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Pages 220 - 247, Chapters 25 - Epilogue
Morgan, Eli, and Arik return to Misewa. Muskwa and the council offer Arik the opportunity to live in the community, and offer Morgan and Eli the opportunity to stay longer. The children, however, must return to Katie and James’ house. As Arik sees them off, they promise to return the following night. Back in Winnipeg, Morgan is reunited with her mother in a dream.
Teacher Background Information: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
Morgan and Eli’s journey reveals a land that is new to them, Askí, populated by a distinct set of beings with a distinct culture. Askí can be considered a metaphor for the land and peoples that lived in present-day Canada before settlers arrived.
Across their journey, Eli and Morgan learn how Askí is governed, how the inhabitants manage and share their resources, and how they practice their spiritual and oral traditions. That is, they learn many ways that the inhabitants of Askí are a distinct people.
Much the same, the United Nations (UN) has recognized the distinct nature of Indigenous Peoples. The United Nations is an international organization of 193 Member States “where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity.”
One result of the UN’s work to bring states together to discuss common problems and find shared solutions is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
UNDRIP is a document that outlines minimum standards that will contribute to the survival, dignity, and well-being of the world’s Indigenous Peoples. UNDRIP is not a law that countries must follow. Rather, it is a guide for countries, courts, and other institutions to take into consideration when making their own laws.
UNDRIP recognizes several rights of Indigenous Peoples, such as rights to:
• self-government
• decide membership using their customs and traditions
• lands and resources they have traditionally owned, occupied or acquired
• establish and control their educational systems
• practice their traditions and customs
• use, develop and pass on their languages, and oral traditions
• maintain and develop their economic systems
• develop and, as far as possible, administer their own social programs
• practice, develop and teach their spiritual traditions
• recognition and enforcement of Treaty Rights
Countries may make the rights in UNDRIP the law in their own land. Canada has taken steps towards this. In June 2021, the federal government passed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. The purpose of this Act is to set in motion a process to make the rights in UNDRIP part of Canadian law.
The Act states that the government must ensure that Canadian laws respect the rights in UNDRIP. To accomplish this, the Act requires the government to create an action plan and implement it. Both these things are to be done in consultation with Indigenous Peoples.
Action Plan
The federal government released their action plan in June 2023. The action plan sets out priorities for making UNDRIP part of Canadian law. It also outlines steps that need to be taken for each priority area that the law identifies. The Act does not create stand-alone rights that can be enforced against the government.
Priorities include making sure that:
• Canadian laws are consistent with UNDRIP
• Indigenous Peoples can exercise their right to self-government
• Treaties are recognized and enforced
• Indigenous Peoples have control of their lands and resources
• Indigenous Peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in all matters that affect them
• Indigenous Peoples are healthy, housed and safe
• Indigenous Peoples have equal rights to education, including post-secondary education, with necessary funding and supports
The Supreme Court of Canada has said that the government, in consultation with Indigenous Peoples, must make sure Canadian law is consistent with UNDRIP.
CLASS DISCUSSION
Reading Reflection
1. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognizes rights that all Indigenous Peoples across the world should have. Some of these rights include…
• self-government
• decide membership using their customs and traditions
• lands and resources they have traditionally owned, occupied or acquired
• establish and control their educational systems
• practice their traditions and customs
• use, develop and pass on their languages, and oral traditions
• maintain and develop their economic systems
• practice, develop and teach their spiritual traditions
Many of the practices that UNDRIP seeks to preserve and promote are seen in action, in the lives of the inhabitants of Askí. For example, think about Misewa’s governing council. It
governs Misewa with its own unique processes. The inhabitants of Misewa, thus, have their own form of self-government.
Go through each of the rights listed above, line-by-line.
1. How did Askí’s inhabitants practice the ideas listed in each right? Describe it in as much detail as you can.
2. Think about the people on the land we call Canada today.
a. How will preserving and promoting UNDRIP rights improve the lives of Indigenous Peoples?
b. Look back to Ochek’s words on Page 88.
“All things are connected. Your world and this one, the sky and the land. All that is.”
How will implementing UNDRIP in Canada improve the lives of everyone?
3. As the action of The Barren Grounds comes to a close, the book says:
It looked as though the White Time had never been there at all, but of course, that wasn’t the case. Too much had happened. Too many lives had been lost over the years since the White Time began its unrelenting stay, and too many had been lost just in the last week. They were all crying, in their own way and for their own reasons. At the hope the Green Time brought…” (220)
Implementing UNDRIP is an ongoing task in Canada. Why is it important to recognize harms of the past when making plans for the future?
Looking Forward
Think about what Mrs. Edwards wrote in her evaluation of Morgan’s poem.
“I knew that you could do more, and I hope you know that now. Now do even better. B+.” (245)
• Is our work in making things better ever done?
• How will things like UNDRIP help guide our path to a better future?
