Voices of the Greenbelt: Bimaadiziwin: Reconnecting to the Natural World

Atreyu Lewis 00:00
Hi everybody, welcome back to Establish brought to you by Shake Up The Establishment. We are a youth run non-partisan Community Center non-profit that focuses on translating knowledge within various topics of climate justice. To make this information more accessible to those living in what is currently Canada. I like to take a moment to acknowledge that we have the privilege of living, working and thriving upon land that Indigenous peoples have lived and cared for, and continue to do so since time immemorial. We’ve acknowledged that our address resides on treaty three land which is a territory of the home has shown a Anishinaabewaki, Attiwonderonk, Mississauga’s and Mississauga’s of the Credit First Nation. This episode is part of a larger project called Voices a green belt, consisting of five podcast episodes, a mini documentary and visual workshops. This project has been supported by the Greenbelt Foundation, agreement Foundation’s grant and research activities are made possible by the generous support of the Government of Ontario. Such support does not indicate endorsement by the Government of Ontario of the contents of this material.

Atreyu Lewis 00:55
My name is Atreyu Lewis, I use they/he pronouns and I’m a Two Spirit trans masculine nonbinary mixed Indigenous and racialized youth. I grew up in Toronto, and I am now currently situated in JoJo gay, also known as Montreal, Quebec. I’m a public speaker, a project manager and grassroots leader with bipoc
organizations as well taking part in independent research on decolonizing methodologies, epistemologies, and promoting intersectionality and harm reduction. To wrap up the series today’s final episode will be a guided experience listening to nature sounds, Indigenous teachings and interesting facts about areas in the Greenbelt.

Atreyu Lewis 01:34
Aanii, welcome. In today’s episode, we’re going to be talking about Indigenous history, land-based
water-based teachings as well as any Greenbelt contributions to environmentalism and how to mindfully visit and experience nature in the Greenbelt that is decolonial and intersectional. The area we now call the Greenbelt consists of treaty lands such as treaties of Canada, including the Niagara purchase Between the Lakes purchase Collins purchase, head of like treaty, Toronto purchase treaty, treaty number 20, Saugeen treaty, treaty number 82, Lake Simcoe, Nottawasaga treaty and many more. It is important that we learn the history of the land and continued presence of these treaties because we are all treaty people, whether we’re Indigenous or non-Indigenous persons, we all have a commitment to the land and responsibility to understand the history that took place and how Indigenous peoples are situated on the land today. The lakes, rivers and wetlands as well as any forest, ravines and healthy farmlands in the Greenbelt have been stewarded and protected by first people since time immemorial.

Atreyu Lewis 02:32
The vibrant way of life of Indigenous peoples and my ancestors as well the connection to the land has
been suppressed due to attend to genocide, colonization and assimilation. We have to acknowledge the
truth these events, the continuing effects and the enduring rights of indigenous peoples. The Greenbelt
Foundation has a responsibility to ensure the work that they do reflects the continued efforts and rights
of first peoples in the land.

Atreyu Lewis 02:52
The Mississauga’s of the credit First Nation is located in parts of southern Ontario and is within Greenbelt area boundaries. prior to European contact, the ancestors of the Mississauga’s of the credit First Nation occupied lands north of Lake Superior and the area around Georgian Bay. The Mississauga’s lived lightly on the lands they occupied, purposely moved about the landscape harvesting resources as they became available. They’re also part of the moccasin identifier Greenbelt program, a program that has goals of increasing Indigenous visibility in Greenbelt regions as well as providing heritage makers or heritage sites on significant indigenous landmarks.

Atreyu Lewis 03:25
The Mississauga’s of the credit occupied controlled exercise stewardship over approximately 3.9 million acres of lands, waters and resources in southern Ontario. Their territory extended from the Rouge River Valley westward across to the headwaters of the Thames river, down to Long Point on Lake Erie and follow the shoreline of Lake Erie the Niagara River and Lake Ontario until arriving back in the Rouge River Valley.

