(Re)defining recreation: a call for reconciliatory action in therapeutic recreation practice

ABSTRACT

Therapeutic recreation (TR) professionals have the potential to support meaningful change and the development of well-being in clients’ lives; however, there is a gap in the role TR has played or could play in and with Indigenous communities. Despite the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 2015 report and its associated Calls to Action, TR approaches typically fail to acknowledge Indigenous conceptualizations, definitions, and practices of leisure. This gap furthers exclusionary policies of colonialism, reinforces historically imbalanced power relationships, and it pathologizes Indigenous peoples’ well-being. In this paper, I make myself vulnerable by sharing personal experiences in practice as a cautionary tale to colleagues to challenge ongoing calls for cultural competence in therapeutic recreation practice and argue the need for acts of reconciliation to go beyond hollow acts of symbolism and to instead become transformative action.

Résumé

Les professionnels des loisirs thérapeutiques (LT) ont le potentiel de soutenir des changements significatifs et le développement du bien-être dans la vie des clients ; cependant, il y a une lacune dans le rôle que les LT ont joué ou pourraient jouer au sein des communautés autochtones et avec celles-ci. Malgré le rapport de la Commission de vérité et réconciliation (CVR) (2015) et les appels à l’action qui y sont associés, les approches des LT ne reconnaissent généralement pas les conceptualisations, les définitions et les pratiques autochtones en matière de loisirs. Cette lacune favorise les politiques d’exclusion du colonialisme, renforce les relations de pouvoir historiquement déséquilibrées et pathologise le bien-être des peuples autochtones. Dans cet article, je me rends vulnérable en partageant mes expériences personnelles dans la pratique, afin de mettre en garde mes collègues contre les appels continus à la compétence culturelle dans la pratique des loisirs thérapeutiques et de faire valoir la nécessité pour les actes de réconciliation d’aller au-delà des actes symboliques creux et de devenir plutôt des actions transformatrices.

KEYWORDS:

• Therapeutic recreation
• leisure
• Indigenous
• reconciliation

MOTS-CLÉS:

• loisirs thérapeutiques
• loisirs
• autochtone
• réconciliation

Acknowledgments

Tsiitala huy cep:ca kws hwiwtsust thamsh siem’ s'ulxwe:n. Huy cep:ca u thun skwool stunuq utu eenthu siem’ nu siye’ye. Thank you for teaching me my respected Elders and friends.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The Tribal Journey movement has been identified as the largest self-mobilization of Indigenous people in the modern world. It is an open going canoe journey held annually in the Pacific Northwest including the west coast of Canada, culminating annually at a pre-determined host destination for a week of cultural sharing, feasting and celebration bringing together crowds of up to 10,000 people (Gray, 20112009).

2. The word lemut translates to ‘to look’ in the Hul’qumi’num language. The Hul’qumi’num language is spoken by the Hul’qumi’num mustimuxw (people) who are members of the larger Indigenous population of the Coast Salish people (Egan, 2012; Su, 2014). These communities cover South Eastern Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Lower Fraser River, which includes the land and waters of Cowichan, Chemainus, Nanaimo, and into the Strait of Georgia, the Juan de Fuca Strait and the upper Puget Sound. Archeological and oral histories position the Hul’qumi’num mustimuxw in the area at ancestral sites, including Thuq’mi’n (Shell Beach) and Teet’qei (Shingle Point) more than 5,000 years ago.

3. The word xwiyuné:m translates to ‘to listen’ in the Hul’qumi’num language.

4. The word tulnuxw translates to ‘to learn, to know, to find out, to realize’ in the Hul’qumi’num language.

5. Our canoe family is a group of community members, friends and relatives who participate in, or support the participation in, the Tribal Journey movement. Canoe family roles include, but are not limited to, canoe pullers, support boat crew, road crew, Elders, cultural support, and cooks.

6. The word thuyt translates to ‘to fix’ or ‘to fix up’ in the Hul’qumi’num language.

7. The word muqw nu shwa’luqwa’ translates to ‘all my relations’ in the Hul’qumi’num language. This statement is used to signify unity and equity between all living and non-living entities moving together through space and time.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Britta S. Peterson

Britta Peterson is a second-year PhD student in the school of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. She received a master’s degree in sustainable leisure management from Vancouver Island University, a bachelor of therapeutic recreation from Douglas College, and a Diploma in Recreation and Sport Management from Malaspina University College. She is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) with the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) and has experience working in community and health care settings in both frontline and management positions.