Cycling and outdoor recreation associations use and build trails on traditional unceded or treaty lands. Clubs and associations have and continue to benefit from settler colonial structures in order to build trails. Consider whether a trail built in your community twenty years ago or even yesterday was constructed with consideration to Indigenous peoples. It is more likely that an ecological study was conducted to determine if endangered fauna or flora would be affected rather than any assessment of the culturally significant history the land might possess.

IMBA Canada hopes to help guide trail managers and trail users to reflect on their relationship with the land they recreate on and encourage continued engagement in Reconciliation. Land acknowledgements should not be the only relationship outdoor recreation groups have with Truth and Reconciliation. A Land Acknowledgement should not be completed to “check a box” of inclusivity. It should be one of many steps that allow your organisation to take action authentically and with concrete actions.

Rely on education to inform your actions so that you can move forward in a good way. Read the TRC 94 Calls to Action as a starting point, and consider enrolling in an online course to further your understanding of Truth and Reconciliation. The actions you take to support Truth and Reconciliation are not universal, they will vary depending on what land you currently reside on.

• University of Alberta: Indigenous Canada Course
• https://reconciliationcanada.ca/ 
• University of British Columbia Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education
• Creating an Engagement Plan with Indigenous Communities