Atreyu Lewis 03:49
The Alderville First Nation located in Greenville area, Oak Ridges Moraine, the thriving community that is
rich in heritage and native culture. They have nature and Heritage Tours available throughout the year upon request. The Alderville First Nation is a part of the Anishinaabeg, they have a long history in the region of Ontario dating back centuries through the Anishinaabeg migrations to the Great Lakes to the subsequent occupation of Southern Ontario at the beginning of the 18th century. Since the great peace of Montreal in 1701. The Alderville First Nation and their ancestors have been a party to events in southern Ontario that have helped to make the province what it is today, with the ratification of the 1763 Royal Proclamation at Niagara in 1764. The early treaties in the 1780s along the Lake Ontario frontier, and the Williams treaties of 1923 were significant events in Alderville’s history. Alderville has also been home to the Mississauga and all the shebang of the Ojibwe nation since the mid 1830s. Before that time, people lived on their traditional islands around the Bay of Quinte, grape Island.

Atreyu Lewis 04:51
The Mississauga’s of the Scugog Island are also located in the Greenbelt area. Government officials in
history were conducting land acquisition treaties with Mississauga and Ojibwa people, and they do not understand the languages of these people or fully grasp their understandings of Mother Earth. Millions of acres of valuable native land were stolen through these treaties with very little to receive in return. The Mississauga’s of Scugog Island First Nation also moved into southern Ontario from their former homeland north of Lake Huron around the year 1700. The Mississauga’s are a branch of the greater Ojibwa nation, one of the largest Native groups in Canada. From time immemorial, Mississauga people secure all their needs from the surrounding environment Mother Earth, hunting and fishing and harvesting plant materials for foods and medicines. Wild Rice, an important food staple, grows in shallow water and was gathered in late summer using birch bark canoes.

Atreyu Lewis 05:39
The Saugeen First Nation is also located in Greenbelt area of the Niagara Escarpment along the Bruce
Peninsula, they offer opportunities for hiking, fishing and swimming. The Saugeen First Nation amphitheater is also located in the heart of the village of Saugeen, one of the most fascinating outdoor theaters in the province. Visitors are also welcome to hike are one of the nature trails and it offers a unique excursion into the unrefined beauty of the area. The Saugeen River is known for having some of the best remote fishing in Ontario. Saugeen river has approximately two and a half miles of open river fishing, you can eat all the fish you can catch.

Atreyu Lewis 06:11
Now that we have a bit of context on the nations and the Greenbelt areas of Ontario, I’d like to share a
quote with you from the book Braiding Sweetgrass. What else can you offer the Earth, which is everything? What else can you give something of yourself homemade ceremony, a ceremony that makes a home? This quote is very interesting to me. Because personally, when I visit these territories, even as an Anishnaabe Ojibwe person who doesn’t know a lot of history of Mississauga has, who’s still on a reconnecting journey when it comes to Indigenous laws and treaties and Ontario, it really makes me step back and think, you know, even if I’m on these territories, I know that I can always be mindful that no matter where I’m visiting, no matter what the history is, I’m always going to step back and carry that, like above thinking of; I’m in this territory, what can I offer? What can I do, to practice some gratitude to practice mindful visitation. You know, as also a racialized person. Oftentimes, I feel like I’m in a city, I’m in Toronto or Montreal, and I feel like I’m not welcome. I feel like I’m in the middle of this scheme of this puzzle, that I am not allowed to solve that I’m not allowed to really, like, get into or have the key to access. You know, when I’m stuck in an institution, or I’m in Toronto, just walking down the street and seeing these place names of white settlers like Dundas, or even in Montreal, like Redpath, you know, these, these white settlers that came here and focused on industry, rather than like, just understanding the island, they were literally on and occupying, you know, and no matter where I’m going, no matter like, if it’s in nature, if it’s somewhere very remote, or even in an urban space, you know, what can I offer today? What can I give, what can I acknowledge, you know, even nature, which is so, like, carries so much knowledge and wisdom, and so much biodiversity that I don’t even understand yet, even in a space such as Toronto, where there’s so much like Construction and Industrial work, and business, and economics and all these things that capitalism thrives on, and colonialism thrives on, you know, what can I do to just practice visitation mindful visitation, like to be mindful, but also to like, know what territory you’re on, recognize the history, and then find a way to engage in the teachings of the land in a way that’s really healing, but also justice, a Healing Justice kind of format. You know, I’m really passionate about healing justice in that framework and my work, how can we prioritize the feeling of ourselves, recognizing our stories and our purposes on Mother Earth? But also, how can I What is the one app that can do that will give justice that will contribute to justice.

