Michelle Bryant-Gravelle knew it wouldn’t be an easy journey when she accepted a position at the City of Vancouver as its first senior director of Indigenous relations three years ago. “I knew it was going to be hard,” she said. “I knew what I was getting into, but I didn’t know quite the extent of what I was getting into.” On Dec. 11, Bryant-Gravelle parted ways with her former employer, saying she did so due to her integrity following a series of incidents, including the fallout from cuts due to Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC-majority council’s move to freeze property taxes in 2026. ‘Hold the line’ The first time she considered leaving the organization was in February, when The Globe and Mail reported that a leaked memo from the mayor’s chief of staff suggested the city should initiate a roundtable to help Indigenous people living in the Downtown Eastside return to their home communities. “That really didn’t sit well with me, and I really had to dig deep to be able to stay in that environment,” she said. “I really wanted to go, but guidance from our ancestors and creators said, ‘Hold the line, Michelle. You’re doing good work.’” Over the last few months, she said things became more difficult, as the city faced sweeping changes following a “back to basics” budget that passed in November. That budget includes about $120 million in cuts to departments and staff. ‘You can’t walk this back’ Bryant-Gravelle said she felt blindsided by some of the changes, which included the closure of the city’s Equity Office, parting ways with city manager Paul Mochrie, and the return-to-office mandate. She said there was a lack of collaboration with senior staff on some of these decisions. “Maybe there was, and maybe I was just left out of it,” she said. “I don’t know those things, but what really came into play with me was integrity.” During the budget discussions, she worked to remind city leadership about the partnerships her team had worked to build over the last three years with the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation, and Tsleil-Waututh Nation. “You can’t walk this back,” she said. Bryant-Gravelle recalled a ceremony that occurred last June between the City of Vancouver and the three First Nations. “They brought us into the MST family,” she said. “And when that is done by Coast Salish and Coast Salish culture in ceremony, that means something: a commitment that we must honor.” She added she was concerned with how the cuts would impact the Indigenous Relations department, adding she felt there were no efficiencies that could be created, as staff were already working beyond their capacity. “As people get laid off, I’m concerned about the continuity of the work and the partnerships with the nations, because for the first time, the work that we’re doing, no one else in the world has done at this level and in the way in which we did it,” she said. City’s response In a statement to CTV News, the City of Vancouver said it wishes Bryant-Gravelle well and thanks her for her contributions and commitment to advancing the city’s work in Indigenous relations. As for the future of the role, the city said, “to ensure continuity, the city immediately appointed an internal interim Senior Director, Indigenous Relations.” The statement added that a full recruitment process for the permanent role will begin in the coming months. “The city is committed to advancing the work of UNDRIP and our work to implement the city’s UNDRIP Action Plan continues,” the emailed continued. UNDRIP, reconciliation Bryant-Gravelle’s ancestral name is Bilha’am Nelx, and she is a member of the Ts’msyen Nation. In September 2022, she joined the city manager’s office as the new senior director of Indigenous relations. During that time, she worked to implement initiatives such as setting a corporate strategy at the city for reconciliation, and led the city’s United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples action plan. Her team worked to engage over 200 staff members and across four governments, including the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation, and Tsleil-Waututh Nation. “I call it opening up the colonial box and making space for indigenous inclusion in a meaningful and authentic way,” she said. Due to the Indigenous Relations team, the city now has Indigenous managers in departments such as engineering. The team has also helped bring paid ceremony days to the city, and expanded the definition of immediate leave for Indigenous staff. In a statement to CTV News, Sxwíxwtn-Wilson Williams, chairperson of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), said Bryant-Gravelle’s work with the city created space for Indigenous voices, strengthened relationships, and moved the city forward on Reconciliation. “She has helped the city establish more honest and meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities, and we sincerely hope the City of Vancouver continues to walk along this same path,” the statement continued. Chief Justin George, of the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation), said he was grateful for Bryant-Gravelle’s work. “I raise my hands in thanks to Michelle’s tremendous contributions with the City of Vancouver, her advocacy, and particularly her leadership on the city’s United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples action plan,” he said. “I look forward to continuing this important work with the city towards reconciliation and Indigenous inclusion, as we paddle as one towards our common goals.” ‘Prove, defend, and rationalize’ While reflecting on the work she helped spearhead, she recalled how challenging it was to exist as an Indigenous woman working for the city. “One of the things that I did the entire time at the city was having to prove, defend and rationalize every single thing in a way to help people understand why and how we do Indigenous relations is different than how any other city project, or strategy gets rolled out,” she said. “It’s not a transactional approach. It’s very relational and very connected to partnership, true partnership. And so that made my job as the leader really hard on me mentally, emotionally – carrying that emotional labor to constantly prove, defend and rationalize my existence.” ‘Bringing humanity back in’ She said that while the team that remains is more than capable of continuing the work, she worries whether it will be prioritized heading into a municipal election year. “I know it’s politics; I know the game,” she said. “But at the same time, as an Indigenous leader, you have to question – we have the mandate, but is it surface? Is it deep? Because at the staff level, we know it’s deep. What I don’t know, is at the political level.” Reflecting on her decision to leave, Bryant-Gravelle calls it bittersweet. She said she’s proud of the work she did, especially in building trust with the three First Nations, and believes that despite walking away from this position, the processes she has set in place will be longstanding. She said going forward, she hopes council will listen to staff and prioritize what’s best for the city. “There’s no easy answer to it,” she said. “But it’s really about bringing humanity back in, bringing compassion back in, and leading from the heart and not just from a level of personal gain.”
