Belonging in Unceded Territory Project

Project Overview

Vancouver is situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Coast Salish peoples have belonged on these lands since times immemorial. Yet, narratives of belonging rarely grapple with the fact that belonging is negotiated on stolen land. The Belonging in Unceded Territory project brings settler colonialism into the center of debates on social belonging in Vancouver. It pursues the following goals:

• Build reciprocal and sustainable partnerships between the Centre for Migration Studies, settlement and community organizations, and Indigenous community leaders and knowledge keepers.
• Facilitate settler dialogue and learning about Coast Salish histories, colonization, and the ways in which we are implicated in Canada’s settler colonial project. Recognize the differential positioning of Canadian-born and newcomer settlers, and white and racialized settlers.
• Learn from the wisdom of knowledge keepers to explore decolonizing ways of living and belonging. Identify actions we can take to live as respectful guests on Coast Salish territories and support the host nations.
• Share our knowledge through various media to enable outreach to different audiences.

Research Questions

• What does it mean for today’s settlers – those among us who have lived here for generations, and those who have just arrived – to acknowledge our own position in relation to Indigenous presence in these lands?

• How can we develop place-based narratives of belonging that do not shy away from confronting the ugly truth of ongoing settler colonialism?

• How can we live as good guests on these lands, and what actions can we take individually and organizationally to move forward in a relationship?

Methods

Interviews, talking circles, dialogue circles, arts-based methods, qualitative text analysis

Collaborators

University Lead: Antje Ellermann (Political Science)

Team members:

Cultural Facilitators:

Chepximiya Siyam’ Chief Janice George, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation)
Skwetsimeltxw Willard “Buddy” Joseph, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation)
Sussan Yáñez
Aaniya Asrani

We are grateful for the support of Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House during the project’s formative stage.

Outputs

Podcast episode

Canada is lauded for its multiculturalism and being a welcoming host society to migrant newcomers. But discourses around settlement and integration tend to ignore the realities of Canada’s status as a settler colonial state. What would it mean to take seriously the fact that these are Indigenous lands to which Canada has no right to offer welcome? Can practices of immigration and settlement be reconciled with the possibility of decolonization? These are the questions that brought together partners in Coast Salish territories – or, Vancouver, BC – for a multi-year research collaboration called “Belonging in Unceded Territory.” With newcomer and Indigenous community members from Frog Hollow Neighborhood House, migration scholars from UBC, and staff from Immigrant Services Society of BC and the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC, space is being made for new narratives of belonging. What will they be?

Exhibition

Photo by Thomas Jose

From July 22nd to August 1st, 2024, artist Aaniya Asrani showcased her work focusing on understanding our relationship to belonging on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples as part of the Belonging in Unceded Territory project.

Publications 

Hallensleben, Markus. 2023. “Unsettling the Politics of Belonging through Narratives of Radical Diversity and Indigenous Storywork.” Europe Now 51 (Open access.)

Hallensleben, Markus. (Forthcoming) „Über die Lust des Vergessens und Zerstörens: Kann es eine gewaltlose, dekolonialisierte und dezentrierte Literaturwissenschaft geben? Ein persönliches Manifest für eine verantwortungsbewusste, relationale Wissensvermittlung.” [“About the Pleasure of Forgetting and Destroying: Can There Be Literary Studies without Violence, Colonialism and Eurocentrism? A Personal Manifesto for Sharing Knowledge in a Responsible and Relational Way.”] The Pleasure of Studying Literature. Eds. Mona Koerte et al.  

Hallensleben, Markus. “(Re)Imagining a ‘Good Life’ as a Settler Scholar: How Can We Decolonize and Indigenize European Studies through Indigenous Storywork?” Polylogues at the Intersection(s) Series, 2022. (Open access)

Presentations

2024

• Presentation to IRCC, Centre for Migration Studies, November 2024

2023

• Centre for Advanced Migration Studies, University of Copenhagen, May 2023
• Centre for the Study of Political Behaviour, Western University, London, Ontario, March 2023
• CMS Narratives group, Centre for Migration Studies, January 2023
• Host Nations Luncheon, Vancouver, January 2023
• Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House, all staff meeting, January 2023

2022

• IRCC Canada BC-Yukon Summit, hosted by AMSSA, plenary session, November 2022
• Annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Montreal, September 2022

Decolonizing Initiatives Map

This digital map briefly introduces some of the many local projects that we connected with through this project that have initiatives dedicated to efforts of Truth and Reconciliation, decolonization and/or Indigenization on unceded Coast Salish territories.  The initiatives displayed on the map are far from a comprehensive list, and our project welcomes requests from other groups that are similarly engaged in decolonizing initiatives in the region. If your organization is interested in being featured on this map, please contact admin.migration@ubc.ca.

By clicking on an organization’s logo on the map, you will find more information about its initiative and ways to connect with or be a part of it!

IRCC Summit

Host Nations Luncheon, January 2023

Host Nations Luncheon, January 2023

Host Nations Luncheon, January 2023

Host Nations Luncheon, January 2023

Presentation to IRCC

Dr. Antje Ellermann, Principal Investigator

Presentation to IRCC

Chepximiya Siyam’ Chief Janice George, Cultural Facilitator

Presentation to IRCC

Dr. Antje Ellermann, Sussan Yáñez, Skwetsimeltxw Willard “Buddy” Joseph, Chepximiya Siyam’ Chief Janice George, Dr. Sean Lauer, Dr. Clare Haru Crowston, Katie Crocker, Winnie Chironga, and Dr. Lisa Brunner

Status

This project is now in its final year.

Acknowledgements

The Belonging in Unceded Territory project is taking place on the ancestral and stolen territories of the Coast Salish peoples. This land sustains us in our daily work and lives. Coast Salish peoples have served as the stewards and knowledge keepers of these lands since time immemorial. We raise our hands to you!

We gratefully acknowledge the Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers, and community leaders who have and continue to guide us on our learning journey through their teaching and feedback:

Chepximiya Siyam’ Chief Janice George
Skwetsimeltxw Willard “Buddy” Joseph
Elder Kat Zu’comulwat Norris
Norm Leech
Niis Miou/Travis Angus
Sussan Yáñez
Jolene Andrew
Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee

This project draws on research supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through its Partnership Development Grant program (#890-2019-0100).