Atreyu Lewis 09:15
Indigenous peoples are constantly facing injustice on their territories, their own territories, and frontline
work is one of the most exhausting and capacity, the highest capacity things in the movement right now.
You know, people are giving their lives, people are being brutalized. And we’ve heard from previous guests in this episode, just how brutal it is, and just how stressful and painful you know, it should not be this painful to walk on the land you come from, it really should not be this much of a struggle to just practice stewardship, caretake and, and take care of the land that you come from, and that you identify with, you know, but that’s how you the reality that a lot of indigenous peoples are facing.

Atreyu Lewis 10:00
We’re also going to be talking about outdoor experiences and off the grid experiences. So, with Shake
up the establishment Shake up the establishment engages in a lot of climate justice work, environmentalism work. And a lot of us really go on a lot of trips in nature and actually go into nature to decompress and to recharge our batteries. For many people, the great outdoors goes in hand with exercising, and wellness. And that’s just what the Greenbelt experiences as well have to offer. Not only do they provide an opportunity for physical activity, they also promote mental health, allowing anyone the chance to explore the beauty that this land has to offer. For example, I love to go camping. I still have like a ways to learn, but definitely going to places like Sibbald point Provincial Park, which is in Greenbelt outer boundary, it’s only an hour drive from Toronto. It’s located in Sutton Ontario, you know, it’s close to Lake Simcoe access to park and hiking trails they are in proximity to Chippewa Georgina Island First Nation, which I used to visit all the time as a kid. So as my family lived there, I was able to really reclaim space on the campgrounds as an indigenous person. You know, I previously traveled there with family went that was like my one connection, you know, a really big connection visiting my grandmother and the family on the reserve, even though it didn’t live there and grew up there. It was kind of like that link, you know, from present to past, or even just present to present, you know, those present links, those present connections with the land and the family and the generational experiences here. Now, I go up camping with my family and our family, dog to Sibbald Point. We go for the day, like we use the facilities, we bring our time, you know, we tried to just take up that space and like enjoy ourselves up in that territory, and I just really enjoy it. I really enjoy being up there and I just enjoy the nature around me, and I am just grateful to be on this territory.

Atreyu Lewis 12:01
So we also I also went to the Six Nations to the Grand River youth gathering and actually what Ontario it
was an hour and 30 minute drive from Toronto 30 to 45 minutes from Hamilton Brantford. It’s in
proximity to the Greenville area Niagara Escarpment, but not right directly in the Greenbelt boundary. We went myself and my friends to the climate justice gathering in the community to discuss six nations history, traditional laws, governance, land defense in proximity to Greenbelt territory, we practiced gratitude, the mind will visitation of the Six Nations territory as POC non- Haudenosaunee youth, as guests in this space, we had discussions with community members in that territory who had experience with frontline work, as well as indigenous advocacy roles. We stayed in a cabin at Chiefswood in six nations, it was really I just really loved being there. You know, it was a really great accommodation, we got to understand a lot more about the lived experiences of land defenders and Haudenosaunee people in generations just before us, as well as current youth on the territory, on the frontlines for Haudenosaunee. And it was just a really engaging experience, you know, being at the campfire with all these other youth, talking about indigenous issue issues and such a, you know, empathetic, passionate way, on such a grassroots way, I really felt like I was on the land, and really engaged with the land and the teachings of that land. As well as being there for a more like community work purpose. You know, it was very grassroots and is a very, very engaging, meaningful space.

