Celebrating the Whole Co-operative Story
Submitted by Erin Morgan, Executive Director, OCA.
We all know the history of the co-operative movement starting with the Rochdale Pioneers, the Antigonish Movement and Desjardins, but what about the other early stories of co-operation in Canada and around the world that have contributed to the development of Canadian co-operativism?
OCA believes it is important to recognize and celebrate all early cooperators so we have a more complete picture to draw from as we find new opportunities to co-operate in Ontario today. It is especially important to recognize the rich history of Indigenous co-operation and the co-operative histories of people from other nations that have brought their co-operative ideas and practices to Canada. Our movement is strengthened by all of the ways Canadians co-operate.
Firstly, OCA recognizes the co-operative and communal culture of Indigenous peoples that predated modern co-operatives. The principles that guided day-to-day conduct for many First Nations were a value system similar to the Seven Grandfather Teachings of the Anishnaabe peoples: Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility and Truth as the values that enable people to live in a way that promotes harmony and balance with everyone and everything in creation. These teachings align well with the principles of co-operation. As an example, long before the arrival of Europeans, the Iroquoian First Nations developed complex systems of government based on democratic principles that made decisions on a consensus basis, with discussions that went late until the night until agreement was reached.
Globally there are some amazing stories of early co-operation in Kenya, Ethiopia and India that Dr. Shenaz Hossein shared in her 2020 article on the contributions of the African diaspora in the Canadian co-operative sector. She sites that early banking co-ops in Kenya are believed to predate colonial time. The Habesha people in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, were the first to create informal group systems of credit and savings. India also has an ancient system of Chits that help people collectively access funds. Laws regulating Chit funds date back to the 1800s and India leads the world in number of co-operatives. The first meeting for the International Co-operative Association (ICA) was held in India to mark this achievement.
As we also learn from Dr. Hossein’s work, when we are sharing stories to celebrate co-operation in Canada, we must also recognize co-operation from communities formed in the mid-1800s at the apex of the Underground Railroad in places like Buxton, Ontario where Africans settled and formed co-operatives called True Bands. In 1856 there were 14 True Bands co-operatives in Canada. Other stories of early co-operation include self-sustaining communal Black farms operating in Wilberforce, Ontario that started as early as 1831.
By celebrating and learning from these first cooperators, we will strengthen our co-operative identity today. OCA has begun a project to expand our knowledge of co-operative history in Ontario. We welcome all stories that are waiting to be told — please share yours with us.
*For those interested in learning more about our rich history of co-operation in North America, here are the sources used for this article:
- The work of Dr. Caroline Shenaz Hossein: 10.36830-IJCAM.202014Hossein.pdf (smu.ca), Diverse Solidarity Economies (DiSE) (caroline-shenaz-hossein.com)
- The history of the First Nations is summarized here: First Nations in Canada (rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca)
- More detail on Indigenous co-operatives is captured in this book by John Curl: For All the People: Uncovering the Hidden History of Cooperation, Cooperative Movements, and Communalism in America: Curl, John: 9781604860726: Books — Amazon.ca
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