and traditional dances. Mayor Scott Gillingham and other dignitaries were in attendance to hear Survivors share their stories and the significance of the Gathering Place and Monument in Winnipeg

Call to Acton # 77 National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
We call upon provincial, territorial, municipal, and community archives to work collaboratively with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to identify and collect copies of all records relevant to the history and legacy of the residential school system, and to provide these to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Yes. Multiple initiatives
Lead department: City Clerk’s Department, Archives and Records Control Division
Our Goal:
Building on work completed to date, the City Archives will continue to identify and to enhance access to records that support truth-telling and the reconciliation process. We will work collaboratively with Indigenous groups and individuals to improve both awareness and stewardship of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit records in the collections.
Our Progress: The City of Winnipeg Archives and Records Control Branch holds records that lend themselves to the exploration of Indigenous histories, and of civic policies, programs and decisions that Indigenous peoples in Winnipeg have engaged in over the years.
* In collaboration with curator Vanda Fleury and the Winnipeg Public Library, the City Archives launched the exhibit Story Seeds: Cultivating Wellness and Depth through Indigenous Plant Traditions. Story Seeds explores the better-known crops and plants domesticated, developed, and harvested by Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Weaving together educational resources, photos, historical records, and other sources, it celebrates the food systems that grow cultural narratives, family, and community. The exhibit showed at the Millennium Library from June 6 – September 15 and is now touring other City libraries;
* For the 2023 Archives Calendar and River City digital exhibit, staff included content that sought to support awareness of Indigenous histories in the Winnipeg area and to honour the original peoples of this land and their descendants. The content was prepared in consultation with Indigenous Relations Division;
* Staff completed re-description of the Greater Winnipeg Water District photographs, which include records of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, and conducted research on the St. Boniface Sanitorium to better explore the connections between the facility and the treatment of Indigenous patients for tuberculosis;
* Staff attended several learning opportunities, such as presentations on the Reconciliation Framework for Canadian Archives, Indigenous teachings on the Winter Solstice, Indigenous Veteran’s Day, and Louis Riel Day Workshop;
* The City Archives added Welcome Decals with Indigenous languages to its entrances; plans for displaying Indigenous Historical Timeline Posters in the Research Room are underway;
* Staff provided research support for the Welcoming Winnipeg: Reconciling our History Policy;
* Ongoing communication with Indigenous groups and individuals to build and maintain relationships, share records, and offer assistance;
* Ongoing smudging of artifacts with ceremonial significance.

Other Calls to Action

The responses below are based on the “Members of Council and City of Winnipeg Departments” section of “Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord: Partner Goals and Progress Report June 2023” (p. 61-83).

Call to Action # 5 Child Welfare
We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate parenting programs for Aboriginal families