Atreyu Lewis 13:38
You know that experience also reminded me of teachings I learned as a child in a First Nation school.
And I’m going to read this passage from dancing on our turtle’s backs, and novel on Indigenous teachings. So, “Nanaboozhoo is a prominent being in the industry of a culture, and a bunch of teaches us lessons by never learning representing the ordinary human struggle to live a good life. Their cast is being constantly sort of coming to their own weaknesses, the consequences of which are demonstrated in many stories. Nanaboozhoo is a powerful teacher, first teacher, the first researcher, the offspring of Prophet spirits, who was raised and influenced by Nokomis. They have vast number of gifts to the audition of a people have done large amounts of balancing, they’re often called the elder brother in English”. So none of us are really demonstrates kinship with each other. And kind of the affections that exists between us as well as the book states. You know, Nanaboohzoo is kind of to be honest character I aspire to be, you know, someone who is engaged with the environment around them. As a non-binary masc person. Nanaboozhoo is often depicted as a masculine person, even a generalist person. And I just really relate to the way that Nanaboozhoo engages with, you know, in the creation story when he’s talking to the animals around us, you know, the animals in the story and the spirit beings there, you know, and how Turtle Island is created, and how Muskrat sacrifices themselves. It’s a whole huge story. And I would definitely look more into it and read, like, look into that story. It’s a really big story. And it just reminds me of how you know, as a non-binary trans masc indigenous person, I’m very committed to understanding the world around me better in the means of biodiversity, environmentalism, and that life is intersectional. And that there are many pathways to finding healing and justice and finding connections with nature. And Nanaboozhoo is someone who really advocates for that, you know, that kinship and not understanding of the world in many like very various ways.

Atreyu Lewis 15:42
Speaking of engaging in nature, another huge thing I love to do, I love to have a word. So, I go to a
cottage and Jackson’s point. It’s owned by a POC family, and it’s run with beach access to getting out on
the water right on Lake Simcoe, I actually am a surfer and I used to surf in LA recreationally twice a year
before COVID. But since COVID, we’ve kind of had to stay closer to home, which is my home, and
Toronto. So I basically just take the paddleboard and go out and paddle and sit in the lake. And I do acknowledge the privilege of being able to do that, you know, being able to pay for a cottage take up
that space on the just soil. You know, a lot of white settlers actually do this thing called white flight, where they will rent or even buy massive cottages in rural areas. And when there’s a lot of POC activism or movements going on in urban spaces, they’ll take that time to literally just flee, leave the urban space and go to their like cottage and kind of romanticize that life. And as an Indigenous person, that’s definitely the last thing I want to be doing, you know. So, I’m also I haven’t really like trying to get a balance of community work in an urban space with BIPOC communities queer trans communities as a disabled person as well. Also, allowing myself that time to decompress and to engage in nature in a very meaningful way, very mindful way. Another way where I did this is I went to this Indigenous camp, we were foraging, we were also we went to the caves in Hart House farm and Caledon, Ontario, is located in the Greenbelt right in the escarpment in Terracotta Ontario. And a group of Indigenous leaders as well as non-Indigenous youth, we went out to the site, we went on some cultural walks, nature walks, we engage in some community healing with like, looking at the harvest there with the corn, and even some garlic and it was just a really nice experience to be out there with fellow POC youth. And to really, really understand that space is a little scary going into caves too. But it was definitely worth the wait. It was definitely worth the experience. And being in these caves and then climbing them and then making it out alive because they’re actually pretty like take caution when going into those caves. You know, it is a very scenic experience very immersive. And I’m just grateful to be in like an Indigenous category, just like spaces.

Atreyu Lewis 18:10
I am also a massive hiker. So when I’m not going to trips like happening camping and I am a hiker, I love
going into places in Toronto, even outside Toronto, Rouge national urban park is actually right in the
Greenbelt as well near the Oak Ridges Moraine. It also is home to Carolinian forest, ecosystems, home
to amazing biodiversity and some of the last remaining working farms as well in the GTA. The human
history there is dating back over 10,000 years, including some of Canada’s oldest known Indigenous sites. I think that a lot of these hiking trails really promote wellbeing and access to green spaces in urban spaces. It’s just like right in the GTA, like right outside of Toronto. There’s also a lot of plant medicines
that can be found along those trails in those areas. I went on the visa trail. There was a lot of Bluffs there
and history of just 1000s of years of climate cooling too. An area that’s also not widely known, but in the
Greenbelt as well is the Glendon forest trail. So we went to the trail that was like right on the York University Glendon Campus site. This trail goes from that university all the way to Sunnybrook Park. The
piece of land that we call the Glendon Forest now was in fact cleared and used for farming between 1860 and 1920. It was replanted during the 1920s by the woods, and today it is home. It’s just home to a surprising number of plants and wildlife.

