The river has another name
Cross the Thames in London and you cross a river with an older name. Deshkan Ziibi. It means Antler River in the Anishinaabe language, and people used that name long before the city was built.
This month marks five years since another older name entered the citizenship oath.
What changed in 2021
On June 21, 2021, the law that sets the Oath of Citizenship was updated. The date was National Indigenous Peoples Day. Since that day, the oath new Canadians say includes a new line. New citizens promise to follow the laws of Canada, "including the Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples."
The change came from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which asked Canada to add this to the oath (Call to Action 94). The words were chosen together with First Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations, so the line would fit the many different histories across the country.
The oath does not create new rights. Those rights are already written in section 35 of Canada's Constitution. (Section 35 is the part of the Constitution that protects the rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.) What is new is that a citizen's first promise now points to them out loud.
The place you are joining
When you become a citizen in London you join a country, and you also join a place with a long history.
London and the area around it sit on the traditional lands of four peoples: the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron. Several First Nations are our neighbours today, including the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, the Oneida Nation of the Thames, and the Munsee-Delaware Nation.
The land is also covered by old agreements between Indigenous nations and the Crown. One of them is the London Township Treaty of 1796. A treaty is a formal agreement, and these treaties still matter today. That is part of what the oath means when it speaks of treaty rights.
A few words to know
First Nations, Inuit and Métis: the three groups of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Treaty: a formal agreement. Many were signed between Indigenous nations and the Crown.
Section 35: the part of Canada's Constitution that recognises Indigenous and treaty rights.
Land acknowledgement: a short statement that names the peoples whose land you are on.
One small step
You do not need all of this for the citizenship test. It is part of the place you now call home.
So here is one thing to try. Learn the names of the four peoples above. If you would like, learn a short land acknowledgement for this area. And the next time you cross the river, you will know its name: Deshkan Ziibi.