Decolonizing and Transforming the Engagement of Indigenous and Black People Within Municipal Planning – Lessons Learned

In this paper, we present insights about the process and outcomes of an initiative designed to engage municipal staff with Black and Indigenous community members to develop a decolonial framework for community engagement within a mid-sized municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Grounded in the framework of Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing) the project aimed to disrupt dominant Western mental models, envision improved power-sharing in municipal urban planning and decision-making, and start the process of decolonization instead of the dominant municipal engagement practices. A first workshop was conducted by an Indigenous Elder who shared their wisdom about Etuaptmumk . A second workshop invited the participants to apply that approach to the local municipal context and discuss its implication for a decolonial municipal engagement framework. The mixed-racial, mixed-disciplinary research team kept reflective notes throughout the process. The researchers used the powercube by Gaventa to analyse the power dynamics that affected the project negatively. Power dynamics included lack of visible power to influence major decisions, a shift from claimed spaces to invited spaces, hidden power in shaping the agenda, the use of invisible power in shaping the narrative, and a lack of readiness of the municipal leadership to engage meaningfully.