Atreyu Lewis 19:32
It also has access to the Beltline Trail, which goes right to Evergreen Brickworks, it’s Canada’s first large
scale Community Environmental Center somewhere I go very frequently when I’m in like Ontario, Toronto, it’s a huge example of actually reusing the land and restoring the land in ecological processes. It’s just amazing how it used to be like a brick works like literally making bricks for industrial purposes and now has several ponds, hiking trails, bluffs, marshes and grassland. In Anishnaabemowin, the place is also referred to as the burning bright point. The spelling and meaning of the name In Anishnaabemowin is still being decided on by language circle First Nations knowledge and language carriers and allies even today. You know evergreen even though it’s not directly in the Greenbelt area, it’s so close in proximity and it just, I just feel so like, immersed in nature and scenery when I’m there. Very decompressing, very feeling. I’ve done lots of mindfulness journals there, I’ve gone even to look like the lookout, you know, the big top part. And even just on a lot of like mindfulness, just thinking internally as well. Walking through the pawns on the bridges, you know, on the big trails. And it’s just a very amazing experience. It’s definitely one of the best places I love to go when I’m like right in downtown Toronto.

Atreyu Lewis 20:49
Some places I have actually get to visit but I’m really like when learning about them I’m so interested are
some of the key waterfalls in the Greenbelt regions. So along some of the trails you can also enjoy a lot
of waterfalls across the Niagara Escarpment for example, popularly known for the breathtaking Niagara
Falls, hikers and cyclists alike are sure to find many smaller but equally beautiful waterfalls as well. One
being Jones Falls located in the Potawatomi conservation area, its over 12 meters over the escarpment
just west of Owen Sound. You can also find plenty of trilliums in the spring locations excellent for just
cross-country snow, snowshoeing, skiing during winter months. emissions free open your round as well
as the Inglis balls, an 18 meter high waterfall on the Bruce Trail. It showcases spectacular eye formations
in the winter, beautiful castaways in the spring through fall, home to 20 species of ferns, old growth
forests with cedar trees over 600 years old. I love to forge a community that just wow it really just blows
me away even hearing about it. Also, if you’re even an urban space and you just really want to like see
the city from a different lens from an indigenous lens, a POC lens. There’s tons of tours that are Greenbelt friendly within the Greenbelt even in collaboration with the Greenbelt. There’s the Indigenous eco tour led by Alan Cooley. They are First Nations eco educator and forger and they do tours in remote areas such as US Valley and High Park, which is pretty close to the Greenbelt. I went with a few of the SUTE members and offered a traditional tobacco pouch with other medicines on behalf of SUTE we learned a lot of history about the ecology about settlers and then planting their own plants from overseas over the years. We actually learned that High Park has its own sand like elevated sand present. We also saw native plants versus plants brought over like I just mentioned, seasonal growth and evergreen growth and just other teachings about plants that I really didn’t know about. For example, knowing the difference between like Queen Anne’s lace and poison Hemlock, definitely very important to know. As well as just seeing indigenous forger gathering and enjoying the nature around us. We went into the medicine wheel, natural world, creation stories and a lot more. If you want to go on similar tours. There’s also the first story Toronto app and plus tour. It’s a grassroots community development developed tool in the city of Toronto. It highlights Toronto’s history from Indigenous perspective with the sharing of traditional knowledge, geography, it covers over 11,000 years of history. It visits sites such as the DVP, Don Valley River, High Park, huge hill, Toronto Island, Fort York, and a lot more definitely, definitely check out these sites and these experiences in the Greenbelt If you have the chance.

