Don't ever start a meeting with me with a land acknowledgement. That's your first step. I don't need your land acknowledgement. I need you to do some darn work. That's where it starts.
It's about acknowledging the truth. We talk about truth and reconciliation. The two truths we reconcile involve land acknowledgements and wearing orange shirts. That's not the truth of my ancestors. That's the truth you've imposed upon us. The truth of my ancestors is this right here. It's a beautiful truth. It's a human truth. Fire stewardship—how we manage and steward the land for the betterment of everyone—that is a truth we can all gather around. We can reconcile. We can take part in it. We have individual obligations to this. It's not your office that has an obligation to this. It's you. The people who live, earn and work in this country have an obligation to amplify, champion and enable that truth.
That's the reconciliation needed here. We talk about decolonization. Decolonization is having a conversation and making relationships, like the individual I just talked about. That's what it's about. It's giving that trust and having the ability to learn from each another.