The Toastmasters have had to innovate their meetings in the virtual space, but there was plenty of “jazz hands” applause for speaker Kiauna Cote, a member of Ochapowace First Nation.
Big Country Toastmasters – the Moose Jaw club – and Treasure Chest Toastmasters – the Yorkton club – joined together to host a virtual open house on Feb. 2. The featured speaker was Kiauna Cote, whose speech was titled “Significance and Meaning of the Land Acknowledgement”.
Cote’s traditional Cree name is Kaye-Kaye Iskwew – translated as “Hawk Woman.” She is from Ochapowace First Nation in Treaty 4 territory. She has a business degree from the University of Regina and works on Indigenous Relations with Farm Credit Canada (FCC). She is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Chief Gabriel Cote, who signed Treaty 4 on behalf of the Saulteaux people.
Cote is a member of the FCC Stubble Jumpers Toastmasters club in Regina.
The Toastmasters have a formalized structure to their meetings, designed to give everyone a chance to practice and develop communications skills. The various executive roles include (but are not limited to) the actual Toastmaster, typically a veteran member who has a firm grasp of procedure; a Grammarian, who chooses a word of the day which everyone tries to incorporate into their speaking; and a Table Topics Master, who calls upon members and guests to make spur-of-the-moment talks on randomly assigned topics.
The atmosphere of the meeting was one of friendliness and encouragement. Time was regularly taken to explain each step of the meeting. The various steps have been chosen to give members practise in leadership and public speaking. Everyone takes turns in the roles.
Toastmaster Laurel Wingert, who chaired the meeting, explained that because all mics other than that of whoever was currently speaking should be kept muted, clapping wasn’t practical. Instead, the screens were filled with members’ “jazz hands” as Cote was introduced.
Cote’s keynote address was delivered in the usual Toastmaster spirit of practice followed by evaluation. Nevertheless, her topic was serious and educational, and her words were carefully chosen.
“Land acknowledgements have become common since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s ‘94 Calls to Action’ were released in 2015,” Cote said, “urging all governments to change policies and programs to repair the harm caused by residential schools and to move forward with reconciliation.”
But, Cote said, land acknowledgements are only the first step. She characterized acknowledgements as a conversation starter that opens doors for Canadians to understand the historical context of the land we live on.
Cote explained that the numbered treaties were entered into as a way to avoid the bloodshed that was happening south of the border. Indigenous peoples also needed a way to survive the depletion of the buffalo herds. The treaties were meant to avoid war, share the land, and develop agriculture for both pioneers and Indigenous peoples.
The now acknowledged historical fact is that the treaties were brutally ignored. A systematic and organized campaign of deliberate genocide was embarked on instead, including residential schools, forbidding Indigenous people to leave their reservations (while continually and illegally shrinking those reservations), disallowing agricultural competition with settlers, and many other abuses.
Cote related the history of her great-great-great-grandfather, whose people were starved during treaty negotiations until they agreed to sign. Then, those unfair treaties were violated anyway.
In addition, both of Cote’s parents are residential school survivors.
It is important to remember, Cote said, that all Canadians, Indigenous or not, are treaty people. “Canada was not founded on an empty space. It was built alongside and on top of Indigenous nations.”
Her remarks aren’t meant to instill guilt, Cote said, but to encourage an appreciation for the land and its history. Canadians should educate themselves in order to repair connections with Indigenous peoples and foster reconciliation.
Moose Javians interested in the Toastmasters can find more information at bigcountry.toastmastersclubs.org.