Atreyu Lewis 23:37
These amazing places would not be possible without the conserved areas are located in. I would like to
read a passage from the book The Intersectional Environmentalist. “We can’t save the planet without
uplifting the voices of its people, especially those most often heard, we should care about the protection
of people as much as we care about the protection of our planet. To me, these fights are the same, as a
society, we often forget that humans are a part of a global ecosystem, and that we don’t exist separately
from nature. We coexist with it each and every day. Unfortunately, as some of the animals, some humans are endangered and facing a multitude of social environmental injustices that impact our ability to not only survive, but also thrive in liberation and joy”. This passage really speaks to me as an Indigenous community worker POC, who’s racialized, who has been marginalized. This book, the intersectional environmentalist, is written by a black feminist environmentalist, based in South California. I love their work. I love the way that they phrase sustainability, environmentalism as both a social environmental issue I really related to the way you know, they also talked about navigating environmentalism spaces as a racialized person, and how a lot of the times we see this kind of like pan-environmentalism, activism, where we talk about donations for wildlife funds, you talk about Earth days, we even talk about conservation efforts. But the ongoing pattern is that it turned into a metaphor before we actually think of new ways, and abolitionist ways even to approach environmentalism, to approach social justice and environmental justice as equals. And that they go along the same river, and that they connect together and they’re both ever flowing. This also reminds me of one of the wampum agreements in Haudenosaunee culture, one of their wampum belts focuses on, you know, two boats going down a river, never really meeting each other, never touching each other, but going down in mutual respect, and just traveling together. And I feel like that’s what we really need to focus on when we talk about environmentalism, as well as Indigenous issues. Indigenous Land rights should be prominent and should be at the forefront. However, environmentalism is often placed in a category and as often tokenize. And by have voices are often going very much unheard, when it comes to understanding the equities in environmentalism. BIPOC citizens BIPOC Folks, you know, we face environmental racism, on a huge scale, from oil pipelines on territories, to lack of green spaces and Black communities, as well as the ongoing brutalization of land defenders, across Canada, across North America, and in many other regions of the world. You know, allowing for mindful visitation of nature conservation areas, with knowing the lands, indigenous history, as well as the importance of protecting biodiversity in the regions helps humans reconnect with the natural world on a social and environmental level. There’s no one way to practice appreciation of nature, there’s many ways to get involved in environmentalism that promote stewardship and the challenge of industrialization in society. People can can get involved in the concept of sovereignty of foods, plants, and natural spaces, apart from places to settle the places to actually grow your own products someday and really become aware of your natural surroundings.

Atreyu Lewis 27:08
So one of the main things I really tell people is, how can you really immerse yourself into natural spaces,
such as Greenbelt trails? What can you do to continue to conserve those important natural green
spaces, whether that be volunteering in a garden, or going out hiking trip, there’s many ways that you
can really engage in maintain natural spaces, as well as promoting environmental stewardship. I would
like to read a passage from the book “all we can save courage and solutions for the climate crisis. “It’s
true that the climate strike movement is organized and led by youth, but we need to work intergenerationally we want to impact every sector in every industry, to me and a lot of other young
people. It feels like we’re rooted in awareness, while the adults around us live in obliviousness”. That is
so true. You know, I’ve seen environmental spaces, a lot of adults tell me, oh, yeah, congratulations, you
know, thank you for doing the work. But they also talked in a very, like defeatist attitude and very, like, not really my problem anymore, you know, indigenous cultures, we also have the fires prophecies, you know, and that in the seven fire, everyone will come together, and, you know, recognize our differences and promote equity and protect the land, and we connect with our ancestors. And I, that’s really what I grew up on as well, you know, this idea that there will be a time when the youth when everybody of every age will understand these issues. And that once you understand, everything else can make sense. Once you do that internal work, everything else can fall into place, you know, immersing yourself and engaging in that education, taking those steps back to be mindful of your spaces in your surroundings, is really the first step to getting involved. You know, people can really get involved in sovereignty in so many ways. And just going into nature and connecting with your nearby Indigenous community, as well as learning the trees of land you’re on, really learn the land you’re on and be mindful, and in space, one way to do that is go to native-land.ca. They have a really great resource for engaging with treaties, lands and history. Engage in the appreciation and mindfulness aspects of experiencing nature, through sound descriptions of sites, and interesting facts about areas. Inform people around you of the importance of being respectful towards indigenous laws and history while visiting the sites. To create a space for yourself and your community. Where you as an intersectional being can share your experiences as a aspiring environmentalist, as a nature enthusiast, or just as a general like advocacy leader for Indigenous
teachings as well as POC liberation and to also promote nature-based learning. Thank you so much for
tuning in. All my relations.

Atreyu Lewis 30:00
This episode is highlight Indigenous history characteristics significant risk to Greenbelt regions as well as
outdoor experiences, hiking trails, POC led routes and waterfalls. If you liked what you hear, check out
our work at Shake up the establishment, you can find us on our website or Instagram. To continue
learning about important topics like environmental stewardship, social justice issues and political
accountability. That’s S H A K E U P T H E. E S T A B. O R G. And find us under the same name on
Instagram. To learn more about the Green Belt foundation online.