One accessible and impactful form of reparation is to offer a financial contribution from the resources you have at your disposal. Reparations is the making of amends for wrongs that have been done, from which non-Indigenous people have benefitted, by paying money or otherwise helping those wronged. Reparations arise from and are bolstered by individual relationships with Indigenous people.
Making a Financial Reparation
There are many ways to make reparations and doing so through relationships built between people and communities is important. Reparations do not need to go through Share the Gifts – Honour the Treaties, but we can support you to find ways that work for you and your community. Please contact us for more information to determine the best option for you.
If you would like to make a financial reparation through the Share the Gifts – Honour the Treaties Reparations Fund, you can:
- Send an e-transfer to: honourthetreaties@gmail.com (Please send a separate email with any Secret Question information)
- Send a cheques payable to: Share the Gifts–Honour the Treaties at 159 Austin St. N, Winnipeg, MB, R2W 3M5.
Please indicate if you would like to have a percentage of your funds designated for administrative costs (e.g. 10-30%). See “Where does the money go?” below. This is entirely optional. Otherwise funds will be deposited in full in our Reparations Fund for future disbursement by Indigenous people.
Currently we do not have an option for online financial transactions through this website, though this may be forthcoming.
Something to Keep in Mind
Paying money is one way of working towards decolonization. However, no amount of money can compensate for the damages done by colonization or stand in for relationships. Treaty relationship calls on us to build partnerships of equity in which everyone’s needs are met — to share the land and its bounty – while also ensuring the Earth is well cared for.
Relationships with Money
Reflecting on our relationship to money and wealth is one step in the journey towards reconciliation and decolonization. Our personal attitude reflects our understanding about the root causes of the inequity, the history that brought us here, and what we are choosing to do. With a change in attitude comes a change in our approach—a change which may be glaringly obvious to those on the receiving end, even if we may perceive little difference ourselves. Ponder for example:
- What is your relationship to money?
- How much of your time and energy goes towards acquiring money and wealth? What are the benefits and costs to you?
- How much does your sense of personal & family security depend on money?
Reparation is an expression of generosity that takes responsibility for the injustice that our Settler society has inflicted through centuries of colonization. When we shift our focus away from our own benevolence, we begin to see how both Indigenous and Settler lives are bound together through the course of time and in this space. We see that the resources we may have – even when we work hard for them and even when they seem just barely adequate – may be still be disproportionally imbalanced in our favour. We might see how our privileged access to meaningful work, our access to navigating a society based on what we are familiar with, and our (or our ancestor’s) access to the land’s resources tip the scales in favour of those with a White-Settler identity. Reparations is about holding ourselves accountable for our part in these structures.
Developing long-term, significant relationships with Indigenous individuals and coming to see how the historical harms and inequity continue to impact their communities is an essential first step in a journey toward reparation. Relationship can shift us from an attitude of scarcity and reluctance to a joyful release.
Learning from Others
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Links to examples of ways that others have done this:
How much do I pay?
How much to give depends on your vision and intention, as well as your individual, family, or group situation. Examples of questions to consider:
- How much do you pay on your water and electricity bills?
- How much are you currently creating wealth through your own investments or assets?
- Do you know what industries and services your current investments support?
- Do you currently receive income from the land?
According to a statement of in #5.30 of the Faith and Practice of Quakers in Australia, the “Pay the Rent” campaign suggests paying 2% of their total tax bill to the local Indigenous Nation. Others in Australia now are paying 1% of their total taxes. In addition to “paying their rent,” many work on building relationships with that Nation.
There are some great guidelines for consideration created by Resource Generation.
If you would like to have a discussion with someone about how to discern an amount, please contact us for more information to determine the best option for you.
Where does the money go?
Distribution of the “Reparations Fund” through Share the Gifts will be determined by Indigenous peoples, and we are consulting Elders and Indigenous community members on an ongoing basis to establish this process. According to wisdom shared with us by Elders at our last gathering, we are taking our time with this as it is important for this fund to be set up in a good way, with consideration of our relationships with money and with each other. Because of this, we are focusing our energy at this time on educating Settlers on the importance of making reparations. The decisions around distribution will come in time.
Meanwhile there are administrative costs, such as filing annual returns to the Corporations Office of the Manitoba government which oversees non-profits, holding annual general meetings, and undertaking consultations with Elders and others. Contributors have the option of indicating if their contribution may partly be used to help with administrative costs. Otherwise funds are maintained in our Reparations Fund for future disbursement by Indigenous people.
Please let us know in your contribution whether you would like to put 30% towards Share the Gifts – Honour the Treaties administrative costs as we develop this project. Please see our annual financial reporting in our AGM Reports for more details on our spending and accountability process.