The front foyer of the gallery was so packed that guests trickled out into the hallway for the evening’s opening number, a pair of poems written by co-organizer Patsea Griffin.

Griffin, who grew up in Ottawa but is descendant of a long line of Chapeau residents, has been working with the Chapeau gallery for some time to organize genealogical research sessions for members of the community interested in exploring their roots.

The poems are from a book she edited through an art project at McMaster University called Echoes from This Land, in which she and 93 other artists from across the country offer their reflections on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action.

Each artist chose to reflect on one call to action, which collectively offer concrete ways Canadian governments and organizations should work towards meaningful reconciliation with Indigenous communities.

Following Griffin’s reading, guest poet Marg Boyle read a pair of her own poems that were also published in the collection, poems she said are reflections on the 47th call to action, which urges all levels of government to reject concepts such as the Doctrine of Discovery and of ‘terra nullius,’ which have often been used to justify European colonization.

“A lot of the colonization here was based on the concept of terra nullius, [the idea] that there were no humans living here,” she said in an interview after the event. “It means you can colonize a place if there’s no humans living there.”

Boyle, who taught Indigenous studies in Ontario before retiring, said it is frustrating that the curriculums taught in schools still contain this lesson. “It’s so ingrained that nobody’s doing work [to stop it]. They didn’t ‘discover’. There were people living here,” she said.

She said her poems were at the same time a reflection on the calls to action and also on her struggle with identity as a Métis person from Gaspésie.

“I’m not a status person. I’ve never lived on a reserve. I’m a person who knew growing up that I had Indigenous ancestry, but I’m a mix,” she said. “Yet I’m not going to say that I’m First Nations. I’m a person who is a product of a mixture of colonizers, settlers and Indigenous Mi’kmaq.”

She said the words seemed to resonate with the attendees, with several people coming up to her to ask about her story or just simply to be smudged.

“Some of the people really wanted to smudge, and I just sensed they wanted that connection,” she said. “It brought all these conversations of people who are trying to find out who they are.”

After Boyle and Griffin’s readings, other members of the audience took the mic to share their own experiences and reflections.

Griffin said that sharing of stories and experiences was something she was trying to accomplish by putting on the event.

“I want to share my truth [ . . . ] and some teachings and knowledge with the community. I am so lucky to have so many talented friends, Indigenous and allies, willing to share their knowledge and their stories,” she said.

“I think a lot of people came looking to connect with community, with each other and with the Indigenous roots that run deep in the Pontiac area. We are still here. We all have a story to share.”

Event co-organizer Helen Davis and a group of volunteers prepared a spread of bannock and fresh strawberries, which attendees enjoyed to cap off the evening.

Boyle said this was a nice touch to an enjoyable evening put on by the organizers, who are trying to bring awareness to the issue in a small community.

“You know how change happens, it’s not always purposeful, sometimes it’s just the right group of people who end up together,” she said.

I am from...
Sacred land
I am from...
Where the three rivers meet
I am from...
An ancestral gathering place
I am from…
Where we speak with nature
I am from...
Where the fires heal
I am from...
Where we once existed
Together in the circle 
Long before the arrival 
Of devastation.

This excerpt is from Patsea Griffin’s poem
I am from.

Supremacy
Discomfort are
No excuse for leaving
Wrong thoughts in place

Still here
Cannot be forgotten
Spoken! Remembered!

Unbroken lines of truths
not buried
And unearthed,
Too much destroyed by
Not listening
nor opening hearts
closed,
Your minds shut

To those who have
always walked these trails
carrying bundles
Running with scrolls
On bark from the birch.

Always had
languages known,
Written and verbal,

Education oral,
Learning role modeled
Matriarchs who guided
Grandmothers who counseled
Always!

This excerpt is from Marg Boyle’s poem
Repudiate / 47

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