The City of Yellowknife supports reconciliation with Indigenous persons and wants to explore new ways of working together through respectful relationships.
On June 24, 2019 City Council committed to undertaking community engagement, using the Reconciliation: Starting the Conversation document as the first step in developing a reconciliation plan.
Coffee break sessions and a Community Gathering on Reconciliation took place during the summer where the City of Yellowknife invited residents to share their ideas, thoughts and feedback to be considered in the development of the City’s Reconciliation Plan. Marie Wilson, former Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, facilitated a dialogue on reconciliation aimed at further developing ideas to be considered in the City’s Reconciliation Plan. The feedback received during these sessions and throughout the summer has, and continues to be, collected and will be used to help shape and build the City’s Reconciliation Plan.
On June 28, 2021, the Council of the City of Yellowknife approved the Reconciliation Framework and the the Reconciliation Action Plan for broad public engagement and feedback from Indigenous partners, governments and members of the public.
The City of Yellowknife recognises that our settler footprint on Chief Drygeese territory is new, and it is incredibly important to honour the original residents and the significant contributions of Indigenous peoples in our community. As the capital city of the Northwest Territories, we are a crossroads for many peoples and seek the guidance of as many Indigenous governments and organizations as possible in recognition of your connection with Yellowknife, while respecting our unique relationship with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) given our location on Chief Drygeese territory, the unceded lands of the Yellowknives.
During 2019, the City released its document Reconciliation: Starting the Conversation as a means to engage with the community in a concrete way, seeking input through coffee breaks, online and written comments, one-on-one engagement and community gatherings. A broad range of comments were gathered and, along with consideration of best practices for municipal governments, have informed the development of the City’s Reconciliation Framework and Action Plan. As we all feel the pain and horror around the discovery of mass graves at residential schools across Canada, action – meaningful action – is more important than ever.
The Framework and Action Plan have been developed by the City, including expert external review, prior to being shared with the YKDFN and the North Slave Metis Alliance in February 2021
- The Reconciliation Framework outlines the high level, principles-based approach to how the City will work to advance reconciliation; this will be a standing document that should be reviewed in 3 – 5 years.
- The Reconciliation Action Plan is a living document that includes current and future actions, can be amended/added to at any time and will be reviewed annually.
At its meeting on April 4, 2022 Governance and Priorities Committee discussed a memorandum regarding whether to approve the draft 2022 Reconciliation Action Plan for public review and engagement.
On April 11, 2022 Council approved the Draft 2022 Reconciliation Action Plan for public review and engagement. This draft is part of the ongoing efforts by the City to seek to work towards reconciliation in our community.
Thank you for reaching out to the City of Yellowknife to share your thoughts and ideas on reconciliation in our community. All ideas are valued and will be considered in the context of the City’s Reconciliation Action Plan which is updated annually. Ideas and suggestions that fall outside the mandate and authority of the City will be forwarded to the appropriate government agency. Please email reconciliation@yellowknife.ca or call 867-920-5693.
We will continue to update this page with the latest information on the development of City’s Reconciliation Plan.
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