‘Standing with Each Other’: Indigenous-Muslim Relation-Making on Turtle Island

Abstract

Within the context of the northern part of Turtle Island, the space of relationships between Indigenous and Muslim communities is one intertwined within the history and geopolitical realities of settler-colonialism and immigration.  This paper is an exploration of the theme of space, and relationship formation from the perspective of Muslim and Indigenous peoples in Canada who have engaged in building relations over the past two decades.  This article is based on a wider qualitative semi-structured interview-based research project, supported by content analyses of existing literature and online resources produced by relevant organizations and initiatives. The research analysis has led me to thematically organize these spaces into four general types of spaces: 1) organization-led spaces of relationship building; 2) spaces of conviviality as pathways to relationship building; 3) relational spaces defined through acts of documentation; and 4) spiritually and emotionally bonded spaces that transcend a secular framework. This analysis led to identifying practices of relational meaning-making that form a preliminary understanding of what characterizes Indigenous-Muslim relations on Turtle Island.