Respect for Land and Acting in Solidarity with Indigenous Sovereignty

Rainbow Refugee expresses our respect for the past, present, and future Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit presence, and sovereignty on this land. We offer humble gratitude to Indigenous peoples for their care and stewardship of the land, air, and water we all rely on. We recognize our responsibilities as individual immigrant settlers, settlers, and organizations to take action to address ongoing colonial injustices against First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.  

As organizations working in Canada with people who have been forcibly displaced by sex and gender-based persecution, we have begun to educate ourselves on the complex connections among colonization, Indigenous rights, and our work. We see ways in which our work can be part of a larger movement toward decolonizing.  At the same time, as well as ways our work can be complicit with colonization. This tension runs through our work.

Our Global Context

Restrictions on human mobility, the entrenchment of borders, and the dominance of White supremacy all have roots in European colonization.  The resource extraction, exploitation, and enslavement that spread during European colonization contributed to the conditions for human displacement, White-supremacist violence, and genocide both globally and on Turtle Island.  As organizations, we are deeply committed to self-determination and justice for forcibly displaced peoples. 

We also recognize the contributions of colonialism to SOGIESC forced displacement in particular. Most of the laws, moral codes, and religious and medical systems that vilify sexual and gender diversity and fuel persecution were imposed during colonization.  As part of efforts to decolonize our work, we celebrate the beautiful range of human genders and sexualities and are learning the language and traditions that exist outside colonial binaries.  

Our Domestic Context

Domestically, we are educating ourselves and the newcomers we work with about the enduring presence and rights of Indigenous peoples, as well as the impacts of colonization past and present. Generations of Indigenous peoples have experienced forced displacement due to colonization, the intergenerational harms of residential schools, the fracturing of families and communities in the Sixties Scoop, and ongoing inequities of with access to clean water, healthcare, family support, and education for Indigenous people.   Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people continue to be targets of gender-based violence at alarming and disproportionate rates. We educate ourselves about these harms, while we also witness with hope, the current resurgence of Indigenous languages, communities and and the movement for Indigenous sovereignty. 

Our Responsibilities 

We are reflecting on our responsibilities as organizations that create a safe refuge on land that is stolen. We are aware that stories of Canada’s multiculturalism and openness to refugees have been used to distract from the displacement, genocide, institutional violence, and profound inequities experienced by Indigenous peoples in Canada. Settlement policies have served colonial priorities and contributed to displacement. These tensions are present in all of our advocacy and support work.

We are committed to a long-term process of self-education, listening, learning from Indigenous perspectives, and building respectful relationships with Two-Spirit and Indigenous organizations as we move towards decolonizing our practices.  We are forming relationships with Two-Spirit organizations and encouraging member organizations to foster relationships locally that will encourage dialogue and relationship-building with local Indigenous peoples.  Some specific examples of actions that organizations may take to support Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, include making financial contributions to Indigenous-led initiatives, supporting land defenders and water protectors, and advocating for policy changes that prioritize Indigenous rights and interests. 

We hope that by resisting the pressure to silo our movement and instead naming and building on the connections between LGBTQI+ refugee rights and Indigenous rights, we can move into genuine solidarity in action with Indigenous sovereignty, respect for land, and rights.   

We recognize that the process of decolonization is ongoing and that mistakes may be made along the way. Committing to forming deep relationships with Indigenous peoples and organizations, being open to feedback and criticism from Indigenous organizations and individuals, and taking steps to continually improve the organizations’ practices and relationships.