John Moses is an Indigenous Canadian and member of the Delaware and Upper Mohawk bands from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and Director of Repatriation and Indigenous Relations at the Canadian Museum of History. He speaks to us about reclaiming today’s indigenous identity the historical nature and legal relevance of the term “Indian” under Canadian administrative frameworks, the matrilineal nature of some bands, systems of spirituality mixing Christian and indigenous traditional practices and the austere and harrowing conditions of residential schools that generations of his family have endured.
 
He stresses the importance of re-claiming the rich indigenous culture and heritage under the basic premise that, just as natural resources have been extracted from within Indigenous traditional territories for exploitation by Western markets, and children were removed from Indigenous families and communities for assimilation in residential schools, so too were cultural and heritage resources were removed to museums. It is indigenous leaders that must bring their perspectives, expertise, and agency to reclaiming these resources and indigenous identity as a whole. 
 
He leaves us with an important message that, although he is not opposed to the ideas of equity, diversity and inclusion and access in Canada’s cultural mosaic, we must be careful not to include Indigenous peoples of Canada in this framework. If indigenous issues are lumped into a generic discussion of DEI, there is a risk of eroding the unique status of indigenous peoples and situating them as just another tile in Canada’s cultural mosaic. 

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